Ke Xun's question suddenly left everyone bewildered. Using scientific theories to explain a supernatural event seemed utterly absurd, yet the question couldn't be pondered too deeply, for the thought was chilling.
If supernatural forces truly exist, then is all scientific research still meaningful? Is it true, as some scientists have feared, that if everything in the universe is truly random, unpredictable, or beyond the bounds of natural laws, then science becomes utterly useless?
Those who considered this point couldn't help but shudder. Deng Lin gritted his teeth and said, "No, although I can't explain everything I see, I still believe in science. Unexplainable phenomena don't necessarily mean they're outside the realm of nature. It's very likely just because our understanding is still too limited. Our current knowledge is insignificant compared to the entire universe, so we consider things beyond our knowledge as supernatural phenomena. But I believe all phenomena are natural phenomena!"
Zhu Haowen nodded and said, "Your view is similar to Einstein's in some ways. The fundamental issue in the debate between the two schools of thought in physics mentioned earlier lies here.
The orthodox school, which supports randomness, believes that physical quantities in the microscopic world inherently possess a certain degree of randomness and cannot be precisely predicted. All measured results are merely probabilistic. The orthodox school argues that if we can't even precisely predict the quantum state of a single particle, how can we predict the macroscopic material world?"
"To give an example, there are many things in this world that cannot be accurately predicted, such as the result of a lottery draw, the strength and speed of the wind, tomorrow's weather, and the number rolled on the dice next time.
"But Einstein believed that these things are not truly random; it's just that our knowledge is currently limited, and we haven't acquired enough knowledge to predict them.
"For example, with a lottery draw, if we knew the forces acting on each point of the ball and the distribution of airflow around it, we could predict the result. Similarly, if we could understand the movement of every air molecule, we could accurately determine future weather. ①
"The reason these phenomena appear random now is because we lack the knowledge to understand them and don't have enough data to support them. Therefore, in Einstein's view, there is no true randomness in the world; so-called randomness is merely a manifestation of insufficient understanding due to a lack of knowledge."
"So you mean," Shao Ling looked at Zhu Haowen, "that everything we experience isn't necessarily a supernatural force, but rather another scientific phenomenon existing in this world, only that humanity hasn't yet grasped it or discovered the related knowledge?" "
I don't think so," Zhu Haowen said calmly. "Einstein's mechanical determinism has been spawned by some people into fatalism. Fatalists believe that since Einstein said that all phenomena in the universe are like machines, with certain laws and trajectories, and that the previous moment determines the next moment, doesn't that mean that all of our fates are already predetermined, that everything is proceeding according to a pre-set program, and that our life and death are already predetermined, so no matter how hard we try, those who are destined to die will still die? But I am not a fatalist, I don't believe in fate."
"In fact, Einstein did not completely deny the randomness of quantum phenomena," Mu Yiran said. "He just believed that the random phenomena of the microscopic world cannot represent the essence of the entire universe, and that we should try to establish new theories to explain these randomnesses."
"Brothers," Luo Yu raised his hand, "I still don't understand why we went from rolling dice to topics like quantum mechanics? You guys remind me of the fear of being dominated by my physics teacher in high school." "
I don't think the program's mention of 'Does God play dice?' is just meaningless rambling; it must have a purpose," Zhu Haowen said. "After all, in the history of physics, shortly after Einstein uttered that famous statement, the famous theory of 'Schrödinger's cat' was born. You see, the problem of Schrödinger's cat was proposed by Schrödinger, a fellow classical physicist like Einstein, and this painting is named after him; I think there's a necessary connection between the two."
"I don't understand the significance of this experiment," Deng Lin frowned. "The cat is both alive and dead; this situation simply cannot exist in the real world." "
As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Qi Muhuan and Dong Yao, who were still unconscious on the ground, their mouths missing, looking exceptionally eerie. When he said 'both dead and alive,' their half-dead state became even more chilling.
Deng Lin couldn't help but shudder and quickly looked away, turning to Qin Ci, who seemed to have the best temper among the old members.
Qin Ci then looked at Zhu Haowen: 'Haowen, let me explain this. I wasn't very good at science in school.'
'That's the point,' Zhu Haowen continued, picking up where Deng Lin left off. 'You know that light has wave-particle duality, right?'
'So?' Deng Lin asked.
'Light has always been considered the smallest form of matter. It's an electromagnetic wave, yet it also has particle properties,' Zhu Haowen said. 'And the 'matter-wave hypothesis' posits that wave-particle duality isn't unique to photons; all microscopic particles possess it.'"
"All matter in the macroscopic world, including humans, is composed of a large number of microscopic particles. Therefore, by this calculation, humans and cats also exhibit wave-particle duality.
"Then the problem arises: orthodox schools believe that quantum phenomena possess randomness and uncertainty; without measurement, it's impossible to determine their position, mass, and velocity. At this point, all possible states are entangled, which can be understood as a 'superposition.'
"The classical school's Schrödinger thus proposed the cat experiment. Since a cat is also composed of a large number of microscopic particles, it also possesses wave-particle duality and the orthodox school's so-called randomness and uncertainty.
"Putting a cat in a box filled with poison gas, before opening the box—equivalent to before measuring it—according to orthodox schools, the cat's state is currently 'entangled,' a superposition of life and death. Only by opening the box, that is, 'measuring' it, can we determine whether it is alive or dead."
"However, as you said, in the real world, even if a cat is locked in a box, it can't be in a superposition of life and death. Such a state is impossible. Schrödinger used this example to satirize the so-called uncertainty of quantum phenomena by orthodox schools."
"Then what does this cat have to do with rolling dice?" the girl with long hair asked.
"Perhaps finding the relationship between them will lead to the signature," Zhu Haowen said.
"Using dice to decide how to test us, doesn't that represent the randomness of fate?" Ke Xun asked.
"So I think Chengshi is on the side of the orthodox faction," Mu Yiran continued. "Ke Xun and I learned from interviewing Chengshi's neighbors and relatives that he had a strong interest in physics during his school years, and this interest influenced the style and thought-provoking nature of his paintings. The reason we think he's on the orthodox side is because he used the randomness of rolling dice to decide how to test us, and the painting is titled 'Schrödinger's Cat,' which probably has another deeper meaning. I think it's closely related to finding his son, as far as I know…"
Mu Yiran had just finished speaking when he was suddenly interrupted by a warning sound. Everyone quickly looked at the large screen on the wall and saw a line of large, flashing black text: [Please roll the dice, 60 seconds countdown]
Everyone was startled. Wei Dong scratched his head, "It's starting again? How long have we been resting? Is the time for each round of dice rolls random too?"
Ke Xun suddenly realized something and rushed over to check on Dong Yao and Qi Muhuan, only to find that the two had already stopped breathing and were now corpses.
Ke Xun took out his phone to check the time and saw that it was 9:00 AM.
"The time is wrong," Ke Xun said. "Time passes faster here than outside. I feel like we only spent two or three hours analyzing the clues, but the time on the phone is obviously following the time in the painting. An afternoon and a whole night have passed in the painting." "
There's no time to think about the reason. There are only 10 seconds left," Shao Ling said. "We must—"
Before he could finish speaking, Fang Fei had already taken two steps forward and tapped the dice icon.
The dice spun rapidly, and after a while, they slowly stopped, displaying a 4.
Everyone tensed, staring intently at the large screen in front of them. The dice icon disappeared, replaced by new text:
[Dad, are all theorems and laws necessarily correct?]
[At least, within the scientific system built upon humanity's current understanding, what is defined as a theorem is correct.]
[In other words, if one day humanity makes a new discovery that overturns a previous theorem, then the previous theorem is wrong?]
[Yes, not just theorems, but many other situations. For example, when Dad was young, people always thought there were nine planets in the solar system. However, in 2006, Pluto, one of the nine planets, was removed from the list and redefined as a "dwarf planet." The reason was that astronomers in the US had miscalculated Pluto's mass; it's less than the Moon's mass, and some celestial bodies in its orbit are larger than it, making its inclusion among the nine planets inappropriate. This is a typical example of using new knowledge to overturn old knowledge.] [
So, Dad, I personally believe that what schools should teach us is how to question and discover the known and unknown aspects of this world, not to unconditionally believe in things defined by "American astronomers," which may one day be overturned like the nine planets.
Since everything that happens in this world cannot be guaranteed to always and completely operate according to theorems and laws, what is the point of rote memorization without questioning, and using this as an exam to determine a student's worth and future life path?
I think the purpose of learning should not be to use an exam to determine our life direction and define our level of wisdom, but rather to teach us how to investigate things thoroughly, to think about life and create life in a clear, objective, critical, thorough, and imaginative way.]
After this dialogue between the program and his son disappeared, it was replaced by new text:
[The World of Laws]