Spoiler-y topic that I forgot to mention: If lower dimensional foils continue indefinitely to consume the entire universe and reduce it to a lower dimension, how is this a viable solution for civilizations looking to survive in the universe? Yes, they are destroying other civilizations that could potentially destroy them, but they are also dooming their own civilization in the process. If two civilizations were sufficiently advanced enough to produce their own foils, would it not be like the nuclear arms race between the U.S.A. and Russia where they are effectively gridlocked. Foils seem like bombing an enemy knowing you are also destroyed in their explosion.
I think since the dimensional strikes propagated so much slower when compared to the size of the universe, it was a short sighted fix, passing the buck down to later generations. Kinda like with pollution, we know its a problem, but it won't affect this generation, so the next generation can figure it out. I think it's a continuation of the theme that life has an impact on it's environment. In the first book, there's a scene with a forest being cleared in the background which mirrors the end of the trilogy. Just like humans destroyed their environment, so will alien life destroy the very fabric of existence and space time.
@@tacobanana_forever This is a great take on this. Also depressing. I want to say, "We wouldn't be so reckless as to destroy all of existence." But we seem to be pretty good at doing that on Earth at least.
Life accelerates death it seems. We'll use up our resources on earth and endanger the existence of our species the more ambitious we become, and I think the author wanted to show that it's a law of cosmic sociology?
I'm reminded of Dr. Strangelove here, not as much the mutually assured destruction thing (although that's part of it) but moreso the main "antagonist." One could say that eventually, at some point, someone has to screw it up whether by accident or by some mentally/emotionally compromised person. If a civilization advances technologically enough to have the means to create the weapons of mass destruction (in this case, mass on a dimensional level) then every moment is another roll of the dice as to whether or not everything collapses. btw I just came across your stuff and you do some absolutely brilliant work here. By far the best video I've found when delving into the third book. Thank you! :3
Hi there, I have seen multiple western readers brought up the topic of gender in the third book. And I would like to point out that the cultural differences can make the feeling and reception quite different. From a Chinese reader’s perspective,the masculinity/femininity thing is the same thing as the bestial side/human side wade talks about in his last conversation with cheng xin. In this masculinity represents animalistic aggression, ruthlessness, doing whatever is necessary, while femininity represents kindness, compassion, mildness, peace. Wade is on the masculine side, cheng xin is on the feminine side. We see both fail in different ways. “Masculinity” fails humanity in the doomsday battle, in the great ravine, and causes the whole thing because of all the terrible things that happened to ye wenjie that made her reveal earth to trisolaris in the first place. And more deeply, the entire dark forest and stupid dimensional reduction warfare exists because of it. “Femininity” doesn’t so much fail humanity as it exists in a predatory dark forest universe. The world it created was too good to last in the setting. It was what humanity strived for. People became very refined, life was utopian and without any real struggle. But those were military weaknesses trisolaris exploited to gain an advantage So the book pushes for a balance. The human side of us makes great things, but we need the bestial side to defend us and those great things from hostile forces. Failure happens when there is an inbalance. Too much of the bestial side or too much of the human side.This is a very Chinese/eastern take on the philosophy, sociology, and politics where we strive balance as represented in a lot of other symbolism such as Taichi and Chinese medicine which sometimes can be overlooked by the western audiences. I have seen so many debates and arguments on how Wade is a much better leader compared to Cheng xin when in my opinion only Luo ji was truly suitable as a leader because he strives for the balance and did it decent enough.
i don’t see any of that as an especially chinese point of view at all, its still a masc/fem dichotomy - another failing of the author along with the flat dialogue and characters. and no those aspects of the books are not due to translation.
I would agree if not for the fact that there is a passing comment in the book about how feminine man also exist in Cheng Xin time/Our current modern day, which makes it pretty obvious that the author had some problem with irl feminine man
Thanks for your synopsis. I haven't read any of the books however I would say Chinese Communist totalitarianism focuses too much on the group at the risk of the benefit of the individual, & American capitalism totalitarianism focuses too much on hyper-individualism that outranks/trumps the benefit of the whole planet. Both lead to the same negative results just in inverse ways. Universal evolution proves cooperation is the best survival strategy.
As a woman, I didn’t get offended by this book at all. If I read it when I was younger and felt like I had to prove myself somehow I might have thought this book to be a bit sexist. Now that I’m older I realized that women and men ARE in fact different based on hormones and physicality. There’s no need to force ourselves to believe we are equal in all aspects. Of course both sexes deserve the same human rights but masculinity and femininity is not good or bad, it balances each other out. I believe the people that get upset by it are either projecting, in denial, too prideful, or has a personal agenda.
As a woman, I 100% echo this. As a species, we depend on testosterone to conquer things and survive. The balance we bring as women is invaluable for respite and rejuvenation but to battle a hostile alien race, you better believe I’d put The Rock on the front line before I sent Mother Teresa 😂 I quite enjoyed the thought experiment that was shown with the effeminate society. My take away was that there is a time and place for femininity, but it is NOT on the front line of a war within the Dark Forest of the cosmos.
Technically, human race survived all the way toward the end of the universe. It's just solar system got wiped out. So those humans who escape the solar system, they managed to keep the human race going. Whether they stayed human or became beasts... well...
I have finished all 3 Body Problem audiobooks this month, they were incredible. I was blown away! 06:02 I was not frustrated by wallfacers like you did :)
Great book, and inspired me to get back into physics. The concepts contained within that book are, IMHO, very close to how I think it truly is in the universe at large.
So who really is responsible for the end of human civilization? How far do we follow the chain of responsibility? Was it Cheng Xin ordering Wade to disarm Halo? Humanity itself for electing Cheng Xin to Swordholder? Ye Winjie for sending the message? Or the person who killed her father during the Struggle Session? No matter who ultimately is to blame is irrelevant.
You said it perfectly. He wrote himself in a corner MANY times. I got frustrated with the lazy writing. There was a pattern of despair and then some coincidence or some person would come up with the answer on the spot. It got so bad at the end, that I just couldn’t stomach the end. Just pure lazy writing bs. That said, the theoretical ideas and sci fi elements are worth the read.
I really enjoyed this book and the series as a whole (if a near constant feeling of dread can be enjoyable). The concept of scale is something that kept coming to my mind. Humanities inability to comprehend the scale of events, actions, social changes, the universe and the laws of physics and our role in them. We are almost hard coded to think selfishly, as a species (even as an individual) that we are the most important things to exist. We're the centre of the universe so to speak. Some of that is impossible to escape, but this series nails that humanity, absolutely does not matter (and thats ok). We aren't the biggest, strongest or smartest civilisation in the universe. We aren't more brave or determined than other civilisations - all life wants to exist and all life wants to grow. Life will fight to survive, which can be equal parts amazing and totally and utterly, boringly predicable. The alien that ends up sending out the dimension bomb, uses a weapon that isn't a big deal to them, with destroying other life / potential threats, so that they can survive a fraction longer (in terms of the universes existence) is a job for the lowest in their society. The alien isn't even really focused, as they are called out for thinking about the civil war that is going on in their own civilisation. Humanity does not matter. Again, thats ok. Another thing that hit me, is the whole time humanity spent (800 years or so) worrying and building and planning, ended up as borderline useless for 99.9999% of the human race.
Funny, but the only thing i've learned from these novels is that peaceful cooperation is the only solution. You just have to trust, if you like it or not.
I've often asked people who think the characters in all three books are incredibly shallow to explain why and give me examples of good characters in other science fiction books, and no one has ever given me an objective answer. I could say that they are very accustomed to only overly character-focused literature, but I prefer to state that they have failed to grasp that the Universe is the true protagonist of the trilogy. However, I must admit that Cheng Xin made me frustrated enough that I put the book down for a few days. I read the first and second book in five days, it took me four days to read the third one, not counting the days I didn't even touch the book. She's an interesting character at the beginning of the book, but I think having the third book so focused on her was a mistake. The parts in Deep-Blue and Gravity were the best for me. As far as I know, the publisher forced Liu Cixin to create her as the protagonist. I wonder how much more in the third book had to be changed to please the publishers and western readers. The social criticism and hard sci-fi parts were still by far the strongest points of the book. I see the trilogy as being a flawed masterpiece.
My favorite series, right next to the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. Both explore similar dark and existential themes. It all kinda “connects”: as a reasonably logical man I find myself intrigued by both of the series endings and conclusions are very similar in an archetypal sense. Both mind blowing still.
This is the first time I’ve watched one of his reviews and I felt such a disconnect with how much he enjoyed the book and the way he was talking about it. Was still struck when he commented on his enjoyment at the end of it
I don't think it's about them knowing whether Cheng Xin is going to press the button or not... It's more about Trisolarans ultimately learning the concept of deception, a concept they took a while to understand and execute, convincing humans that they can co-exist together which Cheng Xin fell for... Trisolarans would eventually destroy all the broadcasters using droplet even before she could do anything. They knew she would hesitate to make the decision that would finally be the beginning of the end of the human race... In either case there would still be half of humans that would despise Cheng Xin for her action or in-action... Isn't that the argument the author was trying to make... There is no way all humans could come to common consensus whether it's related to escapism or anything else there will always be someone who would disagree...😂😂
nop, Trisolarans would not be able to destroy all broadcasters using the droplets. the droplets took 15 minutes to do it, at their fastest speed. she had plenty of time to press the button, but they knew she wasn’t going to do it ( 10% probability ). it’s not really her fault. the problem was democracy 😅, no one from that era would press the button, they were all about peace and love. that’s why the people choose someone like them to be the swordholder, a peace and love person, they would have never choose a person like Wade.
@@SachinJames89I don’t think that’s the case. she has two options at this point. 1) don’t press the button and allow the annihilation of the human race (because they didn’t know the trisolorians would allow them to live) 2) press the button and be responsible for the possible annihilation of both trisolorians and the human race (but not really, they at least would have a change to flee and find a new home in space) She chooses option 1. nuclear deterrence doesn’t work if the other side know you wouldn’t press the button.
I read cheng zing / luo ji as the 2 sides of humanity, and the male / female aspect just reinforces that dichotomy. Both are loved or hated depending on how society has changed over time. Both facets of humanity have their benefits and drawbacks. Its foreshadowed back in book 1 that trisolarians had great advancement in earlier free democratic eras, but were ultimately not resilient enough during a crisis due to individual wants and needs.
Honestly idk why people go to that argument - I’ve always said the same thing you bring up about Ye Wenjie and Cheng Xin. Ye Wenjie was heavy AF - had she had a second chance and been in Cheng Xin’s position she probably would have hit the button.
Ye Wenjie did have a second chance, and she redeemed herself by introducing Luo Ji to galactic sociology. Without which there would not be a Deterrence Era.
@@davidw.2467 exactly my friend; that is my point too, although I appreciate the correction (but I meant chance in a different way, though I do agree your comment pretty much reflects my point).
When I hear phrases like "survival of the human race" posited as a moral good in a cosmological context, I'm confused. In the end, everything dies. In the end even 'unliving' things change form. So in that larger context, humanity's continued survival isn't a moral question: that humanity will end both on an individual and collective level is a key point of these books. And the decisions made by these characters are sort of beyond moral judgement anyway. It's akin to calling a caveman immoral if they pressed the button on a nuclear device. They're just ignorant, which isn't necessarily immoral. Concurrently, there's an interesting question. Let's say humans reach a point technologically where we can prolong our existence 'forever'. Wouldn't we would be changed into something inhuman as we know it, w a whole different morality and ideology? On another note, that concept of quantum physicists (that consciousness shapes the universe) begs another question: if aliens exist does it matter to the universe whose eyes it uses to navel gaze at itself with? Or is it the conceit of every sentient species that it brings something special to that act? I think our current mortality (not to be confused with morality), and ideology surrounding that mortality, blinds us to a lot of other understanding. But I suppose the conundrum is that 'we' have to live long enough to get to that understanding lol.
I absolutely loved the plot, the hard sci-fi and weirdly, also the side characters and side stories (the story of Blue Space and Gravity alone is a masterpiece). But some of the main characters, especially Cheng Xin, were not my thing. Things just happen for here every step of the way. Felt to me like she was guided through pre-determined scenes and not like a character who makes her own decisions and evolves. The only characterization she got is that she is dead inside because of the stuff that happened to her. But she doesn't act like it. I liked Luo Ji though! The first Swordholder
@@clouds5 I'm right there with you. This was a major criticism of another book I loved (American Gods). I think we're so used to storytelling principles that set us in strong relation to characters, but every once in a while I appreciate a writer with the skill to make the story beyond said characters which tend to need grand plots to captivate us. I think it's a feature of this style of storytelling rather than a bug. Done right I love it. Luo Ji is the best.
The story of blue space and gravity could be adapted into a great stand alone novella, or great source material for a movie! Glad to see others enjoyed that part too, it’s my favorite
I mean tbh I didn't think the book was sexist because Cheng Xin is passive or w/e. I thought it was weird how often it's mentioned that "men don't look like men anymore." I didn't see the purpose of that. I mean if it were a passing observation after hibernation, sure, but constantly it's like "THIS man was clearly a Man™" like OK. Was there supposed to be something deeper about it? Maybe. I found it distracting. Especially since every manly man was attractive. It's like...did you fill the world with "unattractive femboys" just so your main character wouldn't fall in love with someone they could see and touch instead of someone lightyears away? It felt more like a parroting of manosphere talking points than connecting it to the world and philosophy. I know this was written in China but I've interacted with enough Chinese media to know that "men aren't men anymore" is an argument globally. Feels more homophobic than sexist, but like same idea of gender roles being absolute. I don't know. Every time masculinity (or lack thereof) was mentioned I just felt like rolling my eyes. We get it. This is your least interesting point. Find a new metaphor if you want to explore it more in depth, but please stop obsessing over how manly these men are.
In the 3rd book Yun Tianming and Cheng Xin had a visual communication. In the backdrop was the inner chamber of the Trisolaran's ship and growing crops as Yun's food. So it's most probable that the Trisolaran had reconstructed Yun's body.
The books are certainly not perfect. The whole launch a brain into space so you can spy on aliens idea is idiotic and backfires on humanity. But even the wall breaker idea is dumb. Why would you only assign one person to figure out what a wall facer’s plan is? Any cop show would tell you that using a group of people is a better idea to figure out what one person is trying to do.
Death's end has really had a profound effect on my life. Nobody asks me to make them a cup of tea anymore 🥷🍵 Joking aside, I love how the whole tale plays out, the way the themes are woven in. The one issue that does pull me out (especially 3 body, Death's end) is the use of Devil in the translation. It's used so frequently for everything remotely Evil or devious. I'm quite surprised repeating descriptors like that aren't picked up and naturalised a little. The whole work is a solid 9/10 👌 I think deaths end is the weakest for me in terms of technical story telling, but the big ideas, and set piece moments work for me. It does feel like a story written to hit those predefined moments. I don't think Cheng Zing or AAIAAaaiiii pass for PHD scientists in the way they're written. This wasn't an issue with the female characters in 3 body.
Spoiler-y topic that I forgot to mention:
If lower dimensional foils continue indefinitely to consume the entire universe and reduce it to a lower dimension, how is this a viable solution for civilizations looking to survive in the universe? Yes, they are destroying other civilizations that could potentially destroy them, but they are also dooming their own civilization in the process. If two civilizations were sufficiently advanced enough to produce their own foils, would it not be like the nuclear arms race between the U.S.A. and Russia where they are effectively gridlocked. Foils seem like bombing an enemy knowing you are also destroyed in their explosion.
I think since the dimensional strikes propagated so much slower when compared to the size of the universe, it was a short sighted fix, passing the buck down to later generations. Kinda like with pollution, we know its a problem, but it won't affect this generation, so the next generation can figure it out.
I think it's a continuation of the theme that life has an impact on it's environment. In the first book, there's a scene with a forest being cleared in the background which mirrors the end of the trilogy. Just like humans destroyed their environment, so will alien life destroy the very fabric of existence and space time.
@@tacobanana_forever This is a great take on this. Also depressing. I want to say, "We wouldn't be so reckless as to destroy all of existence." But we seem to be pretty good at doing that on Earth at least.
Life accelerates death it seems. We'll use up our resources on earth and endanger the existence of our species the more ambitious we become, and I think the author wanted to show that it's a law of cosmic sociology?
It's also implied that singers race is preparing to become 2 dimensional, so yes they lose a dimension but still survivr
I'm reminded of Dr. Strangelove here, not as much the mutually assured destruction thing (although that's part of it) but moreso the main "antagonist." One could say that eventually, at some point, someone has to screw it up whether by accident or by some mentally/emotionally compromised person. If a civilization advances technologically enough to have the means to create the weapons of mass destruction (in this case, mass on a dimensional level) then every moment is another roll of the dice as to whether or not everything collapses.
btw I just came across your stuff and you do some absolutely brilliant work here. By far the best video I've found when delving into the third book. Thank you! :3
Hi there, I have seen multiple western readers brought up the topic of gender in the third book. And I would like to point out that the cultural differences can make the feeling and reception quite different.
From a Chinese reader’s perspective,the masculinity/femininity thing is the same thing as the bestial side/human side wade talks about in his last conversation with cheng xin.
In this masculinity represents animalistic aggression, ruthlessness, doing whatever is necessary, while femininity represents kindness, compassion, mildness, peace. Wade is on the masculine side, cheng xin is on the feminine side.
We see both fail in different ways. “Masculinity” fails humanity in the doomsday battle, in the great ravine, and causes the whole thing because of all the terrible things that happened to ye wenjie that made her reveal earth to trisolaris in the first place. And more deeply, the entire dark forest and stupid dimensional reduction warfare exists because of it.
“Femininity” doesn’t so much fail humanity as it exists in a predatory dark forest universe. The world it created was too good to last in the setting. It was what humanity strived for. People became very refined, life was utopian and without any real struggle. But those were military weaknesses trisolaris exploited to gain an advantage
So the book pushes for a balance. The human side of us makes great things, but we need the bestial side to defend us and those great things from hostile forces. Failure happens when there is an inbalance. Too much of the bestial side or too much of the human side.This is a very Chinese/eastern take on the philosophy, sociology, and politics where we strive balance as represented in a lot of other symbolism such as Taichi and Chinese medicine which sometimes can be overlooked by the western audiences. I have seen so many debates and arguments on how Wade is a much better leader compared to Cheng xin when in my opinion only Luo ji was truly suitable as a leader because he strives for the balance and did it decent enough.
i don’t see any of that as an especially chinese point of view at all, its still a masc/fem dichotomy - another failing of the author along with the flat dialogue and characters. and no those aspects of the books are not due to translation.
I would agree if not for the fact that there is a passing comment in the book about how feminine man also exist in Cheng Xin time/Our current modern day, which makes it pretty obvious that the author had some problem with irl feminine man
The author did not have any problems with the feminine men, it was Da Shi
Thanks for your synopsis. I haven't read any of the books however I would say Chinese Communist totalitarianism focuses too much on the group at the risk of the benefit of the individual, & American capitalism totalitarianism focuses too much on hyper-individualism that outranks/trumps the benefit of the whole planet. Both lead to the same negative results just in inverse ways. Universal evolution proves cooperation is the best survival strategy.
Agree!!
As a woman, I didn’t get offended by this book at all. If I read it when I was younger and felt like I had to prove myself somehow I might have thought this book to be a bit sexist. Now that I’m older I realized that women and men ARE in fact different based on hormones and physicality. There’s no need to force ourselves to believe we are equal in all aspects. Of course both sexes deserve the same human rights but masculinity and femininity is not good or bad, it balances each other out. I believe the people that get upset by it are either projecting, in denial, too prideful, or has a personal agenda.
As a woman, I 100% echo this. As a species, we depend on testosterone to conquer things and survive. The balance we bring as women is invaluable for respite and rejuvenation but to battle a hostile alien race, you better believe I’d put The Rock on the front line before I sent Mother Teresa 😂
I quite enjoyed the thought experiment that was shown with the effeminate society. My take away was that there is a time and place for femininity, but it is NOT on the front line of a war within the Dark Forest of the cosmos.
Technically, human race survived all the way toward the end of the universe. It's just solar system got wiped out. So those humans who escape the solar system, they managed to keep the human race going. Whether they stayed human or became beasts... well...
I have finished all 3 Body Problem audiobooks this month, they were incredible. I was blown away! 06:02 I was not frustrated by wallfacers like you did :)
Great book, and inspired me to get back into physics.
The concepts contained within that book are, IMHO, very close to how I think it truly is in the universe at large.
So who really is responsible for the end of human civilization? How far do we follow the chain of responsibility? Was it Cheng Xin ordering Wade to disarm Halo? Humanity itself for electing Cheng Xin to Swordholder? Ye Winjie for sending the message? Or the person who killed her father during the Struggle Session? No matter who ultimately is to blame is irrelevant.
Why is it irrelevant?
You said it perfectly. He wrote himself in a corner MANY times. I got frustrated with the lazy writing. There was a pattern of despair and then some coincidence or some person would come up with the answer on the spot. It got so bad at the end, that I just couldn’t stomach the end. Just pure lazy writing bs.
That said, the theoretical ideas and sci fi elements are worth the read.
That intro had me shivering, bro. Super well done.
Glad to see another video Eric!
Thank you for this!
Great job on this video
Great video man!
I really enjoyed this book and the series as a whole (if a near constant feeling of dread can be enjoyable). The concept of scale is something that kept coming to my mind. Humanities inability to comprehend the scale of events, actions, social changes, the universe and the laws of physics and our role in them. We are almost hard coded to think selfishly, as a species (even as an individual) that we are the most important things to exist. We're the centre of the universe so to speak. Some of that is impossible to escape, but this series nails that humanity, absolutely does not matter (and thats ok). We aren't the biggest, strongest or smartest civilisation in the universe. We aren't more brave or determined than other civilisations - all life wants to exist and all life wants to grow. Life will fight to survive, which can be equal parts amazing and totally and utterly, boringly predicable. The alien that ends up sending out the dimension bomb, uses a weapon that isn't a big deal to them, with destroying other life / potential threats, so that they can survive a fraction longer (in terms of the universes existence) is a job for the lowest in their society. The alien isn't even really focused, as they are called out for thinking about the civil war that is going on in their own civilisation. Humanity does not matter. Again, thats ok. Another thing that hit me, is the whole time humanity spent (800 years or so) worrying and building and planning, ended up as borderline useless for 99.9999% of the human race.
Funny, but the only thing i've learned from these novels is that peaceful cooperation is the only solution. You just have to trust, if you like it or not.
Highly recommend to read now the inofficial 4th book of the series, "The redemption of time" by Baoshu
I've often asked people who think the characters in all three books are incredibly shallow to explain why and give me examples of good characters in other science fiction books, and no one has ever given me an objective answer.
I could say that they are very accustomed to only overly character-focused literature, but I prefer to state that they have failed to grasp that the Universe is the true protagonist of the trilogy.
However, I must admit that Cheng Xin made me frustrated enough that I put the book down for a few days. I read the first and second book in five days, it took me four days to read the third one, not counting the days I didn't even touch the book.
She's an interesting character at the beginning of the book, but I think having the third book so focused on her was a mistake.
The parts in Deep-Blue and Gravity were the best for me.
As far as I know, the publisher forced Liu Cixin to create her as the protagonist. I wonder how much more in the third book had to be changed to please the publishers and western readers.
The social criticism and hard sci-fi parts were still by far the strongest points of the book.
I see the trilogy as being a flawed masterpiece.
When you say 'all three books', are you saying that the 4th book in the series is so bad you want to forget about it?
My favorite series, right next to the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. Both explore similar dark and existential themes. It all kinda “connects”: as a reasonably logical man I find myself intrigued by both of the series endings and conclusions are very similar in an archetypal sense. Both mind blowing still.
This is the first time I’ve watched one of his reviews and I felt such a disconnect with how much he enjoyed the book and the way he was talking about it. Was still struck when he commented on his enjoyment at the end of it
What about the way I was talking about it made you feel like I didn't like the book?
They sent the foil to defeat the bunker project
I read the first two books and watched the Netflix series. I am now liking hard sci fi books. How do you like the Netflix show so far?
I don't think it's about them knowing whether Cheng Xin is going to press the button or not... It's more about Trisolarans ultimately learning the concept of deception, a concept they took a while to understand and execute, convincing humans that they can co-exist together which Cheng Xin fell for... Trisolarans would eventually destroy all the broadcasters using droplet even before she could do anything. They knew she would hesitate to make the decision that would finally be the beginning of the end of the human race...
In either case there would still be half of humans that would despise Cheng Xin for her action or in-action... Isn't that the argument the author was trying to make... There is no way all humans could come to common consensus whether it's related to escapism or anything else there will always be someone who would disagree...😂😂
Your first paragraph contradicts.
nop, Trisolarans would not be able to destroy all broadcasters using the droplets. the droplets took 15 minutes to do it, at their fastest speed.
she had plenty of time to press the button, but they knew she wasn’t going to do it ( 10% probability ).
it’s not really her fault.
the problem was democracy 😅, no one from that era would press the button, they were all about peace and love. that’s why the people choose someone like them to be the swordholder, a peace and love person, they would have never choose a person like Wade.
@@calitb I guess Self-Preservation for humans kicked in...
@@SachinJames89I don’t think that’s the case. she has two options at this point.
1) don’t press the button and allow the annihilation of the human race (because they didn’t know the trisolorians would allow them to live)
2) press the button and be responsible for the possible annihilation of both trisolorians and the human race (but not really, they at least would have a change to flee and find a new home in space)
She chooses option 1.
nuclear deterrence doesn’t work if the other side know you wouldn’t press the button.
I read cheng zing / luo ji as the 2 sides of humanity, and the male / female aspect just reinforces that dichotomy. Both are loved or hated depending on how society has changed over time. Both facets of humanity have their benefits and drawbacks. Its foreshadowed back in book 1 that trisolarians had great advancement in earlier free democratic eras, but were ultimately not resilient enough during a crisis due to individual wants and needs.
Nice job!
Who wouldn't choose Wade? He's a boss. No fucks given
Great analysis
Honestly idk why people go to that argument - I’ve always said the same thing you bring up about Ye Wenjie and Cheng Xin. Ye Wenjie was heavy AF - had she had a second chance and been in Cheng Xin’s position she probably would have hit the button.
Ye Wenjie did have a second chance, and she redeemed herself by introducing Luo Ji to galactic sociology. Without which there would not be a Deterrence Era.
@@davidw.2467 exactly my friend; that is my point too, although I appreciate the correction (but I meant chance in a different way, though I do agree your comment pretty much reflects my point).
When I hear phrases like "survival of the human race" posited as a moral good in a cosmological context, I'm confused. In the end, everything dies. In the end even 'unliving' things change form. So in that larger context, humanity's continued survival isn't a moral question: that humanity will end both on an individual and collective level is a key point of these books. And the decisions made by these characters are sort of beyond moral judgement anyway. It's akin to calling a caveman immoral if they pressed the button on a nuclear device. They're just ignorant, which isn't necessarily immoral.
Concurrently, there's an interesting question. Let's say humans reach a point technologically where we can prolong our existence 'forever'. Wouldn't we would be changed into something inhuman as we know it, w a whole different morality and ideology?
On another note, that concept of quantum physicists (that consciousness shapes the universe) begs another question: if aliens exist does it matter to the universe whose eyes it uses to navel gaze at itself with? Or is it the conceit of every sentient species that it brings something special to that act?
I think our current mortality (not to be confused with morality), and ideology surrounding that mortality, blinds us to a lot of other understanding. But I suppose the conundrum is that 'we' have to live long enough to get to that understanding lol.
Wonderful insights
@@patriciablue2739 thank you!
I absolutely loved the plot, the hard sci-fi and weirdly, also the side characters and side stories (the story of Blue Space and Gravity alone is a masterpiece). But some of the main characters, especially Cheng Xin, were not my thing. Things just happen for here every step of the way. Felt to me like she was guided through pre-determined scenes and not like a character who makes her own decisions and evolves. The only characterization she got is that she is dead inside because of the stuff that happened to her. But she doesn't act like it. I liked Luo Ji though! The first Swordholder
@@clouds5 I'm right there with you. This was a major criticism of another book I loved (American Gods). I think we're so used to storytelling principles that set us in strong relation to characters, but every once in a while I appreciate a writer with the skill to make the story beyond said characters which tend to need grand plots to captivate us. I think it's a feature of this style of storytelling rather than a bug. Done right I love it.
Luo Ji is the best.
The story of blue space and gravity could be adapted into a great stand alone novella, or great source material for a movie! Glad to see others enjoyed that part too, it’s my favorite
I mean tbh I didn't think the book was sexist because Cheng Xin is passive or w/e. I thought it was weird how often it's mentioned that "men don't look like men anymore." I didn't see the purpose of that. I mean if it were a passing observation after hibernation, sure, but constantly it's like "THIS man was clearly a Man™" like OK. Was there supposed to be something deeper about it? Maybe. I found it distracting. Especially since every manly man was attractive. It's like...did you fill the world with "unattractive femboys" just so your main character wouldn't fall in love with someone they could see and touch instead of someone lightyears away?
It felt more like a parroting of manosphere talking points than connecting it to the world and philosophy. I know this was written in China but I've interacted with enough Chinese media to know that "men aren't men anymore" is an argument globally. Feels more homophobic than sexist, but like same idea of gender roles being absolute.
I don't know. Every time masculinity (or lack thereof) was mentioned I just felt like rolling my eyes. We get it. This is your least interesting point. Find a new metaphor if you want to explore it more in depth, but please stop obsessing over how manly these men are.
Later on Yun Tianming is an artificial human like Sophon?
In the 3rd book Yun Tianming and Cheng Xin had a visual communication. In the backdrop was the inner chamber of the Trisolaran's ship and growing crops as Yun's food. So it's most probable that the Trisolaran had reconstructed Yun's body.
finally an update!
The books are certainly not perfect. The whole launch a brain into space so you can spy on aliens idea is idiotic and backfires on humanity. But even the wall breaker idea is dumb. Why would you only assign one person to figure out what a wall facer’s plan is? Any cop show would tell you that using a group of people is a better idea to figure out what one person is trying to do.
XX? Its AA LOL
@@Conkee1711 did I say XX? Lol whoops! 😂
She's only an XX, not a warrior
background music too distracting
Gosh you're beautiful
Completely out of topic. Just wanted to say you're one fine looking man. Gorgeous eyes
Death's end has really had a profound effect on my life.
Nobody asks me to make them a cup of tea anymore 🥷🍵
Joking aside, I love how the whole tale plays out, the way the themes are woven in. The one issue that does pull me out (especially 3 body, Death's end) is the use of Devil in the translation. It's used so frequently for everything remotely
Evil or devious. I'm quite surprised repeating descriptors like that aren't picked up and naturalised a little.
The whole work is a solid 9/10 👌
I think deaths end is the weakest for me in terms of technical story telling, but the big ideas, and set piece moments work for me. It does feel like a story written to hit those predefined moments. I don't think Cheng Zing or AAIAAaaiiii pass for PHD scientists in the way they're written. This wasn't an issue with the female characters in 3 body.