This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Then, some of them entered a third
stage. The constant, unceasing struggle
sessions injected vivid political images into their consciousness like mercury,
until their minds, erected upon knowledge and rationality, collapsed under the
assault. They began to really believe
that they were guilty, to see how they had harmed the great cause of the
revolution. They cried, and their
repentance was far deeper and more sincere than that of those Monsters and
Demons who were not intellectuals.” – Cixin Liu, Chapter 1: The Madness
Years, Page 10
“”These high-energy particle accelerators raised the amount
of energy available for colliding particles by an order of magnitude, to a
level never before achieved by the human race.
Yet, with the new equipment, the same particles, the same energy levels,
and the same experimental parameters would yield different results. Not only would the results vary if different
accelerators were used, but even with the same accelerator, experiments performed
at different times would give different results. Physicists panicked. They repeated the ultra-high-energy collision
experiments again and again using the same conditions, but every time the
result was different, and there seemed to be no pattern.”” – Cixin Liu, Chapter
5: A Game of Pool, Page 60
“Can the fundamental nature of matter really be lawlessness? Can the stability and order of the world be but a temporary dynamic equilibrium achieved in a corner of the universe, a short-lived eddy in a chaotic current?” – Cixin Liu, Chapter, Page 61
Is This An Overview?
The world of science is being threatened. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution,
science became antagonistic to political favor.
Ye Wenjie is a scientist who survived the persecution by being
politically cautious. But events
conspire to make Ye Wenjie a target of the politicians, only to find sanctuary
in an isolated political radio base. A
base which was claimed to be used for military applications. As scientists were in short supply, Ye Wenjie
had the required skills that were needed to maintain, operate, and develop the
technology.
Decades later, with persecution of scientists through the
Cultural Revolution a harsh but distant memory, science has advanced
tremendously. But science seems again to
be under threat, as scientists are dying with an increase in crime against
academia and research institutions.
There does not seem to be a political motivation for the acts. What defines science is also under threat,
for the methods of science are failing.
Science depends on replication, that the results of an event will be
repeated given the same conditions. But
even with advanced technology of participle colliders, different results occur
with the same conditions.
Wang Miao is a scientist who is asked to participate in a
group from which many of the dead scientists have been associated with. Through the investigation, Wang Miao comes
across a game that the scientists play, called 3 Body. The game is extremely immersive, with the
goal of predicting events. Within the
game, civilizations develop during Stable Eras and fall during Chaotic Eras. The eras can change quickly, with the world
undergoing seemingly random and extreme changes. How are the events of the Cultural
Revolution, the death of scientists decades later, and the 3 Body game related?
Caveats?
There is a plethora of science
terminology in the book. Written in a
way that blends the science and science fiction which makes it difficult to
separate when the science ends and the science fiction begins. There are sections filled with science
terminology, ideas, and people involved.
If a reader has a background in various science fields, the science
references can add depth to understanding the situations being presented. Without the science background, the sections
can be difficult and confusing to read.
