The Many Forks in the Road
Su Luo reviewed the edited message, and after confirming that there were no problems, she sent it to the World Channel, using up her speaking quota for the day.
"Why not use it?" Su Luo sent a message every day.
[Su Luo: Regarding the Essence of the Trial Instance, I personally tend to believe that its foundation is a real-world entity, which is then simulated and encapsulated in specific scenarios through means currently incomprehensible to us. It's worth noting that the Civilization Development presented in the Trial Instance, in my view, highly conforms to the objective laws of natural development, demonstrating typical characteristics of technological accumulation and gradual exploration of underlying rules.]
[This... Scholar, I don't understand. Could you explain it more clearly tomorrow?]
[Speaking of which, what exactly are the specific effects of the [Scholar] profession? I think Su Luo's combat ability is also strong; his region is also number one in Continued Battle.]
[Scholar, would you be interested in participating in the writing of "An Outline of Human History"?]
[They're admitting defeat again! Can't they have a little confidence? Humanity will prevail!]
[What are the criteria for judging the characteristics of Civilization Development? Is it compared with the development history of our real world? Is it the convergence of development paths?]
Su Luo took a sip of tea, her gaze sweeping over the updated information, lingering briefly on the last item.
That's roughly the line of thinking. Su Luo came to this conclusion by finding the convergence between the technological development of his own civilization and that of the Trial Instance.
What are they converging on?
Academic fraud.
Or rather, it is a systemic defect rooted in the development process that is difficult to avoid.
Especially academic papers.
Take academic papers as an example.
Su Luo has a selection process in mind among the vast sea of academic papers in her own world.
In papers published in the last decade.
Social sciences are not acceptable, as they are too time-sensitive and controversial.
Do not publish papers in non-top-tier journals or publications that are recognized as authoritative in the field.
Research that is not at the forefront of the discipline or does not involve the construction of fundamental theories is not acceptable.
Ten years ago, a large number of papers were also carefully screened. Papers that had been clearly disproven by subsequent research or that were still subject to major controversy and unresolved issues in the academic community were not accepted.
After further filtering out the watered-down ones, only 10% remained.
Su Luo carefully reviewed this part, and gave the simpler parts to Xiao Luo.
Then, the papers for the Trial Instance were screened again using the same method.
Of the papers that passed through these layers of screening, 26% from their own world were pseudoscience or, in Su Luo's view, clearly wrong, while 30% from the Trial Instance.
After eliminating this part, Su Luo once again squeezed Xiao Luo, conducting data and experimental process retrospective analysis on the remaining papers in the experimental and Calculation Zone of the Dreamscape. In short, everything except the overly microscopic could Rewind and simulated.
In Su Luo's world, as many as 70% of the papers contain varying degrees of data tampering, fabrication, or selective use of data. The proportion in the Trial Instance is 73%.
These fraudulent activities largely involve fabricating supporting data and processes based on preconceived conclusions, guessing the results and fabricating the process.
Many classic experiments revered in textbooks and the original research data of renowned Scholars honored as founders of their disciplines seem to be somewhat questionable...
Moreover, this phenomenon of data fabrication is more severe closer to modern times.
The fields of medicine and materials science are particularly hard hit.
Of course, this doesn't include social sciences; Su Luo doesn't read papers on that subject, and the data is meaningless for reference.
Su Luo was furious, feeling that her time had been wasted.
As it turns out, errors and detours are not accidental, but rather the norm, in the natural evolution of civilization.
While modern scientific methods emphasize rigor and falsification, some of the foundations upon which they are built and many key milestones in their development may themselves be built on unstable, or even embellished, sand.
This is why many people claimed before the Crossing that humanity's technological development had already gone astray.
While many brilliant technological achievements have certainly grown on this soil tainted by falsehoods, the subsequent development of human civilization has largely relied on consuming the benefits accumulated from the relatively solid scientific foundation laid in the early stages.
Meanwhile, many of the theoretical pillars of the intermediate level are becoming increasingly hollow. If this continues, the entire civilization may encounter major setbacks and stagnate or even regress when it moves towards a higher stage due to its weak foundation.
Of course, there's no need to worry now; the very survival of human civilization is now a question.
"Xiao Luo, mark all documents identified as containing data fabrication, fallacies, or fundamental errors, and throw them in the trash. The Library's knowledge system only allows the retention of currently unfalsifiable and logically consistent correct parts."
Su Luo was so angry that she cursed.
Okay, you don't need to be angry.
"I'm not angry, I have a very good temper."
"You need to put yourself in their shoes. These days, it's not easy for many college students to produce a decent paper."
"Oh, this? These kinds of theses, which are only for graduation, weren't even in my database. Everyone knows they're not worth much; the Mutual Aid Association didn't bring any back."
"Hey, then what's the point of them writing theses?"
"Of course, it's for writing a paper."
What's the point of this?
"For graduation."
What happens after graduation?
"So you'll lose your job."
"..."
Su Luo did not hesitate for a moment to correct these erroneous ideas. Even if they might contain some brilliant ideas or partial truths, he decided to discard them decisively.
He doesn't have the energy or the need to pan for gold in the shit.
For example, suppose that the human society before the Crossing was given a "master's order" by some being to modify and strengthen its scientific system.
Therefore, it would require at least several decades and countless resources from the entire society to Rewind correct and rebuild.
Moreover, the success rate is low, and the time cost and execution difficulty are so high that it is almost disheartening.
After carefully embedding a precision component with strong energy fluctuations into the interface of the large Mana Pool in the center of the Laboratory, Su Luo's mood gradually calmed down.
"In comparison, mathematics and fundamental physics are still purer," he sighed. "In these fields, even if you delve into a particular direction to its extreme, you will only face 'temporarily unsolvable' or 'ultimately falsified' problems. At least you rarely encounter such systematic fraud and fallacies."
These past two days, Su Luo has been either renovating the Laboratory or systematically organizing, absorbing, and identifying modern scientific knowledge systems.
Oh, right, there's one more thing:
I drove the Laboratory around most of the area and drew a map showing the distribution of [Dangerous Terrain] in the current area.
[Dangerous Terrain] exhibits a "multi-point" distribution pattern within the region, but is generally relatively evenly distributed.
Preliminary statistics indicate that there are over a thousand Dangerous Terrain features within the region. These range from large features covering thousands of square kilometers to smaller ones covering tens of square kilometers. In total, Dangerous Terrain occupy approximately 2% of the region's total area.
Just like the bacterial colonies of different sizes that have grown at different times in a petri dish.