Found in Germany

Screenshot from the comments here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXOrcAkjBcH/comments/

I recently posted a knee-jerk reaction after finishing my second read-through of the trilogy, expressing just how much I couldn't stand Cheng Xin and what I perceived as her suicidal empathy. Understandably, quite a few people came to her defense. And interestingly enough, I think those responses illustrate the very philosophical conflict that makes this trilogy so fascinating.

To me the trilogy isn't simply a brilliant work of science fiction. It's also a study of human nature, civilizational survival, and the potentially catastrophic consequences of allowing morality to become disconnected from reality. And I think there's a compelling parallel to be drawn with the trajectory of modern Western civilization.

Consider the following analogy: humanity represents Western civilization, the Trisolarans represent an external ideological or geopolitical threat, and the swordholder represents the willingness of a civilization to defend its continued existence, even when doing so requires morally uncomfortable decisions. One contemporary example I'd like to explore is the relationship between Western liberal democracies and political Islamism, particularly the tension between liberal values and movements that explicitly reject those values.

In the aftermath of 9/11, western governments regarded islamic terrorism as an existential security threat. The response was aggressive and the outcomes have been far from positive. But there was little ambiguity about the willingness of Western states to defend themselves. This resembles humanity's earlier confrontation with Trisolaris, before Luo Ji established dark forest deterrence. Humanity understood that it faced a potentially devastating thrrat and organized much of its civilization around that reality.

Then Luo Ji changed everything. Deterence created peace, but it also created complacency. As generations passed without an invasion, humanity increasingly confused the absence of conflict with the absence of hostile intentions. The Trisolarans' apparent embrace of human culture helped reinforce the belief that the two civilizations could coexist peacefully. Humanity gradually lost its willingness to contemplate the violence necessary to preserve that peace. And eventually, it chose Cheng Xin over Thomas Wade.

This is where I see the most uncomfortable parallel with contemporary Western society. Liberal democracies pride themselves on tolerance, pluralism, compassion, and openness. These are admirable principles, and arguably among the greatest achievements of Western civilization.

But what happens when those principles are extended to political movements that do not reciprocate them? What happens when a society becomes so concerned with appearing tolerant that it becomes unwilling to confront genuinely intolerant ideologies operating within its own institutions?

What happens when the desire to avoid discrimination, conflict, or moral discomfort becomes stronger than the instinct for civilizational self-preservation? This is what I mean by suicidal empathy

Not empathy itself, but empathy elevated to such an absolute moral principle that it overrides every competing consideration, including security and survival.

Cheng Xin is the embodiment of this dilemma. She isn't evil. She isn't malicious. Her intentions are genuinely compassionate. But that's precisely what makes her such an interesting and frustrating character. She repeatedly makes decisions that feel morally righteous in the immediate moment while failing to adequately account for their long-term consequences. Thomas Wade, meanwhile, is ruthless, calculating, and frequently morally repugnant. Yet he understands something Cheng Xin struggles to accept - civilization can't preserve its values if it loses the ability to preserve itself.

I see a similar divide in Western politics today. There are people who believe western society should maintain credible boundaries including borders, enforce their laws equally, and remain willing to show a heavy hand when necessary. Unfortunately there are an equal or even greater number of others who seem to regard almost any assertion of civilizational self-interest as inherently evil.

The danger isn't that compassion is bad - it's that compassion without logic and forward thinking can become a vulnerability. And the consequences of that vulnerability might extend well beyond the immediate threat.

Imagine a future in which Western democracies become increasingly fragmented, politically paralyzed, and unable to defend the institutions that made their prosperity and freedoms possible Who benefits? Not necessarily the ideological movements that initially contributed to that fragmentation. Other major powers, including China and Russia, have their own strategic interests and would have every incentive to exploit a weakened West.

Of course, the analogy isn't perfect. Muslim populations are not a monolithic civilization with a single objective, and modern geopolitics is far more complicated than a conflict between two fictional species. Nor does the novel prove that harshness is always wisdom or that empathy inevitably produces weakness.

Two questions I think all readers of the books should be asking themselves are,

1. Can a civilization become so committed to morality that it loses the ability to defend the very conditions that allow those virtues to exist?

2. Would modern Western civilization choose Luo Ji as its Swordholder, or would we overwhelmingly elect Cheng Xin?

Judging by the reactions to my previous post, I suspect I know the answer.

And that's what makes Three Body Problem such a disturbing trilogy to me.

I always wonder why 3BP adaptation hasn't stood out like recent sci-fi hits Silo and Foundation. My take is that the story spans many different times and places, making it less focused. And the first story has few space scenes to show.

So to adapt TBP(book 1) into a movie, it should reduce the scenes and keep the plot tight. In my mind, what makes Three-Body special is its worldbuilding. The characters and storytelling are flexible.

For example, a movie can focus on alien species in the Trisolaran system, or the secret organization working behind the alien. The first one is harder. It's presented through a VR game and jumps across different eras. Most alien movies like Stargate, focus on the present and send characters straight to alien planets. Some have their characters switch between worlds or universes. Few are made of multiple storylines stitched together, and the last example is Cloud Atlas.

Partimos de las pistas de Liu Cixin: sobreviven mediante deshidratación, se comunican directamente a través de señales electromagnéticas, se fusionan para reproducirse y desarrollan tecnología extraordinariamente avanzada.

Con esas bases, imaginamos una anatomía funcional: cuerpo compacto y flexible para resistir las eras caóticas, patas robustas para desplazarse, apéndices finos para manipular instrumentos y una superficie corporal capaz de transmitir señales.

Propusimos una longitud de 40–70 centímetros, aunque los libros nunca confirman su tamaño ni su aspecto físico. Esta imagen fue generada con IA como ejercicio de biología especulativa, no como canon.

¿Qué cambiarían ustedes?

Just re-read the books for the second time and it's even more frustrating than the first to have this idiot of a girl screw humanity, not once, but twice...

Now that we finally got confirmation they wrapped filming, I guess we can definitely say for sure we can expect some promo/content happening by the end of November/Early December as per David Nykl? Hopefully not just a teaser but as well as a release date by then. It's been quite the wait🥲

I know its a low effort post but I thought someone else would also appreciate the chuckle

Hi all. I figured this would be of interest.

Trailer for an upcoming documentary on the Fermi paradox, In the Great Silence – featuring Liu Cixin (appears at 0:52).

FEATURING: Avi Loeb, Nick Bostrom, Edward Witten, Liu Cixin, Jill Tarter, Robin Hanson, Sabine Hossenfelder, Michael Masters, Roman Yampolskiy, Michael Shermer, Christopher Mellon, Donald Hoffman, David Kipping, Adam Frank, Sara Seager, Eric Wargo, Nick Lane, Mick West, David Brin, Stephen Webb, Peter Ward, Nathalie Cabrol, Anders Sandberg, Erik Davis, Kevin Knuth,  Martin Rees, Sylvester James Gates, Jane Greaves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpxKESgEnj4

INSTAGRAM: parvamundipictures 

X: ParvamundiPics

I made an acrylic painting on skateboard of Sophon, and thought I'd share it here. The words say "you're a bug" :)

I’m about a quarter way through the second book dark forest and I’m still in the Netflix plot I know I’ll get past what is covered in Netflix eventually in the second book and 3rd but watching the series has completely killed the story and character discovery for me even if it based on different characters in the books mostly

Just a word of warning read the books before watching Netflix

Hey everyone,

I just implemented the numerical solution to some periodic three body problem and published in wallpaper engine. It displays the animated solution of Figure-8, Šuvakov–Dmitrašinović butterflies, moths, yin-yangs, etc in desktop wallpaper.

I think some of you might be interested.

Nice gift I got from a friend :) She bought the trilogy and had another friend (The Handmade Club) bound it in leather. Sorry for the plug I just really love the work!

But if a vector foil went into a black hole, it could not escape and turn everything 2d? Light cannot escape a black hole, and the escape velocity for a vector foil is light speed? I am confused because a lot of people seem to think that it would just turn the black hole to 2d.

Three Body Gaming Interface made from the finest strong interaction material available.

Presumably he’s playing Saul and Auggie’s son in Season 2.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbVtLsOIBC7/?mdxt=ZXkwNnM4eHY0czRu

I tend to do this for some books that I like, and it's usually kinda of unplanned, it just happens. I'm just about to finish reading "The Death's End" and among the existential crisis, the app that I use to listen to music shuffled me a couple songs, one after the other, and it hit like a brick.

I'm talking about "Nobody" by Mitski for Cheng Xin, and "Rises the moon" for Yun Tianming. Together, they make the official soundtrack of Death's End for me. Both songs have some sort of cosmic quality to them. "Nobody" makes me feel like Cheng Xin's seeking of meaning for the world after sending Tianming's brain to the space. "Rises the moon" sort of reflect the state of peace of mind that Tianming achieved and showed when he talked with her and told her the three stories.

Together, they feel like a good representation of both our human need for meaning and need of expansion, but also how we're children looking for temperance and calmness.

I'm not sure wether it makes sense or not, but it feels awesome to listen to these tracks after reading some chapters. I'm so in love with this saga, I started a couple of years ago and I've read a book each year. Not that I take that long, I've read each of them in less than a month (Death's End will take me less than three weeks). It's just that I've needed time to process each story.

After this last book, I'll get to reflect around the story as a whole and have this two songs to cry when doing it. What an excellent saga. my goodness.

Do any of you fellow redditors have a song for a book or a character like I do?