Chapter 120: Cracking the Brain in a Vat?

Jiang Zhe's entire explanation was almost entirely in plain language.

Especially those last few sentences, which instantly rendered the audience, who had been ready to refute him, speechless.

Degree of cognition... degree of truth and falsehood...

What a "holy crap" moment this was!

"Although there isn't a shred of evidence, it's damn right!"

"Yeah, the higher the cognition, the falser the world; the lower the cognition, the truer the world; I... I can't even refute that."

"..."

"He..."

Watching Jiang Zhe on the television, Professor Zhuang was stunned for a moment, then revealed an appreciative smile.

"The higher the cognition, the falser the world."

"The lower the cognition, the truer the world!"

"An interesting philosophical concept."

"This doesn't sound like the philosophical understanding of a 24-year-old child."

"Instead, it sounds like... some seasoned Professor."

As the words of praise faded, the eldest sister, Zhou Qing, who was beside him, couldn't help but open her mouth wide.

Their Professor rarely praised others.

Even the top students at Tsinghua University who excelled in both character and learning, including herself, had never been praised by the Professor.

It was evident that the Professor seemed to have heard of Jiang Zhe long ago, and only now was it being somewhat confirmed.

"Jiang Zhe..."

Zhou Qing looked serious and did not continue speaking.

Her younger sister, Zhou Qingqing, felt a sense of crisis and whispered, "Sister, I feel like our status is in jeopardy."

The older sister glanced at her, "It's not over yet. Since Jiang Zhe has provided a philosophical answer, although I want to refute it, I have to agree with it. But next, he is going to use science to debate [Dreams, Reality, and Truth and Falsehood]. This question is almost impossible to solve completely."

"Hmm... I also want to see if it can be cracked today."

...

In the lecture hall of the Kyoto University of Science.

No one spoke for a long time here; everyone was lost in thought over the previous conclusion.

This must be the superficial truth of Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly!

Although it was a bit opportunistic, it was harmless.

Professor Hua Yunfeng and Old Feng frowned, as if considering whether it was right or wrong.

After thinking it over carefully, they discovered that what Jiang Zhe said did indeed fit the current situation, and the two of them couldn't find any faults at all.

Just at this moment.

Jiang Zhe spoke again.

"To crack Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly, it is actually inseparable from the [Brain in a Vat]."

"The Similarity between the [Brain in a Vat] and [Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly] is as high as 90%!"

"Next, let us first go through the [Brain in a Vat], and then reverse-engineer the decryption of [Zhuang Zhou Dreams of a Butterfly]."

As soon as these words were spoken, Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, and all the experts at the scene immediately straightened their backs, their eyes shining brightly.

The number one thought experiment on the leaderboard, and even more so, the number one paradox on the leaderboard!!!

Could it be that Jiang Zhe is going to crack it?

In an instant, it caused countless experts and audience members to focus their attention intensely.

"Let's first briefly explain: the Brain in a Vat."

"This was proposed by Hilary Putnam in 1981."

"In this thought experiment, my brain is cut from my body by a doctor and then placed into a vat filled with nutrient solution to keep the brain alive."

"The nerve endings of the brain are connected to a computer, and the computer sends information to the brain according to a program, keeping it in an illusion of normalcy, as if people, objects, and the sky all exist."

"One's own movement and bodily sensations are also normal!"

"This brain can also have memories input or intercepted, or even have code input to make it 'feel' like it is reading a piece of text."

"At that time, everyone in the vat would also find it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood."

As he reached this point, the excited voice of the director came through Jiang Zhe's earpiece, conveying the news that the ratings had skyrocketed once again.

However, he didn't pay attention to it and continued speaking.

"To crack it, it is actually unsolvable."

"But!"

"Everyone, don't be anxious; shall we assume an answer first?"

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly, waiting for the barrage in the live stream to report.

"Assume an answer?"

"What does this mean?"

"The meaning is very simple. It means Jiang Zhe will first assume an answer, for example, that we really are a Brain in a Vat; for example, that we are not a Brain in a Vat; then, following his assumed answer, he will deduce downward; and finally, we will get some unexpected answers."

"So that's it; I agree, I fully agree!"

"..."

The barrage comments expressed what everyone was thinking.

Anyway, it's an unsolvable thought experiment, so it seems one can only assume an answer first, regardless of right or wrong.

Having gained the audience's understanding, Jiang Zhe smiled and nodded silently.

"Okay, let us first assume an answer—"

"We, as well as this world, and this universe, whether observable or unobservable, are just a giant Brain in a Vat."

"Then, we return to the origin of the [Brain in a Vat]."

He tapped the table lightly, and a scene of the universe before it began quickly appeared in his mind.

"Let's continue to assume."

"When the universe was in a state of nothingness, the modern Quantum Mechanics field had a slightly Idealism concept."

"If you observe, the universe exists; if you do not observe, the universe does not exist."

"Only after the first cosmic consciousness was born did the subsequent chain reaction occur, and only then did we have our civilization, our humanity, and everything we have."

The audience nodded in agreement with these knowledge points.

Jiang Zhe had emphasized this many times in previous episodes.

Even if they were not physics students, they knew this was a concept of Quantum Mechanics.

Or rather: the scientific bible of the microscopic world!

"In the beginning, at the dawn of the universe, it was empty."

"This chaotic and void state can be understood by everyone as a universe without the existence of [consciousness]."

"At that time, the universe was just an empty container. As for what kind of container, it doesn't matter; whether it's a bottle, a can, or a vat, it's just a container."

"Please imagine—the outside of the beginning of the universe."

"The outside of the universe—"

"Assume it is a place of pure white."

"In this pure white place, there are many [vats] stored. The number of these [vats] can be 1, or it can be 1xN power."

As these words fell, the restless thoughts of the audience instantly disappeared.

Along with Jiang Zhe's infectious voice, they fell into deep thought and imagination.

"What kind of place is this?"

"Naturally, it is the place of a super-intelligent civilization."

"And then!"

"A person, or a god, with [consciousness], stepped into this pure white area."

"Then, for the empty vats in this pure white place, they placed a beating object into each one; this object could be the brain of a deceased person from a super-civilization, or it could be their living Quantum Consciousness Information cluster; regardless of which one it is, this is the [consciousness] of intelligent life."

"After placing the deceased who had died of old age in that civilization into these countless vats."

"They started the equipment, allowing one, or countless brains, to connect with one vat or countless vats, and then began the operation."

As he reached this point, his expression gradually became serious.

"The assumed answer outside the universe is what has been described above."

"The outside has been explained, and it is exactly at this moment!"

"Let us return to the inside of the universe."

"In the [internal universe] that was originally in chaos, void, and even without space; after connecting the consciousness of this deceased person from a super-civilization..."

"A crazy chain reaction of anomalies then emerged!!!"