Spoilers 3 Body Problem

[Stalker0]

So, I noticed Amazon Prime has a 3 Body Problem series also. I think the one they have available was made in China. I watched the first few episodes. Noticed they didnt include anything (yet) about the revolution which seems to track with the publication in China.

Anyways, I was impressed how much more intellectual the writing and plot are of this version. they actually go into the science, not very deeply, but not the cosplay level of the Netflix series either. I appreciate demonstrating the struggle of someone who spent their entire life dedicated to s discipline and having to deal with that being turned on its head. The Netflix version seems like the characters dont want to do science at all, but damn why do they have to be so smart???

My issue (at least with the netflix one and I'll be curious of the AP one has the same issue). At the end of the day, the "3 body problem" isn't really that relevant to the story.

The world simply has a series of calamities so that it goes through periods of stability and instability, and now its becoming unstable enough the race has to leave. That could be anything, heck earthquakes and volcanoes could do that job for you. The 3 body problem is simply the particular calamity that triggers the story, but it has no relevant itself to how the story unfolds.

And so the science really isn't that important, because got frankly....it doesn't matter to the plot.

 

[payn]

My issue (at least with the netflix one and I'll be curious of the AP one has the same issue). At the end of the day, the "3 body problem" isn't really that relevant to the story.

The world simply has a series of calamities so that it goes through periods of stability and instability, and now its becoming unstable enough the race has to leave. That could be anything, heck earthquakes and volcanoes could do that job for you. The 3 body problem is simply the particular calamity that triggers the story, but it has no relevant itself to how the story unfolds.

And so the science really isn't that important, because got frankly....it doesn't matter to the plot.

I would disagree. Have you read the novels or just seen the NF series? I think you are taking a single piece (the 3 body problem) and assuming the entirety of the story should revolve around that. 3BP actually goes into philosophical topics on existentialism from a scientific lens. The age old debate if science can really explain everything. Not only are humans getting served a dose of farmer/shooter hypothesis, their counterparts the San-Ti have experienced it many times. I think the title is very fitting of the dilemma placed before the characters. Of course, you wouldnt get the depth of the material from the NF series becasue the density of this, as has been noted, has been greatly reduced with the dramatic elements increased for a general audience.

 

[Stalker0]

I would disagree. Have you read the novels or just seen the NF series?

just the series, hence why I was curious if AP's version goes inot that more as a part of the narrative.

The age old debate if science can really explain everything.

Just to further refine this, its also the question of "explain" vs "know".

The second one is easier. Our current scientific models have definitively answered that as "no...you cannot in fact know everything using science and math". We already have proofs that certain concepts cannot be done through math, and information theory and certain theories like the heisenburg uncertainty principal already tell us that there is a fundamental limit to how much you can know about a system at a given point.

Now back to the notion of explain everything....that one is a bit greyer.

 

[Dire Bare]

My issue (at least with the netflix one and I'll be curious of the AP one has the same issue). At the end of the day, the "3 body problem" isn't really that relevant to the story.

It sure is relevant.

The aliens have a civilization much older than ours, but their technological advancement as been incredibly slow due to their society constantly being reset due to the instability of their star system . . . the 3-body problem.

And this is why the aliens are worried and decide to try and sabotage Earth's technological advancement . . . they know that while they are more advanced than Earth at the moment, but the time they arrive humans will likely have surpassed them technologically, since our planet isn't constantly being reset.

This doesn't work with other types of disasters, like volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

This is classic sci-fi . . . what would a civilization look like if it existed in a 3-body system and the planet was constantly being thrown in and out of the habitable zone?

 

[payn]

just the series, hence why I was curious if AP's version goes inot that more as a part of the narrative.

Just to further refine this, its also the question of "explain" vs "know".

The second one is easier. Our current scientific models have definitively answered that as "no...you cannot in fact know everything using science and math". We already have proofs that certain concepts cannot be done through math, and information theory and certain theories like the heisenburg uncertainty principal already tell us that there is a fundamental limit to how much you can know about a system at a given point.

Now back to the notion of explain everything....that one is a bit greyer.

The Prime offering will definitely expand on the concepts which stick closer to the novel. If you know Chinese or dont mind subtitles.

 

[Stalker0]

This doesn't work with other types of disasters, like volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

Of course it does. We even talk about supervolcanoes on earth that could erupt and ruin civilization. All you need is a world where those kick off every so often and you could get the exact same effect.

 

[Dire Bare]

Of course it does. We even talk about supervolcanoes on earth that could erupt and ruin civilization. All you need is a world where those kick off every so often and you could get the exact same effect.

Except the three-body problem is a real thing, and cyclic world destroying supervolcanoes are not.

 

[Stalker0]

Except the three-body problem is a real thing, and cyclic world destroying supervolcanoes are not.

Again simply incorrect. There are a number of worlds that host heightened seismic and volcanic activity, that could lead the way for periodic "catastrophic events".

In fact, the issue is not finding a planet that has periodic catastrophes, those are everywhere. The issue is finding a world that both has these periodic catastrophes and yet is also stable enough to support life (which requires a huge amount of stability compared to non-life chemicals).

 

[MNblockhead]

So, I noticed Amazon Prime has a 3 Body Problem series also. I think the one they have available was made in China. I watched the first few episodes. Noticed they didnt include anything (yet) about the revolution which seems to track with the publication in China.

Anyways, I was impressed how much more intellectual the writing and plot are of this version. they actually go into the science, not very deeply, but not the cosplay level of the Netflix series either. I appreciate demonstrating the struggle of someone who spent their entire life dedicated to s discipline and having to deal with that being turned on its head. The Netflix version seems like the characters dont want to do science at all, but damn why do they have to be so smart???

I didn't realize it was available on Amazon Prime. It'll be interesting to check it out. The history of the rights to the IP is interesting. Too lazy to Google to refresh my recollection, but there was a Chinese couple who were involved in the Chinese entertainment industry, but not particularly big or successful. They bought the rights to make a movie/TV series on the books from the author at a time when he was just laid off of his job and needed money. My understanding is that he sold the rights for a crazy low price (though hindsight is 20/20 and all that). They made a show, but it did poorly and was critically panned (which I believe would be the one you are referring to on Amazon). Then a Chinese billionaire who made his money on software (games, I believe) wanted to buy the IP, but the couple asked for a crazy high number. He ended up hiring a lawyer known to be an excellent negotiator who negotiated a much more reasonable price. The relationship between the billionaire and the lawyer soureda and the billionaire demoted the lawyer, brought in other legal talent to negotiate with Netflix etc. and the lawyer poisoned the billionaire producer. I believe he was just recently sentenced.

I'm just regurgitating this from what I remember from discussions with my wife who is a native speaker of Chinese and has been following the business drama behind the IP.

 

[briggart]

Except the three-body problem is a real thing, and cyclic world destroying supervolcanoes are not.

Well, the dynamics of Alpha Centauri as depicted in the novel/show are as realistic as cyclic world destroying supervolcanoes. Alpha Centauri A and B are comparatively close to each other, think Sun-Ice Giants distances, while Proxima Centauri is about 500-1000 times farther, so A and B act on Proxima basically only through their combined mass. It takes Proxima around half a million year to orbit around AB. To put this in perspective, it took us more than 100 years of observations to prove that Proxima is actually gravitationally bound to AB and not just some freak stellar alignment. Any planet in Proxima habitable zone would stay there basically forever*, while any planet subject to a level of orbital perturbations similar to that of Trisolaris would likely have been completely ejected from the system in the early phases of formation.

It's an interesting premise, and it's not a physically impossible scenario, but cycling world destroying supervolcanoes on human timescales are not impossible either.

*From the point of view of the development of a human like civilisation.