The Terrifying Mystery of The Fourth Dimension | Three Body Problem Series

Warning. This video will have spoilers for Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.
The Remembrance of Earth’s past Trilogy is one of the most existentially terrifying book series I’ve ever read. The concepts explored in the books force us to consider our place within the cosmos. Part of what drives the human spirit forwards is the belief that we can continue to learn more about the universe, the belief that we have boundless potential. Because from our perspective the universe is mostly static. Its movements are on a scale in which humans cannot truly comprehend. To us, it feels stable and eternal, infinite and unchanging. Of course, we know if we look closely that none of this is true, the universe is a chaotic realm, constantly in motion. Its secrets are endless.

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[SnakeWasRight]

"Every soul who ever lived throughout the cosmos, all meet at the end in darkness... Well thanks for watching!"

[askani]

You made me read the whole trilogy. And it was awesome!!! Mind blown. Incredible. The concept of the Dark Forest still haunts me, and the idea that nothing is "natural" anymore, that nothing remains untouched by intelligence, not even spacetime itself, completely overwhelmed me... Thanks

[Sporemaniac]

The prologue of the third book which took place in Constantinople had me hooked immediately, though some parts of it didn't make sense to me until I read the later section where Blue Space encounters the 4D fragments. Then it all clicked, Helena saying "I can't go *there*" and the missing top of the minaret reappearing, it's amazing how Cixin Liu sets up mysteries and later it all makes perfect sense

[UtahGmaw]

The dark forest idea is scary because it has the ring of a real possibility to it. A great read! Thanks

[basilhammer]

Spoilers ahead:

I do not believe the trilogy overall is really depressing since it says that in the end if things go right the universe will be reborn again. In a process similar to the modern cosmological theory of the "Big Crunch". It might even be reborn with 10 dimensions at the beginning. In general, the trilogy is far less depressing than people think, on the contrary, it contains many encouraging plot lines, such as the fact that some humans survive and create a new home among the stars, and the universe is going to be reborn in the end if everyone returns the mass from their mini-universes. It almost has a Hindu-Buddhist philosophical touch to it, an eternal cycle of rebirth and death. That was my impression at least.

[han]

Quinn, I just finished the series after hearing about it on your channel and I am just awestruck. I’m still processing that a human mind produced such a masterpiece. Almost as befuddling is how I’ve never heard the series mentioned outside of your channel! I honestly can’t thank you enough for what you do. This has without a doubt become not just my favorite book series but my favorite work of art in any form and I have you to thank for knowing it. Seriously, thank you so much.

[muthias]

The dark forest theory is definitely terrifying because of that sense that it could be real much the same way with Lovecraft’s fear of the unknown theme. And it’s also a fear that really has no cure for it but it does have a treatment. It’s taught me the importance of remembering that despite the fact we go into space with a lot of fear we must not let that fear dictate our actions. I mean after all if we go in chasing and fearing shadows and shooting at them we will only expect to be shot right back at but if we go and cautious and not shoot first and ask questions later then try to talk we just might MIGHT find at least a pragmatic ally.

[jelaninoel]

Learning that we were a result of aliens toying with physics in their wars left me feeling insignificant in a way like nothing before. That was the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. Best part of the whole series

[kristoferhutter]

The description of them entering the fourth dimension in the book was truly mind boggling. I had dreams about entering it later that night, and I genuinely feel like it opened up the way I see the universe. Even though it's fiction, it makes sense, and it's description of our perception of it is sound. The books are so out of this world, and yet believable, because of how descriptive they are.

[zibilic]

I spent a whole month crawling through the quicksand of existential dread after reading the series and now you just tossed me back into it. Goddamnit.

[ReapTheWhirlwind]

I could not sleep after reading this series. 😂 The whole "dark forest" thing is scary af.

[benhunsaker]

This is one of my favorite parts of Death's End. The Dark Forest concept was so well explained in the previous book through the night time discussion of Luo Ji and Da Shi. There, I loved the combination of logic, informality, and even humor. Here, it's the novelty of the explanation from the ship/ring/tomb.

[DLC]

I think its only scary if one clings to the idea that things should last forever. There is not a single piece of existence that lasts forever in a given state. Everything is born, grows, changes and dies. The temporary existence of things is what gives it its inherent value/beauty. The frozen picture isn't what is valuable/beautiful, it is the experience of that moment that is valuable/beautiful. That moment that came and went in an instant. A universe is no different.

[Nick-yzfd]

I explained the concept of the Sophon to a friend, badly, like a person shining a flashlight into another person's face. You can't see behind the light, and you become blinded to the things around you. It was a way of distorting another person's perception of reality.

[pralyuris]

More vids about the trilogy please! (maybe about humanity's evolution within the series)

[phillower]

Bro I literally started reading this series because of your first video on the subject, just finished the last book and all I can say it wow! Thanks for getting this series more attention. It deserves it!

[louislarue]

The way you explained the life cycle of the universe is incredible, I mean I've never even thought to go anywhere near that directional hypothesis.. 10 dimensions, The Universe in the sense as a Utopia, a complete paradise

[asandor]

I've read the books a few years ago and your videos are the perfect way to relive them again. Thanks for making these. I love both the style and the quality.

[euarduu]

"I am the tomb. It's the tomb speaking to you. I'm dead."

That made me laugh...

[arbiterskiss]

There was something in the scene with Singer that made me think of ten dimensional space differently.
He mentions how the Starpluckers, Earth, would speak to the other, Trisolaris, and there would be four time grains for messages to travel. It's a distance of four light years from one star to the others, so that makes sense, but the English translation uses the word 'grain', a very small unit of measurement. Could Singer's time grain be the smallest standard unit of time his people use, the equivalent of our word Second?
If so, exactly how much time passed between when he noticed Earth and Trisolaris talking and launching his special bomb? More importantly, does him being two dimensional have anything to do with his slow speed? Could he be so big in area that his nervous system needs a year to do what takes us a second?
This leads me to a question in the other direction; were four dimensional beings smaller than us? Did they measure time in microseconds, and we would be impossibly slow giants to them? Could the same notion hold true as you gain dimensions? Could ten dimensional beings smaller than an atom have been ruining the universe in a matter of seconds?
I am basing all this speculation on a single word in the English translation, but I think it demands consideration.