3 Body Problem on Netflix: aliens are called "Lord" by their devotees

I just finished watching the eight episodes of 3 Body Problem on Netflix. What I'm going to say about it in this blog post won't spoil the series (which likely will have a second season) for those who haven't seen it yet, but intend to.

I enjoyed this science fiction show set on Earth. About 80% of critics and viewers liked it, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It's filled with scientific facts, along with some religiosity, my focus in this post after I describe in broad terms what 3 Body Problem is about. 

An alien civilization is having to deal with the problems caused by the well-known Three Body Problem. This is fascinating in itself. Physicists in the show describe how two bodies, such as a sun being orbited by a planet, end up in a stable pattern. The planet can't accumulate enough energy to deviate from the pattern.

But put three bodies together, such as three suns, and the situation becomes chaotic with no definite mathematical solution to the orbits. Each sun affects the others in largely unpredictable ways.

The problem faced by the alien civilization is that while their three suns can remain stable for a long time, after many millions of years (maybe even billions, can't remember exactly), eventually chaotic orbits come about, causing catastrophic consequences -- such as extreme heat.

I'm a bit vague as to why the aliens are heading for Earth, with an arrival time of four hundred years from now. My impression was that because Earth has a stable relationship with our sun, this appeals to the aliens.

They are much more scientifically  advanced than we are. But not advanced enough to deal with the Three Body Problem, likely because that problem is unsolvable over long time scales. Thus the aliens seek to put our own science in a holding pattern so we can't catch up to them over the next four hundred years, as that could prevent the aliens from taking over Earth for their civilization.

For a reason that is too complex to describe here (I think it involves computers the size of subatomic particles), the aliens can communicate with people on Earth even if they aren't physically in close proximity. They choose a bunch of people to be their welcome committee, so to speak.

The human who is the leader of this group communicates with them in a pleasingly old-fashioned way: a microphone and a speaker. I was surprised when I first heard him say something like, "My Lord, are you there?"

It turned out that this was how the pro-alien group referred to the aliens, as their Lords. Not in a royal sense, in a godly sense. Because the aliens have such extreme capabilities that far surpass what we humans possess, their acolytes referred to them as "Lord." 

This reminded me of one of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke's three laws or adages: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." This applied to cultures here on Earth when they were exposed to technology, such as airplanes and radios, they were unfamiliar with.

(I'm old enough to remember when National Geographic magazines in the 1950s would have stories about a tribe discovered in the wilds of New Guinea, say, that hadn't had any contact with modern civilization.)

So it isn't surprising that some humans would look upon an alien civilization with technologies far more advanced than ours as being our Lord. After all, there's a saying, "If you can't beat them, join them." (Most of humanity thinks otherwise, however, in 3 Body Problem, preferring to try to beat them.)

What is surprising is how many people on Earth today view a fellow human being as Lord, even though these beings/gurus don't demonstrate any special powers or capabilities.

It could make sense to bow down before an alien who wields powers far beyond what any human possesses. But bowing down to a person just because it is claimed that they have supernatural powers -- that's truly crazy. 

Comments

[David Christopher Lane]

I loved the advanced VR headsets!!!

[sant64]

"What is surprising is how many people on Earth today view a fellow human being as Lord, even though these beings/gurus don't demonstrate any special powers or capabilities."

Why is that "surprising"? You did it.

[sadbecauseitstrue]

The Old Testament is all about men calling E.T.s “God”. 😂