Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 103 - 105 New Civilization History

Chapter 103: Chapter 105 New Civilization History

Academician Ding turned his head when he heard their conversation.

He said softly with a sigh, “Do you find it somewhat ridiculous, somewhat powerless? These days, we’ve been discussing how to repair the technological hidden dangers left by our predecessors. But there are even greater dangers around us, social and cultural dangers.”

“Such dangers are hidden within our civilization. Who knows how many there are. Ethnic conflicts, ideological clashes, any small issue could potentially become a big problem. Even if the decision-makers are aware, they often don’t know how to resolve them…”

“You know, how much we’ve sacrificed to develop space? We can’t just stop our endeavors because of some hidden dangers.”

It’s hard to predict what the next tens of thousands of years will bring.

But what can be done about it? Without these people, how much longer would the development of Jupiter’s moon be delayed?

...

Many people on Earth may never know that some people are silently making sacrifices for their peaceful days.

Zhang Yuan sighed deeply and nodded.

The limitation of human vision is only their own lifetimes. From an information science perspective, the vast majority of political policies are configured using a “greedy algorithm,” that is, the locally optimal solution under current conditions.

The interests of the future must make way for the benefits of the present.

The idea of planning for thousands or even tens of thousands of years is well beyond the limits of human wisdom.

He wouldn’t become sentimental about it. Even if he himself were the decision-maker, he could only choose this way.

If something exists, it must have its rationality.

The more complex and developed a civilization, the smaller the power of the individual appears. Even if he were the leader of the United Government, so what? In current society, various forces check and balance each other; many things can no longer be changed by one person.

In the course of the discussion, Senior Brother Zhao suddenly said, “Regarding the future development, in the New Civilization School, there is a profound and complex subject that remains a dream even today, called New Civilization History. Have you heard of it?”

“New Civilization History? Is it a historical subject?” Zhang Yuan had heard of this term before, but didn’t know much about it, and his ears perked up with curiosity.

Zhao Qingfeng smiled, “The subject is complex. To put it in a sentence, it aims to find the global optimum for civilization, rather than the simple greedy algorithm of solving problems as they come.”

“Let me give you an example; the development of a civilization and the process of personal growth are actually quite similar.”

In ancient times, due to a harsh living environment, any teenager with a bit of strength would be put to work. Although it met the immediate survival needs, it killed future benefits. This training method is known as the “locally optimal strategy,” which considers only the present and not the future.

Whereas, in the modern environment, a teenager receives obligatory education. Education seems to have no immediate benefit, just pure cost. However, the knowledge acquired comes into play when one matures into adulthood, manifesting greater social value.

A person’s life lasts only a mere century, and with a large number of samples, trying to plan and find relatively better solutions for the meaning of life is not very difficult.

But what about a civilization?

A civilization is the collective of all its people, inherently possessing high complexity, with a lifespan of thousands to tens of thousands of years, completely exceeding the lifespan of a single human. How to coordinate and plan?

But that’s exactly what New Civilization History aims to study.

“In the early stages of civilization development, populations were sparse, technology primitive, with constant risks of early death. It’s similar to the infancy of humanity.”

“You know infants, don’t you? Their worldview and values are not yet mature. So, a civilization in its early stages is also at its most malleable.”

“What about us then… inheriting quite a legacy.” Zhang Yuan said with a smile, “Are we like rich second-generation babies?”

“You’re right,” Senior Brother Zhao’s expression became serious, “We certainly have a deeper foundation, like the rich second-generation, but it doesn’t mean we can squander it thoughtlessly.”

“What do you think is the most important thing for a civilization?”

“Technology, of course!” Zhang Yuan immediately replied.

Senior Brother Zhao chuckled a little, as if to say “I knew you would say that” and then shook his head, “Technology is like a civilization’s external power. You know about external power, right? With effort, it can be quickly mastered.”

Zhang Yuan frowned, “Quickly mastered? The development of technology is certainly not that simple…”

“Here, quickly mastered refers to minor achievements. Some basic technologies, if not limited by patents, wouldn’t be difficult for other countries to imitate, right?”

“All right…” Zhang Yuan tentatively accepted this argument.

“For a civilization, what’s actually more important is inner strength, including the cultural environment, political system, public ideology, and so on. These need to be cultivated slowly; there is basically no chance of quick success.”

“These inner strengths actually determine the upper limit of technological development, and that is also the focus of New Civilization History.”

Zhang Yuan has never been much interested in politics, but influenced by various cultural courses at university, he knew a little bit.

In some countries in South America and Africa, the public ideology tends towards pleasure; being satisfied so long as they are well-fed. Under this relatively lax ideology, it’s natural that the whole country struggles to develop and remains just a source of raw materials.

Whereas in the East Asian cultural sphere, there’s a strong sense of crisis among the people, willing to strive for a better tomorrow and even endure hardship for the happiness of the next generation.

Therefore, under this cultural environment, these countries advance to the forefront of the world, a historical inevitability.

So, why do such radically different cultural environments emerge?

Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.

“The New Civilization History you speak of, it’s supposed to lean towards the liberal arts, right?”

“No! You are mistaken, its ultimate essence is mathematics!”

“Ah?!” Zhang Yuan looked surprised, somewhat puzzled.

Senior Brother Zhao smiled, “According to New Civilization History, the entire inherent history of civilization is divided into a large number of critical nodes, each encompassing major historical incidents that occurred at that time. The events at one node have a certain impact on subsequent nodes and the entire network.”

“You can think of it as a neural network.”

The concept was intuitive, and Zhang Yuan easily understood.

“When a civilization is in its early stages, with fewer critical nodes, the final result of the network is easy to change, meaning that an individual of great stature can have a tremendous impact on it.”

“But as the population base grows, and with the increase of information and culture, there are more and more network nodes, and the influence of an individual genius on the entire network becomes smaller and smaller.”