He changed Tiwat

"Let me give you a very simple example. Look at these books on our table."

He stood the eleven copies of "Dog and a Half" upright on the table, leaving a certain distance between each book.

Mona looked at his behavior with suspicion.

After Han Fulai had arranged all the books, he held up one finger and said, “The current state of everything in this universe can be seen as the result of its history and the cause of its future. For example, the current state of these books is the result of my actions just now; this is the result of history. And I hereby predict that these books will be arranged in a circle in one second.”

Then he gently pushed the book in front of him with his finger.

The books fell over one after another, eventually forming a ring on the table.

"Isn't this just how dominoes are played..." Mona didn't think it was any kind of "prophecy." Anyone could tell the outcome just by looking at it.

Han Fulai pointed to the circle of books on the table and solemnly explained to Mona, "What you see now is the 'fate' of these eleven books. When I stood them up, I had already decided the pattern they would form when they fell. I believe you also saw through this 'fate' just now."

"Let's do it one more time..."

This time, Han Fulai arranged the books in a vertical row.

"Now, let us invite the great astrologer to make a prediction about the patterns that appear when these books are overturned."

“It will be a long strip…” Mona replied weakly.

Han Fulai once again pushed over this stack of "dominoes," and just as Mona had said, the books were arranged into a long, vertical strip.

"Congratulations on your accurate prediction, Miss Mona."

"Aha……"

Mona had a lot to say, but Han Fulai interrupted her: "Are you trying to say that anyone who sees the way these books are arranged can make the 'prediction' you just made?"

Mona nodded.

"If I don't let you see how these books are arranged, can you still make a prophecy?" Han Fulai asked.

Mona was taken aback.

"The reason we can see the patterns formed by these 'dominoes' falling is because we know their arrangement through observation," Han Fulai said with a smile. "Let me give you another example that you are familiar with, Mona. Remember when we first came to Mondstadt, we encountered a group of robbers on the road? You only glanced at them and immediately saw through their identities, Mona."

Mona slightly raised her chin: "Hmm. This is just the basics of an astrologer."

“I remember you explained it to me, Ying, and Paimon like this: ‘Fate’ and ‘Reality’ are laid bare in the starry sky. Although the more specific the result, the more time it takes, the general trend is clear at a glance.”

"Although I don't really understand how astrology works, I guess you got some information from those robbers when you saw them, and then deduced the most likely outcome based on that information."

Han Fulai looked at Mona.

"The information you observe is limited, and the results you deduce based on that limited information are also limited. You failed to predict Yura's appearance because you failed to observe any information related to Yura from them, right? Ultimately, the accuracy of your divination is strongly correlated with the accuracy of the information you obtain. For example, if you can't see any information about me, you can't make any divinations or predictions about me."

"...You're right."

Although reluctant to admit it, Han Fulai was essentially describing the essence of Mona's divination and prophecy. Simply put, divination is the process of gathering information, while prophecy is the result deduced based on the information gathered through divination.

Like magic, the effect is amazing and the technique is complicated, but the principle is very simple.

Although astrology belongs to the realm of occultism, this discipline also has its own internal operating logic, and a divination result is not obtained out of thin air.

To put it simply, what Mona did back then was roughly like this:

A. Use basic astrology to observe this person's natal chart.

B, he said his name was Taylor, but his destiny was marked with his real name as Hong Shixian;

C, why is he wearing Pinru's clothes? And is he hiding weapons?

Conclusion: He was a robber who stole other people's clothes.

At that time, Han Fulai also saw through the identities of the bandits disguised as merchants. His entire chain of reasoning was as follows:

1. Due to flooding, the roads in Liyue are blocked, so merchants traveling along the Stone Gate trade route cannot travel faster than those who take the "Yaksha Logistics".

2. As traveling merchants, they did not have their own freight wagons. So many people only hired one wagon, which was empty and not carrying any goods, which was very unreasonable.

3. They claimed to be merchants from Mondstadt, but had never heard of the famous golden-haired honorary knight.

Conclusion: This group lied and their identities are questionable.

If he doesn't explain his logical reasoning process and only states the result, then in Ying and Paimon's eyes, he and Mona are no different; both of them rely on fortune telling to determine that the other is a robber.

Therefore, astrology is actually just another form of logical reasoning; it simply obtains information through mystical means.

Han Fulai gently stroked the covers of the books on the table.

"Although we are ignorant of the future, the future is there, we just can't see it. Everything in the world is like this."

"In determinism, the so-called 'prophecy' can be seen as 'future history'."

"The history of the future?" Mona murmured, repeating herself.

History represents the established facts of the past, while the future represents the unknown. If everything in the future is destined to happen, then the "unknown" becomes the "known".

Prophecy, conceptually, is indeed "future history".

The antonyms of past and future were wonderfully intertwined, giving Mona a completely new experience. She now understood what Han Fulai was trying to say.

"You mean... that 'Laplace's Demon'?"

“That’s right.” Han Fulai smiled. “You can think of ‘Laplace’s Demon’ as an astrologer who is more powerful than you and your master.”

"This astrologer was incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly intelligent. At one point, he observed the world and thus knew everything that was happening in it. He knew the state of everything, from the smallest speck of dust on the ground to all the stars, he had it all in his sight."

"At the same time, he knows the laws governing the operation of all objects—that is, he knows all the 'causes' at this moment, and also knows the necessary connections between all causes and effects. So, what is the 'future' for this astrologer?"

Mona pondered for a moment before giving her answer: "...For this astrologer, nothing in the future is certain...just like history, everything that will happen in the future is laid bare before his eyes."

Han Fulai nodded and then asked, "So... assuming your eyes can see every corner of the Teyvat continent and monitor everyone's actions at any time, and your ears can hear what everyone in the world says, does that mean you can predict everyone's behavior?"

“Eh…” Mona paused for a moment, and a word suddenly popped into her mind.

—Earth veins.

The earth's veins that collect all the information in the world.

And who controls these ley lines?

It is controlled by the one who created the "false heaven".

She already had a vague feeling that something was going on.

Han Fulai raised his hand and pointed to the ceiling above his head.

"I'm afraid... the one on Sky Isle is just such a 'Laplace' demon."

Mona's expression was sorrowful.

In Han Fulai's world, the so-called "Laplace's Demon" is just a "thought experiment." She can doubt whether it is even possible... but that's not important. What's important is that, regardless of whether it exists or not, this thought experiment has reached a conclusion: everything in the future is already determined.

Everything in nature is governed by a cause that strictly determines an effect, and every effect can be traced back to its cause. By extension, in the entire spacetime of nature, at every moment and in every location, all phenomena are strictly determined by a chain of cause and effect—including the life of every person on the continent of Teyvat.

This is "determinism," which is "predetermined destiny."

Human knowledge may be limited, and therefore we cannot fully predict the future, just as Mona's divinations may fail for some people, but this does not change the fact that "fate is predetermined".

Moreover, there are beings on the continent of Teyvat who are far superior to humans... Humans' limited observation and imagination may not be able to comprehend the power of that superior being, after all, He is given the name "Heavenly Principle".

That's why Lisa wrote the line, "No one in this world can live to be free."

Because everyone's fate has already been woven by the lofty principles of Heaven, only death can free people from facing this sorrowful fact.

Although this aligns with the theoretical basis of astrology, the conclusion is saddening—that all of humanity's efforts to change its destiny are merely a part of fate, and that humanity is just a group of laughable puppets without realizing it...?

Han Fulai's voice rang out again: "But I have good news for you. In my world, 'Laplace's Demon' has been defeated."

Chapter 255 When in doubt, quantum mechanics

On any planet in any universe, those intelligent people who are closest to the truth of the world always suffer far more than ordinary people.

Just as the witches of Teyvat agonized over "false heavens" and "fate," scientists on Earth also struggled for a long time with "Laplace's demon."

On Earth, classical mechanics represents the first golden age in the history of physics.

It began with Galileo's first critique of Aristotle's natural philosophy in the spirit of combining empiricism and analysis, and continued until Newton proposed his famous three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Newton and Leibniz also established the mathematical tool of calculus, thus building the entire framework of classical physics.

Later, Lagrange, Hamilton, and others reformulated Newtonian mechanics, eventually resulting in the simple and elegant Hamiltonian equations. Still later, Boltzmann, Maxwell, Gibbs, and others established statistical mechanics, reducing thermal phenomena to molecular motion. The last peak of classical theory, built upon the foundation laid by Faraday, Ampère, and others, enabled Maxwell to establish a complete electromagnetic theory, clearly describing the laws governing the motion of electromagnetic fields.

Classical mechanics laws are concise, elegant, and effective. From the motion of simple point masses and rigid bodies to fluid systems composed of a large number of point masses; from complex machines designed by people to the motion of all planets and comets in the entire solar system; all human observations have verified the correctness of classical mechanics.

Classical mechanics is cold and perfect; every achievement of it demonstrates the powerful force of determinism.

—Without even astronomical observation, people could assert the existence of Neptune, which had not yet been discovered at the time, and when and where it would appear, simply by mathematical calculations of the planet's orbit.

People may be completely unaware of the existence of electromagnetic waves, yet they can use a set of equations to predict the existence of electromagnetic field fluctuations capable of transmitting energy and information. Simply because calculations show that electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, it can be predicted that light is an electromagnetic wave.

By this time, the entire natural world, including the motion of macroscopic objects, thermal phenomena, and electromagnetic fields, had a complete theoretical framework. Everything in the universe, from the motion of point masses and rigid bodies to the laws governing the movement of celestial bodies, could be reduced to a few simple laws of mechanics. Even the invisible and intangible electromagnetic field could be calculated precisely using Maxwell's equations.

The precise calculations made by classical mechanics for point masses, rigid bodies, and even electromagnetic fields fostered a growing scientific arrogance among people at the time: the motion of every system in the universe was predictable. By extension, the future of our world, including each of us, was calculable and therefore predetermined.

Therefore, in 1814, Laplace first proposed the concept of "Laplace's demon" in his work "A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities".

The so-called "omniscience is omnipotence" has led many to even claim that the so-called "Laplace's demon" is the creator, or God himself.

If it were replaced with Teyvat, it would be "the way of the world".

“In my world, my ancestors also went through a period when ‘determinism’ told people that human destiny was like those intricate mechanical creations in Fontainebleau: gears, chains, bearings… By combining these complex mechanical parts, it could be made to complete the actions set by nature with great precision.”

"Like a mechanical clock, after countless gears of all sizes are combined, the clock will turn round and round meticulously according to time, neither a step fast nor a step slow. The fate of the hour hand is destined to run a marathon on the dial in such solitude."

"Laplace's demon is telling people that our universe is also an incredibly complex clock, and each of us is running alone along a predetermined trajectory."

"In this world, everyone's fate is predetermined from the beginning, and everyone's so-called free will is nothing but an illusion. Even the feelings we have when we discuss this issue now... are all false. —Mona, are you willing to accept such a 'predestined fate'?"

Han Fulai asked.

"I won't accept it."

Mona swung her pigtails fiercely.

No one likes a situation where their fate is completely out of their control. How can life be like a novel with a predetermined ending, where everything is preordained by the author? As long as we are human, we need hope, we need freedom, and we need to tell ourselves that there are all sorts of possibilities in the future, and that we can change our destiny through our own efforts—otherwise, what's the point of living?

and……

"And didn't you say that someone in your world has already defeated 'Laplace's Demon'...breaking 'predestined fate'?" Mona asked.

As an astrologer whose theoretical foundation is "predestination," Mona shouldn't have been happy about the overturning of her own theoretical basis—but Mona has never been the kind of rigid person who follows the rules, otherwise she wouldn't have developed such a satirical "water wish".

When fighting the bandits, Mona used the "Water Wish" skill that kept shouting, "Old hag, come and get me!"

Although it was merely an illusion that took the hits in place of its master, the astrologers originally developed this technique to use their own phantoms to transfer their destined misfortune.

Centuries of practice have proven to astrologers that deceiving “fate” with illusions is futile, but astrologers have not stopped refining their skills in altering fate.

Despite having witnessed too many unchangeable "fates," Mona still believes deep down that fate can be changed by human effort, even if it is futile, she still has to try.

You failed? That's because you're too bad. If you're bad, practice more!

— Believing in the existence of fate, and believing that fate can be changed, that's what an astrologer is all about.

Otherwise, why would they bother with fortune telling? What's the point of it if they're not trying to change their fate?

Do the immortals of Liyue simply abandon Shenhe after calculating that she has the fate of "Lonely Star Calamity"? Would they take Shenhe up the mountain to become her disciple, give her a red rope to bind her soul, and use immortal magic to change her fate?

As a Chinese visitor who found endless joy in "fighting against the heavens," Han Fulai also held this attitude.

"Well, in my world, the one who defeated 'Laplace's Demon' was another mythical beast, omnipresent and immortal, named 'Schrödinger's Cat'. 'Schrödinger's Cat' left us a secret to defeating 'Laplace's Demon', eight words."

Han Fulai spoke very seriously to Mona in an almost saintly, preaching tone, saying eight words: "When in doubt, consult quantum mechanics."

Chapter 256 The Observer Effect

“'Schrödinger’s cat'... 'quantum mechanics'...?” Mona’s big eyes were full of big question marks.

Han Fulai thought for a moment and said to Mona, "This involves something that is common knowledge in our world, but has not yet been discovered in Teyvat—microscopic particles. If a physical quantity has a smallest indivisible basic unit, we call that smallest unit a quantum. And the discipline that studies how these microscopic particles move is called 'quantum mechanics' in our world."

"Mona, you must have heard of proverbs like 'many a little makes a mickle' or 'many grains of sand make a tower,' right?"

Mona nodded.

"Then I think you should be able to accept that everything we see is actually made up of smaller things, just like soil is made up of many tiny grains of sand, rivers are made up of many tiny droplets of water... and living things are actually the same."

“In my world, people discovered that everything in the world is made up of things called ‘atoms’ that are invisible to the naked eye. Take us humans, for example. Humans are made up of cells, and cells are combinations of various molecules, mainly proteins. Um, the eggs in the ‘satisfying salad’ we just ate contain protein. And protein molecules are made up of trillions of atoms.”

"Our mental activities, including our joys, sorrows, and thoughts, are all electrical signals in the human body. These currents are transmitted through circuits formed by the long tendrils of nerve cells, and the switching of these currents is controlled by the movement of some special proteins in the nerve cell connections."

"Everything in our universe, from the largest stars to the smallest dust particles, is ultimately composed of tiny elementary particles. In short, all these tiny elementary particles that make up everything in the universe move according to the same law: quantum mechanics."

"Hmm..." These were all completely new perspectives for Mona. While they weren't difficult to understand through imagination, she hadn't actually seen them. Perhaps this was the area of ​​research for Lisa and the scholars of the Order of the Church?

Seeing that Mona didn't quite understand, Han Fulai chuckled and said, "Actually, just like when you explained astrological theories to me and Ying, we didn't really understand either. You don't need to think about the specific principles behind this thing. Just accept that such a thing as 'microscopic particles' exists for now."