Book Review: 3 Trunk Problem

This book, yesteryear Cixin Liu, easily secures a house amid the summit xx sci-fi books I receive got read. The volume was 400 pages, but was rattling engaging. I felt lamentable when I constitute that I had finished book. I was happy in ane lawsuit again when I learned the volume has ii sequels. I am looking frontward to reading the sequels.

The volume started inward a rattling engaging manner alongside the word of cultural revolution. This was engaging for me because 1) I didn't know much most this current inward Chinese history, as well as 2) I am an academic as well as I was aghast yesteryear what has been done to the academics as well as intellectuals at that period. I couldn't fathom such an ignorance was possible. But given the path Turkey has been going downwardly during the yesteryear 10+ years, as well as given the descent of U.S.A. politics to such a path, I  followed these descriptions inward horror. I couldn't imagine things could acquire that bad as well as rest that bad that long.

The importance of basic scientific discipline was rattling good emphasized inward this book. The volume had a meta message. It starts alongside cultural revolution where scientific discipline was shunned/repressed, as well as after the events escalate inward acquaint 24-hour interval earth, the public is also inward a house where scientific discipline is repressed/undervalued. I did taste those parallels.

The volume included cutbacks as well as forth to a VR game the protagonist played, called "Three body" game. This reminded me of the back-and-forth cuts inward "Ender's Game" alongside the game Ender was playing on his device, as well as inward Diamond Age alongside the stories the girl's volume told, as well as the prelude sections inward Godel-Escher-Bach book. The cut-back techniques used hither was excellent. The fictional characters inward the game referred to prominent scientist, as well as the game showed some parallels to the progression of scientific discipline on public every bit well.

Cultural revolution 

Since I didn't know much most China's history, I outset take in the cultural revolution descriptions inward the volume were fictional. It has got to live because it is thus surreal how people bought into this materials as well as how the entire soil chose illiteracy over literacy as well as ceased to business office for 10 years. Secondly, I thought, how come upward Cixin Liu, a Chinese author, write freely most this current as well as criticize it sharply. It turns out it is OK to criticize cultural revolution as well as Red Guards provided that y'all exercise non blame Chairman Mao for it. Even though he started the cultural revolution to purge intellectuals (who must live corrupted yesteryear Western influence), evidently he was innocent as well as unaware of the extent of the purge. (Four ministers inward the party got blamed for the events afterwards.) This is of course of study absolutely ridiculous. What is lamentable is that crimes as well as madness of this magnitude goes unpunished as well as everyone was (or had to be) OK alongside it. But such is life. Unfortunately, every bit I acquire older, I shed my unfounded faith most the skillful inward humanity----which is also a subject explored inward this book.

But for this volume deal session, the victims were the reactionary bourgeois academic authorities. These were the enemies of every faction, as well as they had no selection but to suffer barbarous attacks from every side. Compared to other “Monsters as well as Demons,” reactionary academic authorities were special: During the earliest deal sessions, they had been both arrogant as well as stubborn. That was also the phase inward which they had died inward the largest numbers. Over a current of xl days, inward Beijing alone, to a greater extent than than seventeen hundred victims of deal sessions were beaten to death. Many others picked an easier path to avoid the madness: Lao She, Wu Han, Jian Bozan, Fu Lei, Zhao Jiuzhang, Yi Qun, Wen Jie, Hai Mo, as well as other once-respected intellectuals had all chosen to terminate their lives.

“Relativity is constituent of the substitution theories of physics,” Ye answered. “How tin a basic survey course of study non instruct it?” “You lie!” a woman mortal Red Guard yesteryear his side shouted. “Einstein is a reactionary academic authority. He would serve whatever principal who dangled coin inward forepart of him. He fifty-fifty went to the American Imperialists as well as helped them construct the atom bomb! To prepare a revolutionary science, nosotros must overthrow the dark banner of capitalism represented yesteryear the theory of relativity!” 

- “Should philosophy guide experiments, or should experiments guide philosophy?” Ye’s abrupt counterattack shocked those leading the deal session.   
- “Of course of study it should live the right philosophy of Marxism that guides scientific experiments!” ane of the manful mortal Red Guards finally said. “Then that’s equivalent to proverb that the right philosophy falls out of the sky. This is against the take in that the truth emerges from experience. It’s counter to the principles of how Marxism seeks to sympathise nature.”                

The revolution eats its children first. The Red Guards didn't acquire punished, but they didn't prosper either.

“Of the 4 of us, 3 had signed the big-character poster at the high schoolhouse attached to Tsinghua. Revolutionary tours, the corking rallies inward Tiananmen, the Red Guard Civil Wars, First Red Headquarters, Second Red Headquarters, Third Red Headquarters, Joint Action Committee, Western Pickets, Eastern Pickets, New Peking University Commune, Red Flag Combat Team, The East is Red—we went through every unmarried milestone inward the history of the Red Guards from nascence to death.” 

“Then, nosotros were sent to the wilderness!” The thickset adult woman raised her arms. “Two of us were sent to Shaanxi, the other ii to Henan, all to the most remote as well as poorest corners. When nosotros outset went, nosotros were soundless idealistic, but that didn’t last. After a 24-hour interval of laboring inward the fields, nosotros were thus tired that nosotros couldn’t fifty-fifty launder our clothes. We lay inward leaky straw huts as well as listened to wolves outcry inward the night, as well as gradually nosotros woke from our dreams. We were stuck inward those forgotten villages as well as no ane cared most us at all.” The one-armed adult woman stared at the basis numbly. “While nosotros were downwardly inward the countryside, sometimes, on a trail across the barren hill, I’d bump into some other Red Guard comrade or an enemy. We’d await at each other: the same ragged clothes, the same dirt as well as moo-cow shit roofing us. We had zilch to tell to each other.”  

“Tang Hongjing was the daughter who gave your manful mortal parent the fatal strike alongside her belt. She drowned inward the Yellow River. There was a inundation that carried off a few of the sheep kept yesteryear the production team. So the Party secretarial assistant called to the sent-down students, ‘Revolutionary youths! It’s fourth dimension to exam your mettle!’ And so, Hongjing as well as 3 other students jumped into the river to relieve the sheep.

The mutual depression temperature wintertime of the Cultural Revolution truly was over, as well as everything was springing dorsum to life. Even though the calamity had just ended, everything was inward ruins, as well as countless men as well as women were licking their wounds. The dawn of a novel life was already evident.  

Science as well as engineering scientific discipline were the only keys to opening the door to the future, as well as people approached scientific discipline alongside the faith as well as sincerity of uncomplicated schoolhouse students.

BIG SPOILERS FROM NOW ON!!

From hither on at that spot are large spoilers. Read on the rest, only if y'all receive got read the book. It is a corking book, as well as y'all shouldn't spoil your enjoyment yesteryear reading my word of the plot.

The cultural revolution days laid the background for Ye Wenjie, ane of the key figures inward the story, as well as her selection which affects the fate of humanity. From Ye Wenjie's days working on the radio observatory at Red Coast, the volume skips to the acquaint day, to some other protagonist Wang Miao, a nanotechnology professor who was contacted yesteryear a secretive "Frontiers of Science" group. After that Wang starts seeing a countdown inward his photographic television set camera as well as and thus inward his eyes/retinas. At this indicate things escalated quickly. The footstep of the volume went from like shooting fish in a barrel to uncomfortably fast. At this point, I was convinced  the only explanation for this "miracle" is the simulation hypothesis (that nosotros are living inward a simulation), because no natural forcefulness tin describe of this miracle.

Later I learned that Ye Wenjie did invite Trisolarians (an alien race living on a planet 4 calorie-free years away) to invade the Earth. Then I started to wonder how the volume volition live able to explicate this countdown timer miracle every bit a engineering scientific discipline of the alien race. But the volume delivered on this at the end. The reply was the sophon project, a 2-D supercomputer folded into a 11-d proton! This was just awesome!

I truly liked the let on of 3 suns every bit the campaign of chaotic as well as stable eras inward the Trisolarian planetary organisation inward the Three Body VR game. The game also revealed details most the Trisolarian society. Their social club was interesting. It is an autocratic as well as rattling socialist social club (maybe sort of hinting dorsum to the Chinese regime again).

Shi Qiang, or detective Da Shi, was a rattling interesting character. The send slicing scene alongside nano-wires was unreal. It was rattling gory, as well as I don't call upward it was warranted. (After I read this, I had a nightmare most it.) But how could the people on the send non discovery the occupation earlier. If they run into other people getting sliced 10 meters ahead, they tin easily run back, audio an alert as well as warn others. Also why didn't the sophons warn the send most the trap? Given that they are super-AI as well as omnipresent as well as omniseeing, they had a skillful hazard to discovery this, no?

Selected notes from the book

“In China, whatever take in that dared to accept flying would only crash dorsum to the ground. The gravity of reality is besides strong.” 

“Theory is the foundation of application. Isn’t discovering substitution laws the biggest contribution to our time?” 

“At the same time, they desire to ruin science’s reputation inward society. Of course of study some people receive got ever engaged inward anti-science activities, but similar a shot it’s coordinated.” 

“Everyone is afraid of something. The enemy must be, too. The to a greater extent than powerful they are, the to a greater extent than they receive got to lose to their fears.”

After calming himself as well as walking to the other terminate of the long table, Wang said, “It’s truly pretty simple. The argue why the sun’s motility seems patternless is because our public has 3 suns. Under the influence of their mutually perturbing gravitational attraction, their movements are unpredictable—the three-body problem. When our planet revolves around ane of the suns inward a stable orbit, that’s a Stable Era. When ane or to a greater extent than of the other suns displace within a certainly distance, their gravitational describe volition snatch the planet away from the Sun it’s orbiting, causing it to wander unstably through the gravitational fields of the 3 suns. That’s a Chaotic Era. After an uncertain amount of time, our planet is in ane lawsuit once again pulled into a temporary compass as well as some other Stable Era begins. This is a football game game at the scale of the universe. The players are the 3 suns, as well as our planet is the football.”

Pan studied everyone meaningfully, as well as and thus added inward a soft voice, “How would y'all experience if Trisolaran civilisation were to move into our world?” “I would live happy.” The immature reporter was the outset to pause the silence. “I’ve lost promise inward the human race after what I’ve seen inward recent years. Human social club is incapable of self-improvement, as well as nosotros ask the intervention of an exterior force.” 

“And it is this: The human race is an evil species. Human civilisation has committed unforgivable crimes against the public as well as must live punished. The ultimate goal of the Adventists is to inquire our Lord to deportment out this divine punishment: the devastation of all humankind.” 

“Pan-Species Communism. It’s an ideology I invented. Or perhaps y'all tin telephone proper substantive upward it a faith. Its inwardness belief is that all species on public are created equal.”

They are sealing off the progress of human science. Because of the beingness of these ii protons, humanity volition non live able to brand whatever of import scientific developments during the 4 as well as a one-half centuries until the arrival of the Trisolaran Fleet. Evans in ane lawsuit said that the 24-hour interval of arrival of the ii protons was also the 24-hour interval that human scientific discipline died. 

Charcoal within a filter is three-dimensional. Their adsorbent surfaces, however, are two-dimensional. Thus, y'all tin run into how a tiny high-dimensional construction tin comprise a huge low-dimensional structure. 

You volition never live every bit skillful at it every bit criminals, masters of out-of-the-box thinking.                

“That blossom may live delicate, but it possesses peerless splendor. She enjoys liberty as well as beauty inward the ease of paradise.” 

The scientific discipline consul said, “Project Sophon, to pose it simply, aims to transform a proton into a superintelligent computer.” 

“This is a scientific discipline fantasy that most of us receive got heard about,” the agricultural consul said. “But tin it live realized? I know that physicists tin already manipulate nine of the xi dimensions of the micro-scale world, but nosotros soundless can’t imagine how they could stick a duet of tiny tweezers into a proton to construct large-scale integrated circuits.

A particle seen from a seven-dimensional perspective has a complexity comparable to our Trisolaran stellar organisation inward 3 dimensions. From an eight-dimensional perspective, a particle is a vast presence similar the Milky Way. When the perspective has been raised to nine dimensions, a substitution particle’s internal structures as well as complexity are equal to the whole universe. As for fifty-fifty higher dimensions, our physicists haven’t been able to explore them, thus nosotros cannot yet imagine the score of complexity.” 

The scientific discipline consul said, “A sophon has been born. We receive got endowed a proton alongside wisdom. This is the smallest artificial tidings that nosotros tin make.”
             
“As shortly every bit nosotros increase the dimensionality of this proton, it volition move rattling small.       

“Princeps, the sphere nosotros run into similar a shot is non the consummate sophon. It’s only the projection of the sophon’s trunk into three-dimensional space. It is, inward fact, a giant inward four-space, as well as our public is similar a thin, three-dimensional sail of paper.
             
Yes. I tin run into the command center, everyone inside, as well as the organs within everyone, fifty-fifty the organs within your organs.
             
“A sophon observing three-space from six-space is akin to us looking at a flick on a two-dimensional plane. Of course of study it tin run into within us.”      

“It’s non precisely going ‘through.’ Rather, it’s entering from a higher dimension. It tin move into whatever enclosed infinite within our world. This is in ane lawsuit again similar to the human relationship betwixt us, existing inward three-space, as well as a two-dimensional plane. We tin easily move into whatever circle drawn on the airplane yesteryear coming inward from above. But no two-dimensional brute on the airplane tin exercise such a thing without breaking the circle.” 

“After the ii sophons brand it on Earth, their outset mission is to locate the high-energy particle accelerators used yesteryear humans for physics interrogation as well as shroud within them.
             
“The study of the deep construction of thing is the foundation of the foundations of all other sciences. If there’s no progress here, everything else—I’ll pose it your way—is bullshit.”

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