Turing brought two glasses of cider to the bar, suddenly locked his eyes on Zhou Hexuan's face, hesitated for a few seconds and asked: "Zhou Hexuan's cat?"
Zhou Hexuan was stunned, and he actually failed to recognize Turing. Because the image of the young man in front of him was so bad, his hair was like a rotten bird's nest, and his beard looked like a tramp, which was completely different from the picture of Turing in his impression.
people.
Seeing Zhou Hexuan in a daze, Turing smiled and stretched out his hand: "Hello, Mr. Zhou, my name is Alan Turing. I am a mathematician who also studies quantum mechanics and logic. I like your cat experiment very much, but it's a pity that
No chance to meet Mr. Einstein."
"Hello, nice to meet you." Zhou Hexuan shook hands with the other party in a funny way, and unexpectedly met the real owner.
This is a super genius. He learned to read by himself at the age of 3 and wrote scientific essays at the age of 8. He won the "King's Golden Shield Medal for Mathematics" in middle school. He was admitted to Cambridge University at the age of 19 and became an academician of King's College, Cambridge University (23 years old) upon graduation.
.
People in later generations regarded Turing as a god because he was known as the "Father of Artificial Intelligence".
When Zhou Hexuan paid for the drink, Turing smiled and said: "I'll treat you to these two glasses of wine. Mr. Zhou, are you interested in chatting?"
"Of course." Zhou Hexuan nodded and said.
Turing poured himself a glass of wine and asked: "Mr. Zhou, in your "Titanic", you made a bold prediction about future technology. What kind of machine does the word 'puter' you use represent?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "A machine that can perform logical operations and has the function of storing memory."
"What is its principle?" Turing asked.
Zhou Hexuan spread his hands and said: "I am not a scientist, I am just a science fiction writer."
"Okay," Turing asked, a little disappointed, "Have you read my paper? "On the Application of Numerical Computation to Decision-Making Problems."
Zhou Hexuan said very honestly: "Although I can't read it, it looks very powerful."
"Hahaha." Turing laughed.
"On the Application of Numerical Computation in Decision-Making Problems" is a groundbreaking paper. In this paper, Turing gave a strict mathematical definition of "computability" and proposed an ideological model, theoretical
It can create computers with super computing power. It is praised by many as "the pioneering work that clarifies the principles of modern computers", which is equivalent to laying the theoretical foundation for electronic computers. Therefore, Turing is also called "the father of electronic computers".
father".
As for the English word "puter", the etymology "puteras" appeared as early as 1869, which roughly means "calculating machine".
Zhou Hexuan's use of "puter" in his version of "Titanic" should be the first in ancient and modern times at home and abroad. I don't know if the United States will develop an electronic computer a few years later. Will it still use "puter" to name it? It is very likely that Zhou Hexuan is an electronic computer.
The original namer of.
Turing obviously understood that Zhou Hexuan was a layman in mathematics. Instead of talking about professional topics, he asked: "Mr. Zhou, do you think electronic computers can be realized? What is its future?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "As a writer, I speculate purely based on literary fantasy that electronic computers can definitely be realized, and its future will be artificial intelligence."
Turing smiled and said: "A robot with human thinking ability?"
"At least it can simulate human thinking." Zhou Hexuan said.
Zhou Hexuan is obviously not the first person to have this kind of fantasy. But it will take Turing's intervention to truly form a scientific concept, which will have to wait until ten years later.
One was a layman in mathematics, and the other was an expert in mathematics. Zhou Hexuan and Turing had a very pleasant chat. Zhou Hexuan was responsible for proposing fantasies about future technology, while Turing tried to prove its feasibility from existing science. They chatted for most of the time.
Within an hour, Ma Jue drank two glasses of cider beside him.
Today, Bletchley Park is not large, with only a few hundred intelligence staff combined, and Turing is only a very inconspicuous member of them (although he is highly valued by his superiors, veteran cryptographers are very disdainful of him)
). So Turing's job is relatively easy now, and he has plenty of time to brag with Zhou Hexuan. He doesn't even live in the garden, mainly because the dormitory has not been built yet.
Soon the place will become lively, and there will be more and more experts. At its peak, there were more than 10,000 people, and Turing alone had more than 200 people.
As they chatted, the two of them talked about topics ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum mechanics.
Zhou Hexuan naturally knew nothing about this, but he had read several popular science books such as "A Brief History of Time", and he could attract scientists of this era by throwing out any scientific hypothesis.
When talking about "Zhou Hexuan's Cat" again, Zhou Hexuan suddenly said: "Mr. Turing, have you ever thought that when God throws a dice, every time he throws a dice, there is a universe."
"How do you say it?" Turing became interested.
Zhou Hexuan said: "Since each quantum has a different state, and the universe is made up of quanta, it is possible that there is not only one universe, but multiple similar universes. For example, in this universe
, I met you at the bar and sat down to drink and chat. But the me in the other universe, maybe because of some things, went directly back to the guest room to rest."
Turing obviously took this as a joke and said: "Is this called the 'parallel universe' hypothesis? It can indeed perfectly explain the cat experiment from a science fiction perspective."
Zhou Hexuan said: "In fact, there is a more crude and direct way for me to solve the cat experiment. That is to find a wave function of the entire universe. If the entire universe is part of the wave function, then there is no need for an observer."
This sentence was nonsense said by Hawking later. Hawking was troubled by "Schrödinger's cat" for a long time. He said that every time he heard the cat, he had the urge to reach out and pull out a gun.
Turing was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "If anyone can find a wave function for the entire universe, then he will become God, and I am willing to be his loyal dog."
Ma Jue almost rolled his eyes when he heard this. He couldn't understand why Turing was laughing. Did Zhou Hexuan just tell a joke?
Zhou Hexuan said: "Perhaps future scientists can succeed."
"I hope so." Turing said expectantly.
Zhou Hexuan said: "I have a son who is only 10 years old this year. He is already learning calculus by himself. I believe he will become a mathematician or physicist in the future. Maybe he can solve some doubts in quantum mechanics.
.”
Turing said: "If your son goes to study in the UK one day and I happen to teach at that school, I would be willing to be his tutor."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Then it's settled, you have to establish a written document."