Chapter 61: A Permanent Solution to the Cloning Problem

"Only your basic language system remains in your head; you don't even recognize the family members around you anymore."

"Then you begin to relearn everything, and you learn everything very quickly. In the eyes of others, you seem like a completely different person."

"From the ordinary person you were, everything internal has changed; your way of speaking, behavior, perspective, and temperament have all suddenly undergone a massive contrast and transformation."

"The original you was mediocre."

"The current you, while maintaining the same original appearance, performs acts of pure genius."

"In 10 days, you surpass the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett."

"In 20 days, you cause Xia Country's aviation technology to leap forward."

"In 30 days, you conquer cancer..."

"In 60 days, you make Xia Country's GDP surpass the sum of the past several decades."

"In 1 year, you lead Xia Country into the ranks of ultra-developed nations and then begin the march into the cosmos."

"Before, you were a waste; now, you are a genius. Through a brief period of effort, you easily climb to the very pinnacle of the world, achieving a level that others couldn't reach in a hundred lifetimes."

"Though the example is a bit exaggerated, the current question is: is the current you still you?"

"If so, your original memories are already lost; you've forgotten the memories of being a waste, and they can never be recovered!"

"The you who has reached the pinnacle and the you of the past are the same person with the same genes, but the things you do are already different!"

"If not, you haven't undergone any twisted scientific experiments; you just suddenly encountered a car accident, right?"

"My question is: Is the current you still you?"

Jiang Zhe emphasized the last sentence with a heavy tone.

Once this example was presented, even the experts were stunned.

Suddenly encountering a car accident, then having a total change in temperament and becoming a world-class genius.

No twisted experiments were performed, and no brainwashing technology was used.

Was it just like a sudden awakening after the car accident?

Logically speaking, the current self is still the same self.

But thinking carefully, the current self doesn't seem to be the same self; I was a waste before, how could I possibly become a genius now?

The bullet chat couldn't help but discuss fervently.

"I'm not sure, I no longer know if I am me."

"The host is so hardcore, revealing online that you are not you."

"Speaking of which, this really seems like an unsolvable problem, doesn't it?"

"It has to be unsolvable, how could it possibly be solved? I lost all my memories and became a genius; doesn't that mean I've already died, and a new soul has moved into my body?"

"Upstairs, what you're saying sounds like the protagonist of an online story transmigrating into a parallel world."

"Holy crap, you're right. Is it soul possession?"

"Sorry, it's really not possession, and there are actually many examples of this in reality."

"Why does this suddenly feel a bit creepy?"

"..."

This scene was witnessed by Wei Guo, a physics professor at Suzhou Media University's office.

In fact, he had always been sitting in the office late at night with his elder brother, Prof. Wei Min, to finish watching the livestream before going home.

He looked at the bullet chat and couldn't help but frown deeply.

"Possession? Has Jiang Zhe been possessed? But it doesn't seem like it; he still recognizes us old fogies; he doesn't have the amnesia from the example."

The elder brother, Prof. Wei Min, said speechlessly from the side, "You're already in your fifties, why are you still acting like a child?"

"The kids are messing around, and you're joining in too, aren't you? Can't you stand your own student becoming a genius?"

"That's not it, it's just that I'm starting to doubt the example Xiao Jiang mentioned. The contrast between the 'me before and after the experience' he described is too great—it makes me wonder, 'did the previous me die, and then a new me was born, a new me that is a total learning freak?'"

Seeing that there was no one else in the office, Prof. Wei Min acted like an elder and lightly tapped Wei Guo on the head.

"Stop overthinking it. What you actually want to talk about is split personality."

"Even if it's a split personality, it's still yourself. Anyway, this matter is really hard to explain, so don't dwell on it!"

"Big brother, you... if someone sees this, it'll be so embarrassing!"

"Isn't there no one here now? Can't I even give you a little knock?"

"No... you knock, knock as much as you want!"

...

In the lecture hall of Beijing University of Science and Technology.

The place was also buzzing with discussion.

Whether it was Professor Hua Yunfeng, Old Feng, or the veteran philosophers below the stage, all had fallen into deep thought.

Professor Hua Yunfeng sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know. I only know that the current me is me; whether the me who becomes a genius after a car accident is still me, I'm no longer sure."

Professor Feng nodded slightly. "There are indeed many examples in the world. After someone suffers a severe blow, all of the patient's previous memories disappear. They don't recognize anyone and only retain a basic language system; it's as if they've been replaced by a different soul. Then that new soul possesses incredible learning ability and quickly becomes a genius in a certain field, reaching the peak of life."

Just then.

Leng Fei, who was below the stage, raised his hand and said, "Professor Feng, I know of such an example."

Old Feng and Professor Hua Yunfeng looked at Leng Fei and said in unison, "Speak!"

Leng Fei thought for a moment and began his narration:

"In 1988, a 14-year-old youth named Jim Carollo was in a car accident. He survived, but his mother did not."

"Afterward, Jim remained in a coma; he was unconscious for about six weeks."

"The doctors were all doubting whether he would survive."

"However, when he woke up, everything happened so suddenly and randomly that it shocked everyone present!"

"Before the accident, Carollo had no interest in mathematics."

"But after the accident, it was said that he mastered high school geometry without any study at all."

"Then he quickly jumped to calculus, passing every exam with ease."

"For him, memorizing any number was extremely simple. He memorized Pi to 200 digits in just over a day."

"One strange thing was that Jim had forgotten everyone around him."

"His grandparents looked after him as if they were looking after a stranger."

"Though they still became a family, this grandson had become a 'New Grandson'!"

"Just as Jiang Zhe said, it's impossible to determine if Jim is still Jim."

"There's also the case of someone becoming a piano genius after being struck by lightning."

"..."

Once the few examples mentioned by Leng Fei were presented.

Both Professor Hua Yunfeng and Professor Feng fell into deep thought.

Yes, it was simply impossible to determine!

They look the same and speak the same, but their abilities are completely different.

Could it be called a split personality? But even if a personality splits into any other personality, it is still part of the patient themselves, as certified by psychology.

Whether you call it awakening past life memories or awakening something else, in short, the current Jim is simply not the same person as the previous Jim!

Can you say the previous Jim is dead? No.

Can you say the previous Jim is alive? It seems you can't either.

This existence, like a paradox, made the two elders feel their heads throbbing.

It was at this moment that Jiang Zhe's confident voice came from the large screen.

"To answer this derived question, as well as the third core paradox of the Ship of Theseus: if you use the damaged wooden planks of the Ship of Theseus to build/clone an identical Ship of Theseus, is it still the original Ship of Theseus?"

"The following thought experiment!"

"Is of vital importance!"

"Because it can solve all the problems of 'Cloning' once and for all."