British writer

Zhuang Sheng Xiaomeng...

Bergson thought to himself and took out his notebook.

"Sir Lu, can you say it again?"

Lu Shi repeated Zhuang Sheng's allusion to Xiao Meng.

Bergson took notes.

Margarita covered her lips and snickered,

"Teacher, you have another student."

Lu Shi shouldn't be surprised, he has long been used to it.

He reminded: "Mr. Bergson, there is no need to belittle yourself, because there are similar fables in the West. If I remember correctly, there seems to be one in Plato's "The Republic"."

Bergson pondered,

"You mean the Allegory of the Cave?"

The gist of the fable is:

A group of prisoners live in a cave. Their hands and feet are tied and they cannot turn around. They can only turn their backs to the entrance of the cave.

There was a wall in front of them and a fire burning behind them,

So they saw the shadows of themselves and things on the wall, thinking the shadows were real. It wasn't until someone crawled out of the cave that they discovered the real world.

Bergson said: "I think it is somewhat different from Zhuang Sheng's Dream. The Allegory of the Cave is mentioned in "The Republic", and its essence is to reveal that a kind of self-awareness can be formed through subjective and objective experience."

His summary was very professional,

Lu Shi shrugged.

"Okay, I'm just giving an example."

He thought for a while and then asked: "So, what about Descartes' devil?"

René Descartes told a bold fable in Meditations on First Philosophy:

Suppose there is a devil outside the world, who does his best to create a dream to deceive Descartes who is sleeping, and constructs a dream world that is completely real to his own brain.

Even in this dream, the devil forged a complete "body" for Descartes.

Arms, eyes, flesh, blood and even senses...

Nothing seems real.

How to distinguish between reality and illusion?

Descartes was also French, and Bergson certainly knew that.

He pondered for a moment,

"Indeed, this fable is the same at its core as the Brain in a Vat and Zhuang Sheng's Dream. I have read it before, but..."

The next words were not spoken.

Lu Shi was curious,

"Just what?"

Bergson frowned and said: "I wonder why I have profound thoughts after reading "The Brain in a Vat" but not after reading "Meditations on First Philosophy"?"

Lu Shi smiled,

"This is the difference between novels and academic works. Besides, you must have been young when you read Meditations on First Philosophy, right?"

Bergson nodded,

"That certainly seems to be the case."

When reading novels, people are not necessarily "resting", and their thinking may be far more active than imagined;

In contrast, when reading textbooks, people may not be "working hard", and their thinking may be far lazier than imagined.

Therefore, for children with weak self-control, educational and entertaining methods are advocated.

Otherwise, you can only repeat boringly and achieve half the result with twice the result.

Bergson said: "Sir Lu, it is not difficult to see from the examples you gave that you are a knowledgeable and knowledgeable person. More importantly, your knowledgeable and knowledgeable people have also brought you philosophical thinking. I believe, It is these thoughts that led to works like "Brain in a Vat."

It sounds like a compliment, but it's actually a sincere compliment.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Let's get back to the topic."

Bergson followed the advice and asked curiously after thinking for a moment: "By the way, can this thought experiment be cracked?"

Lu Shi pondered.

The brain in a vat has been fully discussed in Hilary Putnam's work,

However, his explanation was very written and not easy to put into words.

Unexpectedly, Margarita next to her said: "Crack the brain in the vat? I'm afraid there is no way~"

Bergson wondered,

"Who is this lady?"

He observed Margarita and found that she was capable and graceful, but it was difficult to guess her identity.

The corners of Her Royal Highness's lips curled up,

"I am Professor Lu's student."

"ah……"

Bergson understood,

"It turns out he is Professor Lu's student. Haha, no wonder."

When he looked at Lu, he showed an expression that every man would understand.

Thought,

Men and women are matched, so work is not tiring.

Sir Lu still knows how to do a good job in academics.

Bergson asked again: "Miss, what should I call you?"

Margarita tapped her chin with her finger,

"Perhaps you can call me Miss Leopoldina?"

"puff!"

Bergson sprayed it on the spot, quickly covered his mouth, and then wiped his palms with a handkerchief.

He said: "So you... I'd better call you 'Your Highness'~"

Margarita replied: "Okay."

Bergson: "..."

Just keep your mouth shut to avoid making too many mistakes.

Lu Shi smiled and said: "Okay, Your Highness Princess, let's talk about the business just now. Why did you say that Brain in a Vat can't be cracked?"

Margarita looked at Bergson,

"Can you lend me your laptop?"

"certainly."

Bergson held out his notebook.

Margarita said: "The notebook cannot tell whether it is being turned by fingers or being turned by the wind."

She walked to the window in the hall and spread her notebook on the window sill.

"Look."

After saying that, he started flipping through the notebook with his fingers.

Suddenly, a gust of autumn wind blew,

She withdrew her hand,

But the notebook still turned through a few pages before stopping.

Margarita explains:

"The moment I switched from fingers to wind, the way the notebook turned pages changed drastically. It was as if the human brain had been cut off and placed in a vat. However, the notebook was very calm and felt nothing. What should I do? Turn the page as you please, how magical it is.”

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Is it amazing?"

Margarita rolled her eyes at him,

"Okay~ okay~ you know it's a notebook, so it's not magical. But that doesn't affect the conclusion."

Bergson next to him looked at Margarita and then at Lu Shi.

I muttered in my heart,

Just now, Her Royal Highness the Princess and Sir Lu were flirting with each other, right?

He admired Lu Shi even more in his heart and murmured:

"sharp!"

Margarita was puzzled;

"What's the problem, Mr. Bergson?"

Of course, Bergson could not tell the truth. He thought quickly and said: "Although I don't know much about physics, I can be sure that the force of the wind turning the paper is definitely different from the force of the fingers giving the paper."

Margarita was speechless,

For a moment, I really didn’t know how to refute.

Lu Shi said, "Your Highness the Princess is just giving an example. What Mr. Bergson said is a bit misleading."

Seeing him defending the princess, Bergson became more and more convinced.

These two are definitely having an affair

Thinking this way, Bergson not only admired Lu Shi, but even felt reverence for him.

Going under the melons and plums in the melon field with the princess is not something that ordinary people can do!

He said: "That's why I think "Brain in a Vat" is more terrifying than "Color of the Stars" and "Call of Cthulhu". Of course, the 'horror' I'm talking about is not the primary level of making scares. Means, those are too boring.”

Margarita was curious,

"That's that kind of thing?"

Bergson said: "Your Highness, you must first consider how the thought experiment of the brain in a vat will affect people's thinking."

Margarita couldn't help but think,

After a while, she said: "If a person believes in it, he will lose the motivation to do anything."

Bergson nodded repeatedly.

"Yes. Value, meaning, identity...even the thought itself will be destroyed, and all that can be done are guesses and assumptions."

the reason is simple,

In a brain-in-a-vat condition, free will does not exist.

Without free will, who would want to live hard?

Lu Shi shook his head,

"You're not right."

"Ah this..."

Bergson leaned forward as if he was listening.

"I do not understand."

Lu Shi said: "You just said, 'All you can do is guess and hypothesis,' but for the brain in the vat, you can't even be sure whether the guess itself happened."

Bergson:! ! !

While looking at Lu in shock, he whispered: "Sir Lu thinks more deeply than I do. Yes, a brain in a vat can't determine anything."

Lu Shi said: "I can probably understand why you think "Brain in a Vat" is scarier than "Color of the Stars" and "Call of Cthulhu". Even existence has become unknown, which is indeed a very scary thing. .”

The atmosphere created by these words sounded to Bergson like the whispers of ancient gods.

He couldn't help but shudder,

"Sir Lu, you are the best horror novelist I have ever seen."

Lu Shi laughed loudly and said, "I think only people like you will be scared by "Brain in a Vat"."

Bergson spread his hands,

"No way, I'm different from most people, and most people are stupid."

There was a hint of arrogance in his tone.

Lu Shi glanced at him,

"You think that wild boars can't eat fine chaff, and people who think less can't enjoy the horror of 'advanced'."

What a "boar can't eat fine chaff"!

Bergson clapped his hands and said happily: "Many people have empty heads and only hold a teaspoon of knowledge. Naturally, they cannot think about profound propositions. Therefore, they can only enjoy ordinary happiness."

"Tsk..."

Margarita was speechless,

"Parisian."

Her Royal Highness believes that Bergson's arrogance perfectly fits the world's stereotype of Parisians.

Lu Shi sighed,

"Mr. Bergson, ordinary people are not ignorant of philosophy. In fact, they may be the most proficient in methodology."

Bergson was confused;

"Sir Lu, what do you mean by this?"

Lu Shi said: "You must know Occam's razor theory, right? 'Don't add entities unless necessary.'"

Occam's razor is a principle proposed by William of Occam, a logician and Franciscan friar in the 13th and 14th centuries.

It also has another name -

The principle of simplicity.

As the most commonly used criterion in the scientific community, it is specifically expressed as:

If multiple theories can explain a certain phenomenon at the same time, then the theory with the fewest assumptions is preferred and this theory is considered the best.

That is to say,

The more concise the inference, the higher the probability.

Bergson was speechless;

As Lu Shi said,

Since Brain in a Vat can't be cracked, don't even think about it.

Bergson said with great admiration: "Sir Lu, in terms of knowledge and magnanimity, you are far superior to ordinary scholars."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"You praise me too much. There is an ancient Hebrew proverb, 'When humans think, God laughs.' I don't believe in God, but I admit that humans are helpless about the limitations of their own thinking. Many thought experiments have no answers."

Thought experiments have no standard answers;

Its purpose is to help humans explore philosophical concepts in a more practical way,

When someone gives an answer to a thought experiment, why they arrived at that answer is as important as the answer itself.

Bergson said: "Sir Lu, a great writer like you actually doesn't need to think."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"What's the meaning?"

Bergson explained: "Your mission is to create. To make others think through creation."

Margarita also echoed: "Literary creation can indeed reflect such profound propositions. "The Brain in a Vat", "Lord of the Flies"... and even "The Divine Comedy" can barely be regarded as Shakespeare's Those works need no introduction.”

That's what making up stories is all about.

Take the brain in a vat as an example,

Masterpieces derived from this basis include:

"The Matrix", "Inception", "Source Code\

,"Which one is not thunderous?

Writing these works, whether in the form of novels or plays, is bound to become a hit.

Unfortunately, Lu Shi doesn't have that much free time now.

He complained: "Your Highness, you will arrange work for me."

He looked around,

"Look at the letters from readers piled up all over the house. I'd better just write "Harry Potter" honestly~"

Margarita sneered,

"Yes, I think so too. During this period, try not to be distracted by writing other works. In order not to let those book fans see you, tie you into a small dark room, beat you with a small leather whip and make you work hard. .”

"hiss……"

Lu Shi gasped,

"Little whip?"

I didn’t expect Her Royal Highness to understand this.

Bergson also nodded and said: "I agree. Sir Lu should finish writing the second "Chamber of Secrets" as soon as possible."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

Margarita:? ? ?

Both of them were confused and asked in unison: "So, you also watch "Harry Potter"?"

Bergson said matter-of-factly: "Of course. For such a popular best-selling work, even if my English is poor, I will try my best to read it. What's more, Sir Lu didn't use any particularly difficult words or sentences. , I didn’t read it very hard.”

Margarita winked at Lu Shi subtly,

"What am I talking about? This is the power of all ages."

Bergson said "hmm".

"All ages, really. Even my grandpa watches Harry Potter. He tried using 'Reparo' on his teeth and found out he was a squib who couldn't cast spells. Of course. , or it may be because his English pronunciation is not standard.”

Lu Shi and Margarita laughed.

Bergson asked curiously: "Speaking of which, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, why did Dumbledore hire the idiot Lockhart as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

Lu Shi was speechless when asked.

"..."

No answer.

Because the other party may really ask about the plot bug.

Rowling, the original author, probably didn't think well enough to make Dumbledore say something very outrageous:

"Ever since I turned down Tom Riddle as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, no one has lasted more than a year."

(PS: Not the first two)

According to the plot, Tom Riddle came to school to apply for a job in 1954.

"Chamber of Secrets" took place in 1992,

In other words, for nearly 40 years, one professor has been lost in this position every year.

For such a high-risk profession, it would be nice to hire someone.

Of course, it is normal for such problems to occur in long novels. After all, even Rowling herself may not have expected that she would write seven books and sell them all.

Lu Shi could only say: "This issue will be revealed in subsequent works of the series."

Bergson said "Ah..."

"Speaking of which, I heard Mr. Poincaré talk about it. Are you going to write seven books in the whole series?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"yes."

Bergson whispered: "Then you have to write quickly. Sir Lu, I am not urging you to update. I am saying this for my grandfather."

Margarita and Lu Shi laughed again.