On the campus of Coro University, you can see young and beautiful figures under the shade of green trees. Most of them are from China, some are from the United States on the other side of the Pacific, and many are from Europe on the other side of the earth.
The loose and diversified school philosophy enables students no matter where they come from to quickly integrate into this young university.
At this moment, on the brick road full of books, students were holding books and walking in groups towards the teaching building. This scene is common on weekdays, but it is rare on weekends.
"Hey, have you heard? That Jiang Chen is coming to our school to give a public class!"
"Jiang Chen? Is that Jiang Chen? The chairman of Futureman Group and the founder of the virtual reality network?"
"Really?! What are you talking about? I want to skip the class!"
"Cosmology." said the quiet-looking girl wearing glasses.
“…”
"... Yu... cosmology?"
"...Is it science?"
"What a surprise. I thought he could talk about economics, the Internet, etc."
"Hehe, do you still have to take classes? It has nothing to do with our major."
"Nonsense, do you even need to ask?" A girl said excitedly with little stars in her eyes.
"After all, the class is taught by the world's richest man! I heard that Harvard University wanted to invite him to explain the artificial intelligence database and the three definitions, but he didn't even go!" Another girl also echoed.
Indeed, there are not many opportunities to listen to lectures by the world's richest man, especially since Mr. Jiang Chen is quite low-key. Except for showing up at last year's opening ceremony, he rarely appears on this campus.
Even though the name of this public elective course is quite strange and seems to have nothing to do with Jiang Chen's field, it still does not hinder people's curiosity about him.
No matter what the purpose was, when Jiang Chen walked into the lecture theater, he saw that the classroom was already crowded.
The classroom, which could accommodate about two hundred people, was slowly filling up. Some people even moved stools from the classroom next door and simply sat on the aisle.
Looking at those enthusiastic faces, Jiang Chen's scalp couldn't help but feel numb, even though he was used to big scenes.
At this moment, he remembered the malicious laughter of Principal Raphael Leif when he was on the phone yesterday. Sure enough, the old guy was right. If he held this open class, no matter how unpopular it was, the classroom would definitely be packed.
A numb scalp and stage fright are certainly out of the question.
After all, he is also the leader of hundreds of thousands of people. In the end of the world, he is even a "big warlord" of one side. A mere hundred students are not enough to give him stage fright.
Smiling and waving to the audience, Jiang Chen turned on the headset hanging by his ear, coughed slightly and tried the sound before speaking.
"Everyone here must be wondering, why did the man standing in front of you today choose the inexplicable topic of cosmology instead of imparting more useful or practical successful experiences?"
The noisy voices in the classroom gradually subsided, and everyone looked at the podium and Jiang Chen's face attentively.
"This question is easy to answer. The famous economist and Wall Street investor James Glassman recently published a book, using me as his research object, in-depth... Of course, in my opinion, it is one-sided... Analyzing me Why did my Future People Group go from nothing to the top of the pyramid in just three years?" After speaking, Jiang Chen smiled and looked at all the students sitting here, "I don't agree with his argument. process, but I agree with his conclusion.”
"That is, my successful experience cannot be replicated."
"Since my experience cannot be replicated, it is not a good medicine for you. It may just be a dose of poison."
"But apart from being successful in business, I don't think I have any skills that can surpass you in other fields. So, I picked a topic that I am personally interested in and have done some research on, that is I’m going to talk about cosmology today.”
Jiang Chen noticed that many students had picked up their mobile phones and were recording videos enthusiastically.
But he didn't care. What he wanted to say today was just to attract others.
As he spoke, he turned around, picked up the marker, and wrote four words on the whiteboard.
[Where are they?]
Turning around, Jiang Chen put the marker on the table and looked at everyone present.
"Where are they? I think everyone here is familiar with this question. Yes, it is the famous Fermi Paradox."
"It is estimated that the number of stars in the observable universe is between 10 to the 22nd power and 10 to the 24th power, and the number of sand on the earth is 7.5*10 to the 18th power." After a pause, Jiang Chen smiled, then spread his hands and said, "In other words, every grain of sand on the earth can correspond to ten thousand planets in the universe."
"The universe is much bigger and darker than we imagine."
"This darkness does not come from aliens. In the face of a time scale of 13.8 billion years, all civilizations are humble and small. Perhaps the fire of civilization once sprouted on Mars at our doorstep. It's just that it didn't Now it has exhausted its lifespan a billion or tens of billions of years ago, and the earth a billion years ago was just a chaotic ocean, and even trilobites did not exist."
"This is the so-called sieve of the universe. The probability of us encountering extraterrestrial civilizations is extremely slim, and the probability of discovering each other after encountering them is even slimmer."
"But we still have to make the assumption that if we encounter extraterrestrial civilizations, and we happen to be able to discover each other and understand each other's existence. Then I can conclude that the consequences of blind contact will be quite dangerous... "
Understanding does not mean agreement, and lack of agreement leads to conflict. This kind of identification is reflected in many aspects such as aesthetics, values, and core values. Just like the undead who regard death as their beauty, they will never be able to accept each other with the living people who praise life.
Jiang Chen did not expect his class to bring too much inspiration to these students. Many of the arguments he stated had already been discussed by predecessors.
He just wanted to see how the students would react when he told the truth.
Through the reactions of these students, we can at least roughly assess the consequences of making the crisis facing the earth's civilization known to the public.
The class is coming to an end.
"... If, I mean if, there is a colonial ship from an extraterrestrial civilization, it is on its way to the earth. We don't know where it comes from, and we are not sure whether it has good intentions. If you are from the earth civilization Decision maker, what decision will you make after learning this information?"
"This is your homework, I hope you will complete it seriously."
Jiang Chen noticed that many students in the audience showed a lack of interest after hearing this assignment.
Obviously, no one would really take this inexplicable assignment seriously. After all, no matter which angle you look at it, this assignment is really boring. They are no longer that childish age where they fantasize about space, the first contact between humans and extraterrestrial civilizations, and unrealistic problems.
Perhaps a job, a scholarship, or a professor's topic can make them want to take it seriously.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but smile and shook his head.
After straightening the books on the table, he coughed slightly and said to the students who were about to finish class.
"Okay, I know you guys are definitely not interested in this, so I'll just say it."
"I believe that all of you who often play with mobile phones and wear helmets will be familiar with the space colonization plan of Star Ring Trade. Research on extraterrestrial civilizations is a part of Star Ring Trade's space colonization plan. You may find it boring, but let me tell you now , this topic has commercial value. And the assignment I assigned is related to this topic."
"The prize for the project is US$10,000, and ten qualified papers will be selected and distributed. If you are interested, please submit a paper to me. By the way, students who have not chosen a course can also participate, and the email address is on the whiteboard. I am I’m more afraid of trouble, so I put the bank card number in my mailbox and send it together... "
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Chen noticed.
Those pairs of eyes looked at me suddenly differently... (.)