Chapter 65: Similarity and Continuity

In the lecture hall of Kyoto University of Science.

The experts here were immediately buzzing with discussion.

They were discussing the [Cell Replacement Test] and the [Body Destruction Test].

The Cell Replacement Test involves a slow replacement until, ultimately, [I am still me].

Whereas the [Body Destruction Test] is completed in an instant; as such, the continuity of [me] has been interrupted.

Gradually, the lecture hall fell silent.

All the experts were pondering the concept of [Continuity].

It was as if the true essence of truth lay within [Continuity]!

Professor Hua Yunfeng looked toward the audience and spoke slowly, "Actually, I have already understood it."

Just as Professor Hua Yunfeng was about to explain, Jiang Zhe, on the big screen, spoke first.

“Actually!”

“The Cell Replacement Test allows you to remain yourself because the replacement process happens gradually—as mentioned before, it occurs cell by cell.”

“But the [Body Crushing Experiment] I mentioned earlier is completed in an instant. This directly proves that the instantaneous teleporter is not a [teleporter], but a killing machine.”

Hearing this, Old Feng looked at Professor Hua Yunfeng curiously. “A killing machine? Why would he say that? Is it really a killing machine?”

Professor Hua Yunfeng continued to explain: “Because there is no continuity between the you in Kyoto and the you in Su City.”

“Don't forget, the moment the killing machine crushes you, it has destroyed you.”

“Once you are destroyed, your [continuity] disappears.”

Old Feng asked again: “Then how do you explain the Su City Jiang Zhe that the Kyoto machine takes 5 minutes to assemble?”

Professor Hua Yunfeng shook his head. “That's not the right way to understand it. [Continuity] has no connection to the 5-minute [time] interval between the Su City Jiang Zhe and the Kyoto Jiang Zhe.”

“A killing machine uses a laser to crush you in an instant and then reconstructs you.”

“Even if the machine doesn't reconstruct you in Kyoto 5 minutes later...”

“It could reconstruct you in Kyoto 5 years, 50 years, or even 500 years later.”

“The [Continuity] Jiang Zhe speaks of is not [time], but a state.”

Hearing this, Old Feng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized. “So this continuity Jiang Zhe is talking about is something ethereal? It's not a physical or external manifestation, but just a subjective perception?”

Just as Professor Hua Yunfeng was about to speak, Jiang Zhe beat him to it again, answering Old Feng's question as if they shared a psychic connection.

“Yes.”

“Continuity is not a tangible substance; it is merely a state.”

“In mathematics, [continuity] refers to a constant, uninterrupted state or characteristic.”

“Whether you, I, or anyone else—no matter how we move the brain, or crush and then reconstruct it...”

“Or even when transferring brain data to a new brain.”

“In fact, these elements do not exist in isolation; they together form a continuous existence.”

“To put it simply: I, at this very moment, reside within my brain.”

“If an external force were to forcibly extract my consciousness data intact from my brain and use some means to place it into someone else's body...”

“The 'me' at that time would actually no longer be me.”

“Why?”

“Again, under the influence of any external force, it has already destroyed [my continuity]!”

As Jiang Zhe's explanation concluded, the professors of all ages at the scene suddenly understood.

Having grasped the truth, the experts felt as if they were reborn.

Only Professor Hua Yunfeng looked dazed. How did Jiang Zhe say exactly what he was thinking?

Could it be that he and Jiang Zhe were truly on the same wavelength?

“He is right; [continuity] in mathematics belongs to a constant, uninterrupted state.”

“Exactly. Even if there's a river before us that is calm and still, if I throw a stone into the water and the ripples it creates sweep across the surface, it is no longer the original river.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Any external interference destroys the continuity of that individual.”

“Isn't this what Heraclitus said: 'No man ever steps in the same river twice'? And Cratylus said: 'One cannot step into the same river even once'?”

“Precisely, that's it!”

The experts might have understood.

But the audience was scratching their heads in frustration, feeling completely lost.

“Damn it, what exactly is continuity?”

“I only know that the state of an object's continuous motion is called continuity... but that doesn't seem to explain the [continuity] Jiang Zhe is talking about, does it?”

“If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?”

“...”

In fact, Jiang Zhe was aware of this.

Many people find it difficult to understand [continuity].

To accommodate more people, he took the remaining time to continue with a more vivid explanation using examples.

“I'll give one last example for today.”

“This content doesn't need to be saved for the Q&A session.”

He raised his hand to check his watch; there were 5 minutes left before the time was up and the Q&A session would begin.

“I have a friend named Wang Lin. He once had a grandfather.”

In the leadership conference room, Wang Lin looked confused. “Using me as an example again?”

In the monitoring room, Old Wang was also confused. “Why is he using my dad as an example? My dad has been dead for five years!”

“When I chatted with him privately before, we talked about his grandfather.”

“Five years ago, when his grandfather was still alive, he would often talk nonsense, but sometimes he would be lucid and chat with the 19-year-old college student, Wang Lin.”

“His grandfather's memory wasn't very good.”

“Once, in their hometown, he pointed to a picture of himself as a shy and cute six-year-old boy on a mottled earthen wall and said—”

“‘That is me.’”

Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. “Yes, the grandfather was naturally not wrong.”

“However, if he says the six-year-old boy in the photo and the ninety-something-year-old man in front of him are the same person, isn't that statement quite outrageous?”

“In my view, between this old and young pair—the elderly version of the grandfather and the six-year-old version—they have absolutely nothing in common!”

“Physically speaking, they are completely different. Every single cell in that six-year-old boy's body has been dead for decades, right?”

“A bit of science: the cycle for the human body to replace its cells is about 120 to 200 days, and they are fully renewed roughly every 6 to 7 years.”

At first glance, it sounded quite reasonable.

Both the experts and the audience felt a bit of an abrupt shift, sensing something was off.

The matter seemed far less simple than they had imagined!

“As for the personalities of the old grandfather and the young grandfather...”

“For the most part, they are certainly different, though they might retain a few similar traits, such as being cowardly.”

“More importantly—the data in their two brains has almost no overlap.”

“If I were to find a random 90-year-old man on the street who happened to look very much like Wang Lin's grandfather, that stranger would look more like Wang Lin's grandfather than that six-year-old boy did.”

“Right? Yes, at first glance, that's how it is; that's how you all identify others. I understand.”

“But actually!”

“When I identify Wang Lin's grandfather, it's not by his age, nor his appearance, and certainly not the similarity between his grandfather and a stranger, but by continuity.”

“[Similarity]—that is, A and B look very much alike, so you might think they are twins or relatives; but in reality, the two have no connection at all!”

“If [similarity] were enough to define a person...”

“Then the Su City Jiang Zhe and Kyoto Jiang Zhe from the previous example would be the same person, because most of you rely on [similarity] to distinguish others.”

“You rely on appearance to see if someone is your loved one, but in reality, this is wrong!”