Chapter 1132 - Fermi“s Paradox and The Great Filter (1/2)

Although already well into his 70s, mature wasn’t the right word to describe the old man. His posture and the habit of looking around reflected the shadow of a 16-year-old teen.

However, Jiang Chen quickly made sense of it. He asked himself if he sat in a while for a few decades, he would probably be more lively.

Just as Jiang Chen examined the old man from behind, Hawking turned his head and teased him.

“So, Mr. President, if you have any questions, please ask me soon. You are an important man making hundreds of thousands of dollars per second. You shouldn’t waste too much time on campus.”

Jiang Chen laughed without denying the statement. After a moment of thought, he asked.

“3.7 billion years, if you think there are civilizations that existed for 3.7 billion years, what would they develop into?”

“This is a very interesting question. What do you think dinosaurs would have evolved to if they had a hundred million years?” Hawking did not directly answer Jiang Chen’s question, but instead gave him another question.

“Can you consider dinosaurs a civilization?” Jiang Chen asked.

“Are ants considered a civilization then? Are the bees civilized? Do the birds in the sky have their own society? Maybe there are and they do, but we just can’t understand, or have never considered them in these perspectives.” Hawking shrugged, “Arrogance is one attribute that belongs to a civilization. Those who are weaker than us, become slaves, those even weaker become food, and those not even considered food are regarded as bugs.”

Hawking suddenly grinned when he made this statement

“We are very fortunate that at least our civilization has caught the attention of our neighbors. We didn’t get ignored by them as dispensable bugs.”

“You call this fortunate?” Jiang Chen smiled bitterly.

Rather than those bugs sailing 20.5 light-years to take his life, he would much rather those bugs consider him as a bug too.

“Of course it is considered fortunate. The Indians have at least a chance to fight back against the European colonists, but do the bugs have that chance? Stop. Look, you almost trampled the little life.” Hawking stopped Jiang Chen. In Jiang Chen’s peculiar gaze, Hawking pointed to his feet, “That’s right, I’m talking about that ant. If I didn’t remind you, you wouldn’t have even noticed. You won’t communicate with it, and you won’t care what it thinks, and less about whether they have had a technological breakthrough in the nesting process.”

Hawking with a smile crouched down, picked up a branch, and placed it in front of the ant.

The little ant was confused by the sudden obstacle, the tentacles on its head swayed back and forth, and finally chose to go around from the side…

“We are taught a lot of common sense in our life, but common sense is often just synonymous with prejudice.”

Hawking turned his head and looked at Jiang Chen.

“Do you think it will think about why this branch is in front of it?”

“Do you think I should answer this question from a philosophical point of view, or from a scientific point of view?” Jiang Chen said in a helpless tone.

I am not an ant; how would I know whether it will know why this branch is in front of it?

Hawking laughed. He turned his head back and looked at the ant who walked around the branches, then he continued.

“It has nothing to do with philosophy or science. If you have to put a name on it, it should be cosmology.”

Jiang Chen twitched.

“Cosmology?”

“Yes. The definition of cosmology is the study of the universe as a whole and extends to the discussion of human status in the universe. It cannot be considered philosophy, and it is certainly not science. However, it is related to both subjects.”

Hawking reached out and picked up the two branches, blocking the two sides of the ant, and surrounded it.

“If you came an hour earlier, you would be sitting in the cla.s.sroom and listening to the story of Fermi’s Paradox (1) and the Great Filter (2). But unfortunately, you missed the lively and interesting public elective course. However, it’s still not too late if you treat me with pancakes. I—”

“No problem, as much as you want,” Jiang Chen quickly replied.

Hawking smiled and pointed to the triangular cage on the ground that he made with branches. The “masterpiece” he spent three seconds completing.