I always have strange conversations with her. When I have a premonition that a conversation is about to turn in a wonderful direction, I turn on the recording function of my headphones, so the recorded conversations often have no beginning, but the effect is acceptable; The other ones are for me to educate her, and I opened them voluntarily, so the conversation is complete. The location where the conversation takes place is completely random. Her views are very novel and even inspire me, of course, most of the time I am wholeheartedly shaping her into what I think is excellent. I have never thought about some of her questions, so I must think quickly to give her cautious answers. The text was organized by me after that day, manually converted from audio to paper text, and the sorting was completely irregular. I often think that her influence on me may be far greater and more profound than I thought
——Nolan Rodland Anderson
Two years, eight months, and seventeen days from that day, on Tiberius Avenue
Valerie: So I don’t have to go to school?
Nolan: Because of your unique strategic significance. This is not a good thing. There are some things that only schools, teachers, and classmates can teach you.
Valerie: Don’t use words that describe objects to describe me, thank you! (Silence for five seconds) Huh, no one I used to know wanted to go to school. It is said that this was not the case centuries ago.
Nolan: Indeed. At least around the 21st century, schools in Europe and America were still popular places.
Valerie: The European and American regions
Nolan: We need to go to the library later to download a world map. You are not uninterested in General Ye Liaomenko’s history class, but rather lack sufficient geographical knowledge and find it difficult to understand.
Valerie: Murong Die taught me geography and she can even draw a map of the entire Earth, but she is very busy and has almost no time to teach me. I should be grateful that I am willing to learn more before developing a dislike for school.
Nolan: Be careful of the car. Here, let’s go to the library first.
Valerie: My geographical knowledge is probably limited to knowing that the UK belongs to Europe. Never mind, let’s talk about the development history of the school. Your way of telling unofficial history is very interesting.
Nolan: It actually took quite a long time for schools in Europe and America to develop into Chinese style mechanical teaching. When we talk about the 21st century, it’s actually not accurate. Someone proposed in the 20th century that the education system in England, which had the most complete education and examination system at that time, was learned from China’s imperial examination system. I will elaborate on the Chinese imperial examination system after evening training.
Valerie: China’s history is like a box of chocolates.
Nolan: (Three seconds of silence) is a double metaphor.
Valerie: A box of chocolates, any piece will bring surprises; And you think chocolate was invented by the British, but the UK also learned it from China. I intended to use pizza as a metaphor, but the taste of pizza is spread out before my eyes.
Nolan: The metaphor of pizza also makes sense, as long as it’s topped with enough cheese.
Valerie: Wow, that’s a good analogy.
Nolan: Let’s continue. The theory of the 20th century was quickly abandoned and forgotten, but in the second half of the 21st century, especially with China’s mastery of artificial starch synthesis technology, Western countries – which was then called developed countries in Europe and America – began to feel a huge sense of crisis, especially the United States. They began a large-scale reform of their country’s scientific research and education industries. The uniqueness of China’s education is widely recognized worldwide, and coupled with the terrifying speed of China’s competitiveness in cutting-edge technology at that time, European and American countries began to doubt the backwardness of their own education models, despite their long-standing confidence in this area.
Valerie: Is it necessary to be like facing a big enemy? It’s not that China has developed the technology to control tiles.
Nolan: Do you remember what I told you? When I first talked about history.
Valerie: Ah, let me rephrase my question… it doesn’t seem necessary anymore.
Nolan: Tell me.
Valerie: “You must consider the environment of the time as if traveling through time and space,” you said. I think in an era where flour still relies on combine harvesters on farms, China’s technology is enough for them to save a lot of expenses on their own.
Nolan: The key point is that with China’s mountainous and plain terrain, it is difficult to produce enough food. Artificial starch not only saves costs, but also means that China no longer needs to import food from other countries.
Valerie: (gasping in) Well, I really didn’t expect that. However, based on the Chinese people I have met, it is highly likely that they will not monopolize new technologies.
Nolan: Although they did indeed do so later, unconditionally disclosing starch synthesis technology, it is an undeniable fact that the once technologically weak countries surpassed the superpowers in technology. At any time, leaders are always worried that their position as leaders will no longer be respected. Once the thought of worry arises, it is accompanied by a lack of confidence in everything that was previously seen as an advantage. So they began to reflect, and irrational reflection could only bring more irrationality. As a result, radical presidents came to power, and education reform began first in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. In the end, the education system in the entire Western world became similar to that of China, and the youth suicide rate in Western countries rapidly tripled and remained high for a long time.
Valerie: How many more decades have you skipped?
Nolan: Around fifty years, ending with the completion of reforms in Germany at the beginning of the new century.
Valerie: Deadly reform.
Nolan: Not entirely. In the eyes of global scientists, at least the level of scientific research has indeed improved.
Valerie: Reform with passion and an empty mind without appropriate theoretical support?
Nolan: The Chinese academic community has always adhered to the theory that education is inherently against human nature. Scholars in Europe and America have borrowed this theory and amplified its unreasonable aspects.
Valerie: Isn’t this theory itself unreasonable?
Nolan: Think about it. It can be reasonable.
Valerie: So… oh, sorry. (Stepping on a passerby’s foot) So is it reasonable in China?
Nolan: As I expected, you think it’s impossible.
Valerie: I have never been to China. If I care too much about the differences between myself and others, there’s no need for Blue to take action. Well, the development history of the school. (Silence for a minute) So, there’s something you can’t teach me?
Nolan: I think so.
Valerie: Isn’t it an example of how you can smoothly integrate into society without having attended school yourself?
Nolan: I have experienced considerable difficulties. In the six months since I officially left the CIA, I needed Nada to accompany me when I went out because I didn’t know how to be a normal person. She walked ahead, and I followed her, imitating her movements for half a year.
Valerie: What were your previous field missions? I just realized that you never told me about the nature of your job.
Nolan: I used to collect intelligence. A large part of the spy movies often filmed in the United States are authentic. Agents usually receive a document containing information about the whereabouts, daily habits, interpersonal relationships, etc. of the target person obtained by people like us. This document is meticulous, sometimes including the target’s preferred position for chewing meat and vegetables during meals and having sex. In the movie, the decision-makers refer to the protagonist as’ our people ‘,’ related agents’, and ‘tracking personnel’. As for me, I quantify the habitual actions of each group of people into data and remember them, and then strictly follow the data when doing things. So I can’t be myself naturally.
Valerie: You are indeed not suitable to be a real teacher, not even a normal person. Don’t you think a thirteen year old girl should pay attention to certain vocabulary?
Nolan: (I didn’t say what I meant to say here) Sorry, I will pay attention.
Valerie: I don’t have the confidence to accuse you either. So, what benefits can the school environment bring me?
Nolan: To be precise, it has a beneficial impact. You will meet all kinds of people, both positive and negative examples, and the teacher will help you identify them.
Valerie: Is that all?
The prompt sound when the bus arrives at the station. Let’s lower our voices
Nolan: For you, distinguishing between good and bad is enough. Your nature tends to be kind, and you don’t need others to listen and teach you to avoid the bad and get closer to the good.
Valerie: But teachers are not always right either.
Nolan: It is the function of parents to promptly correct the negative influence of teachers on children. Parents influence their children according to their understanding, so their education may also be unethical. We can only comment on whether a behavior is moral and reasonable, but cannot judge whether it is correct.
Valerie: Because there is no absolute right.
Nolan: Very good. Speak on.
Valerie: Uh, right, or is justice man-made?
Nolan: I would put it this way: Justice is relative and has a clear stance.
Valerie: Give me some time to digest, I’m almost fainting.
Silence lasted for six minutes. The sound of the bus opening its door. The crowd was talking loudly.
Valerie: In your theory, education has become ineffective labor.
Nolan: Be specific.
Valerie: You said the teacher taught us to distinguish between good and evil, and the parents intervened. At the same time, you also acknowledged that both teachers and parents may teach unethical things. What if the teacher is moral enough, but the parents filter it out and replace it with immorality? Perhaps both the teacher and parents are unethical, or perhaps the teacher’s teachings are too dark, causing harm to the child that even parents cannot eliminate. What will happen in this way?
Nolan: First of all, you’re too pessimistic, Valerie. The so-called unethical teacher is just a conceptual term. Most people have only a few flaws, which are caused by their human nature and pose minimal harm to society. There are almost no people whose entire soul is completely corrupted. Secondly, even if children learn so-called unethical concepts, at most they are only looked down upon, such as not following table manners. The immorality we are talking about is limited to this.
Valerie: What about the parents?
Nolan: (Taking a deep breath) You have to know, Valerie, shaping children into shape is both the right and the obligation of parents. Remember this sentence. The so-called rights refer to their freedom to teach their children according to their own understanding, which has an immeasurable impact on their children. Even if young people are determined to completely break away from their parents, they will still carry many traces of family education. The so-called obligation refers to parents having to consider social justice when teaching their offspring. Their children must possess some useful traits for society, even if these traits are not favored by their parents, because if a person does not carry any morality, he or she is unlikely to survive in society. Remember where we talked about, go to the library first and continue after we come out.
Automatic door operation sound. Various white noises last for about eight minutes.
Valerie: I suddenly have an idea, can I say it first?
Nolan: Don’t let go of the sudden inspiration, speak up.
Valerie: Your words, or your words! That’s where the problem lies! You deal with smart people all day long, but I am not a smart person and cannot accurately hit your ideas like a quantum imaging device. Moral “is too serious, isn’t it good to use plain language like” shortcomings “and” flaws “!
Nolan: Okay, I’ll pay attention. This is my fault.
Valerie: The first time I had indirect contact with school education, I was almost scared and turned into a salt pillar.
Nolan: The reasoning just now can also be explained using words from the Bible. Children have no reason to shout at their parents: Why didn’t you shape me like that?
Valerie: Okay, okay, I understand now. I remember we talked about those ‘imaginary children’ who have no morality at all.
Nolan: What I’m going to say next may be very dark, be prepared.
Valerie: I am ready to accept another truth about this world.
Nolan: Do you think it’s happy to be a cultured person?
Valerie: Of course. You have accurately summarized ‘kind people’.
Nolan: Are you born like this?
Valerie: About the same. My earliest memory is that I secretly gave my toy to the neighbor’s little boy, and I vividly remember that I really liked it. Maybe he begged me. I don’t want others to ask for anything from me.
Nolan: This shows that you are a kind-hearted person by nature.
Valerie: So you need to mention those who are inherently unkind.
The sound of the bus opening its door.
Nolan: What is your view on human nature? Is it inherently good or inherently evil?
Valerie: I have really considered it. I think it’s good.
Nolan: Based on what you have obtained yourself.
Valerie: Hmm. Hmph.
Nolan: This analytical method has its merits, starting from individuals and exploring universality through specificity.
Valerie: I have a bad feeling. Are you going to overturn my proudest conclusion?
Nolan: (Whispering) I believe that human nature does not distinguish between good and evil. The so-called good and evil are based on the moral values of modern people; The moral outlook of modern people is to serve society. The most important role of morality is to maintain social stability and ensure the continuation of human society. The reason for the argument that human nature is inherently good and evil is due to one-sided observation and understanding. All actions taken by infants are selfish, and it would be arbitrary to claim that human nature is inherently good just because a few of their actions overlap with so-called morality.
Valerie: Oh my god.
(Can I help you both?)
Nolan: We’re talking about some serious issues, and this child needs to know some cruel truths. Thank you, sir.
Valerie:
Nolan: Theoretical viewpoint. Don’t put it into real life, just like the Greek drama you see, after the tragedy ends, you must detach yourself from it.
The sound of the bus opening its door.
Valerie: That gentleman has been staring at us all along.
Nolan: He probably sees me as a scammer selling unethical products.
Valerie: I’m not afraid. I know you’re worried, I’m fine. After the shock, I completely understand. You’re worrying too much, it’s rare. Your concern is what truly scares me. Tell me, what are you worried about?
Silence for ten minutes. Unmanned vending store prompt sound.
Nolan: I’m worried that I’m interfering too much with your natural development. I am not a normal person, all I possess are rational and extreme ideas. If I instill even a little bit of my own viewpoint in you and cause you to make a bad change, I will be torn apart by my own contradictions. You said helping others brings happiness, which is the benefit of innate kindness, and kindness itself is not a bad existence.
Valerie: (Silence for seventeen seconds) Actually, you don’t have to worry. Do you want me to tell you why?
Nolan: I have no right to ask questions.
Valerie: I hope to be changed by you. I admire your calmness and charming composure towards all events and things. You blend rationality and sensibility, and the transition between the two is perfect. Especially your personality, deeply disappointed in this world, but doing your best to avoid hurting her, treating her like a bird falling from a tree. You are a gentle person, especially when facing those who should be treated gently.
Nolan: I never thought I could find a way to coexist peacefully with fragile beings.
Valerie: That’s because you’re not confident! Please, come on, even though you can’t be my father, you can still exercise your rights! I’m still an unformed… whatever, no problem anyway. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t shout at you.
Nolan: That’s not the point. The key is
Valerie: The key is my will! You don’t have the right to speak, please focus on teaching me. Don’t worry, school doesn’t just teach ethics, you have to teach me professional knowledge. And you’re not entirely useless morally, at least you never smoke in front of me.
Nolan: I need to think. Give me a few days, don’t mention this matter recently.
Valerie: Okay. (Silence for three seconds) Your tone is a bit irritable.
We remained silent for three minutes
Valerie: Nolan, I shouldn’t have said those things to you, just… about you not being a normal person. I know it took a lot of effort for you to become normal, and your wife has also done a lot for you. I shouldn’t, um, deny your efforts just because you mentioned words like nightlife. Anyway, I’m sorry, Mr. Nolan.
Nolan: I don’t mind, Miss Kinder Valerie. You have successfully avoided the mistakes that psychology freshmen often make, such as being biased and impolite.
Valerie: Wait, what did you call me?
Nolan: That’s my private call to you. Give me something, go upstairs and open the door.
Nine months and twenty-two days away from that day, at home
Nolan: Valerie, where did you see it?
Valerie: Captain Ahab has already hired sailors.
Nolan: Do you want to continue watching?
Valerie: Just arrived at a node, I can stop. What’s wrong?
Nolan: Then stop for a moment, I have to tell you something.
Valerie: No problem. Okay, I’ve put it away. Wait, let’s talk about what we’ll have for dinner first. I’m hungry.
Nolan: We have omelets. What I learned recently may not taste very good.
Valerie: It’s okay, I’m glad to see you pursuing some change, even though it’s most likely forced by me. Okay, what are you going to say?
Nolan: I want to talk to you about how a part of my philosophy guides life.
Valerie: What? Are you referring to the role of philosophy?
Nolan: It seems that you have carefully read ‘Republic’.
Valerie: Uh, I have only a vague understanding. Alright, let’s get started.
Nolan: The main function of philosophy is to guide people’s lives. For example, my philosophy is to not care about freedom and so on. You can see how I usually act.
Valerie: Are you bragging? To demonstrate the advantages of your philosophy?
Nolan: I was about to talk about the topic. If your life is truly guided by philosophical concepts, I guarantee you will benefit greatly.
Valerie: I think philosophy is too vast, almost everything is, at least it has little to do with my life. I want to see what magic you can conjure up.
Nolan: Big and empty ideas can also guide life. Before giving an example, it should be clear that the “philosophical concept” I am referring to here refers to the way philosophy is applied, which is different from the specific philosophy I am referring to. Just like mathematics and concrete science, mathematics is not a science, but a tool that provides assistance to science.
Valerie: Alright, can we start giving examples now?
Nolan: Another point is that philosophy is a set of rules derived from life that can summarize the characteristics of a class of things and even predict their development, similar to the laws of physics. They——
Valerie: Speak English, thank you!
Nolan: For example, if you go out and see water stains at the door and moisture in the air, you would say: It rained last night.
Valerie: And then you have to tell me that ‘if the rain wets the ground, the ground will become wet’ is a philosophy.
Nolan: Yes. Part of my philosophy.
Valerie: Nonsense.
Nolan: Yes, indeed.
Valerie: Are you joking? I know the deductive method, but don’t you think it’s too outrageous?
Nolan: This is just a simple deduction example. If you track a guy with dark circles and a neurotic personality who dislikes animals, doesn’t smoke but carries a delicate Zhibao lighter, and often sends beddings with urine stains to the laundry room, then it’s only natural to apply for the arrest of this guy from above.
Valerie: This is unfair.
Nolan: Of course it’s unfair. Those who know more naturally have an advantage over those who know less, let alone this erudite person who is likely good at deductive reasoning. Bedwetting, liking to set fire, and animal abuse are the three elements of McDonald that most serial killers possess.
Valerie: Can we not talk about McDonald?
Nolan: Don’t be averse, it’s necessary.
Valerie: (Inhaling) In your mouth, I feel like I can’t be high or low. You have to give me some examples from normal life, staying in your comfort zone can be annoying.
Nolan: We were about to talk about it. Remember Hegel’s famous quote? Anything existing must be reasonable. It was originally a theory of objective idealism, but now I will give you a new interpretation. Under the premise of obtaining sufficient information, the state of all existing phenomena or things can obtain a complete development process starting from a certain node and ending at the current situation, and this process fully conforms to various scientific theories
Valerie: (Silence for half a minute) Well, this is really… irrefutable.
Nolan: What is your intuitive feeling after reading the simplified summary version of Capital?
Valerie: You want me to say ‘unable to refute’, right. Actually, I don’t have a very clear feeling, especially about the part about society. Speaking of your theory, I have a feeling that that sentence is perfectly aligned with your theory, I mean the part about rationality.
Nolan: Continue.
Valerie: No matter where I am, there always seem to be a few people around me who can tell the reason at a glance, such as Miss Murong – one of those three Chinese ladies, and the blonde beauty who talked to you. I’m serious, her aura matches yours very well. You definitely like that classical blonde beauty. Not considering it?
Nolan: We’ll talk about Miss Milton later. If you say you have feelings, please give an example to illustrate.
Valerie: This. That blonde girl – her surname is Milton, right? Do you remember the first thing she said when she first walked in?
Nolan: She said she’s glad I’m not a rapist with a strange taste.
Valerie: The key is that she came to this conclusion in less than five seconds. Normal people would probably first suspect, then fear, anger, confirm repeatedly, want to escape or take you to the police station. By the time they react, the situation is already irreparable.
Nolan: This counts as one. Is there any more?
Valerie: There’s something quite special. Once, a strange guy came to Hadenfield. He was dressed in tattered clothes and seemed to be constantly scrutinizing something, feeling deeply distressed and suspicious. Miss Murong Die pulled him aside, chatted with him, and then sent him away. She claimed that the person was crazy because she had seen him and knew what he was afraid of, which was why she was able to successfully drive him away. But then I saw her chatting with the general and leaned in to listen. The general discovered me and believed that he should tell me the truth. At this moment, I realized that the person who was driven away was not a madman, but a soldier who had escaped from the front line due to a serious mental illness. The general and Miss Murong Die were both very serious, telling me not to say anything and asking me to judge the right or wrong of this matter on my own.
Nolan: How did others react?
Valerie: Everyone looks satisfied and there is a lot of discussion.
Nolan: Is there anything else you want to say?
Valerie: Yes, I was about to say that I have a strange feeling and my heart is very complicated. You know, my mom died at the hands of Tuowa. I think that’s the most bitter thing for me, but this is completely different. It makes me feel heartbroken, as if a very good person is leaving me.
Nolan: This is the taste of growth.
Valerie: Is that so?
Nolan: I still have some of the emotions and empathy that a normal human should have. As you can see, Miss Murong uses this philosophy to guide her life and incorporates her own values to solve specific problems.
Valerie: Wait, I have another question. What about the accident? What about accidents?
Nolan: Be more detailed and tell me your thoughts.
Valerie:… Alright, here’s an example. Uh, you said that everything has a perfect and reasonable process. Let’s assume a scenario now. (Silence for more than ten seconds) A child was found to have killed his father, and people began to discuss it. Some said the child had a mental illness, some said he was instigated by bad people, and some said his father had a tendency towards domestic violence. However, the truth is that the child accidentally threw a few drops into his father’s cup while playing with black hole cleaner, and this man did not notice it, nor did anyone else.
Nolan: I must point out that your idea can convey the corresponding meaning, but the examples are not given well. This seems to be an example that a clich é d Bunge novelist would give.
Valerie: What should we do then? Chance always exists, and you will never find the truth of things.
Nolan: Modern science has long abandoned the pursuit of certainty, and the same goes for life. Some of the more complex things are destined to never find their truth. You can take a look at the history book on my terminal, or we can take a day to talk about the development of physics and mathematics. Speaking of the history of natural science, I want to tell you another thing: many things in the world operate according to the same laws, and seemingly unrelated things have a consistent direction of development. This is also the support for my method.
Valerie: I have to say, it’s really amazing. It’s like Sherlock Holmes using reasoning in daily life.
Nolan: While believing in reasoning, you also need to believe in the conclusions you come up with, firmly believe, and then make changes at any time based on relevant clues. No need to deal with uncertainty. The complexity and uncertainty of human beings can lead to infinite randomness in society; And in four-dimensional space, many of our scientific laws will fail. If you want to accept this method, all you need to do is to use the calm thinking and rigorous logical reasoning that a sound brain can generate to analyze the things and phenomena around you. One day, you will feel that any phenomenon is reasonable and traceable, and you will be able to immediately generate a clear and valid chain of reasoning with an endpoint.
Valerie: Can I have that day?
Nolan: I can’t.
Valerie: I knew you were intentionally ruining my mood. But I’m not discouraged, maybe I also know how outrageous the requirement for knowledge accumulation is to become like that.
Nolan: You have already started thinking. Do you want to hear my reasons?
Valerie: Well, I’m listening.
Nolan: Only God can do that. I have not limited the scope of the ‘phenomenon’. No one can instantly think about phenomena in fields that are not covered by human knowledge.
Valerie: Is it necessary for us to make our chat tiring?
Nolan: In the first few times, I will prompt you to think. After making it a habit, you will no longer feel tired.
We were silent for a minute, she was thinking, I was waiting for her, I knew she had something else to say
Nolan: I wasn’t trying to impress you just now. Can you give me some suggestions on what areas I need to improve during this educational process?
Valerie: Well, let me think… the beginning wasn’t good until you started asking me to give examples. Oh, it was only after you uttered that sentence that I had inspiration.
Nolan: Also, there is.
Valerie: What?
Nolan: There is indeed a problem with my educational approach, as you pointed out at the beginning of our conversation. I shouldn’t make you feel inferior.
Valerie: (Laughter) Come on, whether it’s education or learning, we’re all here for the first time. Don’t blame anyone, it’s just that you have to be careful. If the saying goes’ high or low ‘, you have to refute it earlier. I care more about you now than philosophy. Is your promise to give me omelette tonight still valid?
Nolan: I took an oath to you, remember?
Valerie: What you said back then was’ everything I said in the past was true ‘. This reminds me that after dinner, you need to make another vow to ensure that you won’t lie to me in the future.
Nolan: Then I’d better consider it carefully. But I believe that one day I will have enough confidence to make this vow.
