Chapter 55: A Program Mishap? No, This is the Prelude to a Major Move.

Inside the lecture hall of Kyoto University of Science.

The final few sentences of Jiang Zhe's explanation immediately plunged all the experts present into deep thought.

Those words undoubtedly opened up a new line of thinking for every expert.

Xia Country is not its land, but the inheritance of its culture.

As long as a single person of Xia Country survives, the nation has not reached its end!

A ship is not its wooden planks, but the route it has sailed.

As long as ripples still rise in the sea, the footsteps of conquering the world will never stop!

...

Jiang Zhe had completely decoded the 'Ship of Theseus' from a novel and refreshing perspective.

Soon, the audience became as noisy as a wet market; not a single person chose to vote, as they were all discussing those few sentences.

"My god, as soon as those words came out, the sophistication level just skyrocketed; why can't I say things like that?"

"I have to hand it to him, I never expected such a novel explanation for the Ship of Theseus."

"So, does everyone think the Ship of Theseus is still the same ship after replacing the planks, whether identified by material or structure?"

"Whether it is or isn't no longer matters; it's that some people will say 'material,' which is that person's definition of the ship—letting them view it from a material perspective; and others say 'structure,' which is 'that person's' definition of the ship."

"Exactly, different definitions, different answers; but I'm just so damn curious, is there a definitive answer? I just have to split hairs over this!"

"I... I... I don't know!"

“...”

These words had clearly transcended what they considered philosophy.

Even...

This was simply meta-philosophical!

Professor Hua Yunfeng and Old Feng looked pensive.

They vaguely felt that while the Ship of Theseus paradox might have once been insoluble,

In front of Jiang Zhe, it was like a child asking a difficult question to a Great Scholar. The scholar would smile, pat the child's head, and say with earnest sincerity:

"For such a vague paradox, what kind of answer do you want the world to give it?"

"In the face of your vague paradox, any answer will change its final result according to your whims!"

"Do you enjoy sitting back and watching monkeys fight?"

Thinking this way, the two of them wholeheartedly accepted Jiang Zhe's answer!

...

After the voting ended.

Jiang Zhe received the voting results from the backstage director through his earpiece.

92% of people chose that after replacing the first plank of the Ship of Theseus, it was no longer the original ship.

Only 8% stuck to their guns.

But [Truth] actually always appears in the eyes of the majority, not the minority—at least in his opinion.

Facing the camera, Jiang Zhe nodded slightly:

"The voting results are in."

"The majority of people chose the same answer as I did."

"And my answer: naturally, it is also based on who gives it a [definition]; the answer is whatever that definition is."

"Whether judged by structure or material."

"So, the final answer is: [Different definitions, different answers]."

"Alright, let's take a commercial break. We'll be right back!"

As he finished speaking, he stood up and walked off the stage toward the restroom.

At this moment, the television screen cut to an advertisement for domestic instant noodles.

...

Television Station, Monitoring Department.

A young staff member was looking at the viewership curve on the monitor.

Suddenly, he cried out in surprise, "Uncle Wang, the number of online viewers for the TV station has surpassed 3 million, and the number in the web livestream has directly broken 1.5 million."

As he spoke, the staff member looked over at Old Wang, who was sitting on a sofa nearby.

Old Wang was staring at the mobile livestream with a solemn expression.

Ever since Jiang Zhe had been making breakthroughs and shattering records and ratings, he hadn't cared much about the viewership anymore.

With Jiang Zhe there, the ratings were bound to break through sooner or later.

Every time he fussily reported the progress to Station Manager Zhao, the manager was already completely unfazed.

He had ended up looking like the clown instead.

However...

Old Wang was currently worried about one thing.

So far, only 30 minutes had passed, and Jiang Zhe had already finished explaining the Ship of Theseus paradox.

The key was that the paradox had already gained the approval of most of the livestream audience.

He was now looking at the advertisements and the bullet comments in the livestream with some difficulty.

Many of the comments were still discussing the Ship of Theseus, but more viewers were confused—

"Holy crap, no way, you're freaking finished in just 30 minutes?"

"Damn it, I waited all day, and you finished the [Ship of Theseus] paradox in 30 minutes. What am I supposed to listen to next?"

"Are we supposed to just stare at each other in a daze?"

"Damn, I'm an old fan. He used to speak very slowly during the late-night slot, so 2 hours was more than enough. Now that the time slot has suddenly changed, Teacher Jiang definitely couldn't adapt, so it's a broadcast accident."

"This... what should we do? Teacher, please don't let this be a broadcast accident, or you'll be insulted by so many people!"

“...”

The viewers clearly didn't want to leave the livestream.

It could even be said—it was too short, too fast!

So fast that even Jiang Zhe's old fans thought he had suffered a broadcast accident.

Old Wang's brow furrowed tightly. "What's going on? Didn't we agree on 2 hours to finish the Ship of Theseus plus answering three questions?"

Feeling that things were getting out of hand, he immediately stood up and ran out to report the situation in the leadership meeting room.

...

Inside the lecture hall of Kyoto University of Science.

Professor Hua Yunfeng and Old Feng watched the advertisements on the large screen, their faces also showing confusion.

"What happened?"

"It seems like... he's finished?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience below immediately burst into chatter.

"So fast? It's only 8:30 PM. Does he only speak for half an hour each time?"

"Wasn't it always 2 hours before?"

"Look at the situation; this Ship of Theseus has actually been completely explained."

"Yes, different definitions, different answers; there is no single designated answer. Anyone who says there's only one answer definitely doesn't understand the Ship of Theseus!"

"Damn, it feels like a broadcast accident is coming!"

“...”

Originally, most of the physicists, biologists, and even philosophers had been questioning Jiang Zhe's professionalism.

After half an hour of interaction, they no longer doubted Jiang Zhe's professional level.

If even Jiang Zhe wasn't considered professional, then this group of old-timers should just retire.

Except...

Visually, it looked like a broadcast accident was about to happen!

Many experts stayed behind, very curious whether Jiang Zhe would face an accident or skillfully resolve it.

...

Television Station, Leadership Meeting Room.

As the door was pushed open, Old Wang said impatiently, "The ratings exploded, but I know you don't care about that. With him there, the ratings will explode."

"Now a situation has arisen—"

"Jiang Zhe's topic is finished. Next, it's going to be a broadcast accident!"

"There's an hour and a half left. What do we do?"

As soon as these words were out, the heavy responsibility of those immersed in the truth of the Ship of Theseus suddenly became restless.

"Broadcast accident?"

"Damn, an hour and a half of broadcast accident?"

"That's... right, Jiang Zhe suddenly changed the program time. What he prepared was still the late-night livestream pace!"

"Yes, he actually didn't speak fast with the late-night pace before; today was indeed very fast. Damn it; this was all caused by the sudden change in time slot."

"What to do, what to do?"

“...”

Station Manager Zhao suddenly looked up at Old Wang and asked in disbelief, "How do you know he's finished? Was it because of the sudden time slot change that he didn't control his pace well?"

Old Wang shook his head. "I suspect so. He used to speak slower in the late-night slot where the audience was all night owls. Now that he's in prime time, his pace is faster than any of the previous two times. The old fans in the livestream all think so too."

Hearing this, Wang Guosheng and Station Manager Zhao couldn't help but swallow hard.

Both of them showed looks of self-reproach.

"Damn, it's my fault as the Station Manager for being incompetent. I should have told Little Wang and Little Xiao to remind him."

"It's also my fault. I trusted his ability to control the pace too much, to the point that I didn't ask about anything he did..."

"What should we do, Station Manager? Think of something!"

"How should I know? If it comes down to it, as long as it doesn't cause a major incident, let Little Wang and Little Xiao go up together to show their faces and try to salvage some..."

Before Station Manager Zhao could finish, Wang Lin asked with a look of confusion, "Station Manager, Uncle Wang, and Dad, what are you three worrying about?"

The three looked at Wang Lin, and Old Wang was the first to ask, "It's almost a broadcast accident. Why aren't you worried at all?"

Hearing this, the confused expression on Wang Lin's face deepened. "Broadcast accident? What broadcast accident? How come I don't know about it?"

Old Wang asked, "Isn't it a broadcast accident already?"

Wang Lin said helplessly, "Who told you it was an accident? What kind of person is Teacher Jiang? Would he allow such a low-level mistake to happen? Alright, alright, if an accident really happens, I'll step up. I've been thinking about some things these past two days, and I have some explosive content I can use for science popularization and mystery solving for the audience."

Just as Old Wang was about to say something, the 5-minute advertisement on the large screen ended.

Something unexpected happened to everyone.

Jiang Zhe sat directly back at the broadcasting desk as if nothing had happened.

The expressions on everyone's faces at the scene became even more confused.

He finished everything, is he still going to continue?

To their surprise, Jiang Zhe smiled and continued to explain:

"Alright, now that inanimate objects are finished, we've all arrived at the answer of [Different definitions, different answers]."

"Well, actually, this answer doesn't meet the approval of most of us."

As for why he said this, it was because Jiang Zhe had not yet received a system prompt, meaning he hadn't gained majority approval, so he wouldn't end it here.

"Since inanimate objects are finished, it's now time for living things."

"Now, I will continue to upgrade the Ship of Theseus to a higher version."

"The next theme is: [Cloning], which is also the freakishly upgraded Plus version of the Ship of Theseus!"