The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu: blockchain and the dark forest hypothesis

Themes: Books, Technology, Blockchain (blog tag), Science Fiction (blog tag).

Prompt engineering use cases: Book Reviews, Web Research

[Original blog post] [Bing Chat]

😎 “The Three-Body Problem”. How is this book related to blockchain?

🤖 The Three-Body Problem is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin, which explores the consequences of an alien invasion and the possibility of a dark forest state (Wikipedia: Dark forest hypothesis), where civilizations hide from each other to avoid annihilation. [Ledger]

Blockchain is a technology that enables decentralized, secure, and transparent transactions and data storage, using cryptography and consensus algorithms. [ScienceDaily]

The book and the technology are not directly related, but there are some possible connections that can be made:

• The book explores the idea of a dark forest state, where civilizations are afraid to reveal themselves or communicate with others, because they assume that any contact will lead to destruction. This is similar to the problem of trust and privacy in the digital world, where users may not want to share their personal or financial information with third parties or intermediaries. Blockchain can help solve this problem by creating a peer-to-peer network that does not rely on central authorities or intermediaries, and by encrypting and verifying the data on the network. [101 Blockchains]

• The book also explores the idea of a sophon, a subatomic particle that can be manipulated by an advanced civilization to spy on or interfere with other civilizations. This is similar to the problem of security and integrity in the digital world, where hackers or malicious actors may try to compromise or tamper with the data or transactions on the network. Blockchain can help solve this problem by creating a distributed ledger that is immutable and transparent, and by using consensus algorithms that ensure that only valid transactions are added to the ledger.

• The book also explores the idea of a trisolaran, an alien civilization that lives in a chaotic star system where three suns orbit each other unpredictably. This is similar to the problem of scalability and performance in the digital world, where networks may face congestion or delays due to increasing demand or complexity. Blockchain can help solve this problem by creating a scalable and efficient network that can handle high volumes of transactions and data, and by using techniques such as sharding, side-chains, or state channels that can improve the throughput and speed of the network.

😎 Thank you, you convinced me about reading “The Three-Body Problem”. Looks like a must-read for any science fiction and blockchain enthusiast. It also has a good score on GoodReads. I just added it to Reddgr’s Amazon wish list.