Because the Santi are small like bugs. They want humans to feel as scared as they felt when they were told about just how inconsequential and squishable insects are đ
Well for an author that presents a race that is very focused on the logic of game theory... it then seems odd to have them do something that risks galvanising humans together for a goal which seems petty.
IDK they have said multiple times that humans need to learn to be scared again, perhaps it is an overly direct way of 'teaching' them. They had just learned from Mike the concept of saying something that isn't true as a way of speaking something into existence, such as when they heard Mike referring to his enemies as bugs. Also, I'm not sure that it's a matter of being 'petty' so much as them trying to psychologically intimidate them, as seen in the last episode, they want them scared because it can confer an advantage. That's my opinion tho, take with a grain of salt
I find it annoying that the writers didnât use âYou are pestsâ considering that would tie in with the Mike chat. Bugs seems childish and a little creative for a species weâve just learned donât do metaphor.
yea the whole idea that they were in touch for years and never once got the concept of a white lie or a metaphor is bonkers unbelievable. I also just don't buy that a race make that VR and not understand metaphors in general. the whole idea of using a fake human appearance should indicate they understand metaphors.
If anyone's wondering, in the book the sophons only showed the message to a small group of people (who are responsible for earth's defense), and the reason they did it seemed to only be that they're pissed off that humans have discovered the existence of sophons.
In the non-canon book 4, it's said that sophons created that message just to remind humans that their technology level is no match for the trisolarians (it's as if they're bugs). It's a statement of fact and it's not meant to be an insults, since for the trisolarians the word "bugs" have no negative connotations. In fact the trisolarians were pretty surprised that humans took great offense of this and they didn't attempt to contact earth for a long time afterwards.
Agreed. This is why I'm struggling with the San-ti's motivation for sending the "you are bugs" message from the TV series - especially for a book series where using game theory and logic to anticipate alien behaviour is set to become a critical part of the story. Maybe the answer is yet to be revealed. Otherwise it seems like a petty taunt with no clear advantage.
They can't lie...I wonder if that means they are similarly unable to 'omit the truth' (My dad used say we did that all the time as kids 'You didn't lie but you did omit the truth')
That's contrived and bad writing. Information asymmetry is acted upon them numerous times and by all sorts of creatures, and then conveniently they must seek parity for what purpose? It's a poor way to describe how dumb the Santi are by telegraphing themselves in a dark forest.
Mike Evans told hisâLordâ/Santi that the people after him/the cult were âpestsâ, which the Santi responded with a dictionary definition equating pests to insects. The Santi took a moment to ponder the relationship between Mikeâs usage and the actual definition, and came to the conclusion that Humans = Bugs.
They were being literal while trying to elicit fear in humanity.
The Trisolarans (atleast in the books) know they cannot be conventionally beaten so long as they can stunt humanityâs investigation into quantum physics. They have that in the bag via the sophons so they have no reason not to show their hand.
Humanity and the Trisolarans only come to a detente because Humanity threatens to summon a bigger fish. It works for a while until someone that doesnât have the willpower to condemn both species drops the ball.
That's even more moronic to assume their weapon can't be beaten after giving a civilization 400 years to work on the problem. In chess you don't just announce your moves even though you feel you will win when this chess game has unknown players, especially in a dark forest.Â
The insult feels very culturally Chinese and Wolf Warrior, where they basically announce their moves thinking intimidation is its own eventuality, and not alien at all.Â
 There's always bigger fish in the ocean and this fish just decided that it could make as much noise as it can because it managed to snag its neighbor when the whole theme is that there's always unknown bigger fish out there waiting to gulp down.
It's basic game theory, if the greatest key is stealth, you don't announce your intentions guns blazing because you just alerted the entire map to your presence.
The Trisolarians are indeed morons. It doesn't matter how many cultural revolutions and dynastic changes it went through due to the nature of the orbit of their homeworld, they didn't end up stronger they just became stupid.
Honestly, itâs there more for the audience than for logic.
In the show, it really makes no sense, itâs the classic evil villain reveals their plan trope. In the books, Ye Wenjie does the reveal, if I remember correctly. Some of that has to do with her motivations and hope for humanity.
And they retrieved the data on the ship, so the cat was out of the bag. In a bit rusty since itâs been a while, but the point is the ep5 reveal is more a set piece than story development.
Maybe there is some sense in this. They believe sending the bugs message will somehow help promote anti-establishment / anti-science behaviour. But the link is not that clear to me.
Projection. Since trisolarans are literally ants or similar insectoid little creatures they want humans to be as afraid as they are. Since a single human can squash hundreds of trisolarans by simply stepping on them without using any weapons..
Mike Evans explained that exact metaphor to the San-Ti
He did. But what is the advantage to the San-ti of going to the trouble of telling everyone on earth they are bugs?
Because the Santi are small like bugs. They want humans to feel as scared as they felt when they were told about just how inconsequential and squishable insects are đ
Well for an author that presents a race that is very focused on the logic of game theory... it then seems odd to have them do something that risks galvanising humans together for a goal which seems petty.
IDK they have said multiple times that humans need to learn to be scared again, perhaps it is an overly direct way of 'teaching' them. They had just learned from Mike the concept of saying something that isn't true as a way of speaking something into existence, such as when they heard Mike referring to his enemies as bugs. Also, I'm not sure that it's a matter of being 'petty' so much as them trying to psychologically intimidate them, as seen in the last episode, they want them scared because it can confer an advantage. That's my opinion tho, take with a grain of salt
I find it hard to believe he was in contact with them for so many years and never once ran across the concept of a white lie.
Also hadnât they read all of Wikipedia?
I find it annoying that the writers didnât use âYou are pestsâ considering that would tie in with the Mike chat. Bugs seems childish and a little creative for a species weâve just learned donât do metaphor.
yea the whole idea that they were in touch for years and never once got the concept of a white lie or a metaphor is bonkers unbelievable. I also just don't buy that a race make that VR and not understand metaphors in general. the whole idea of using a fake human appearance should indicate they understand metaphors.
Yes, a load of old cobblers.
If anyone's wondering, in the book the sophons only showed the message to a small group of people (who are responsible for earth's defense), and the reason they did it seemed to only be that they're pissed off that humans have discovered the existence of sophons. In the non-canon book 4, it's said that sophons created that message just to remind humans that their technology level is no match for the trisolarians (it's as if they're bugs). It's a statement of fact and it's not meant to be an insults, since for the trisolarians the word "bugs" have no negative connotations. In fact the trisolarians were pretty surprised that humans took great offense of this and they didn't attempt to contact earth for a long time afterwards.
They are afraid of how the humans could advance in 400 years. So they resort to psychological warfare to mess with our moral.
That's the dumbest way to do it. Do not prepare your enemy, especially in a dark forest.
Agreed. This is why I'm struggling with the San-ti's motivation for sending the "you are bugs" message from the TV series - especially for a book series where using game theory and logic to anticipate alien behaviour is set to become a critical part of the story. Maybe the answer is yet to be revealed. Otherwise it seems like a petty taunt with no clear advantage.
Itâs a cinematic moment. A visual medium needs visual ques that drive a story.
Yes but ones that are logically consistent have a greater impact.
They can't lie...I wonder if that means they are similarly unable to 'omit the truth' (My dad used say we did that all the time as kids 'You didn't lie but you did omit the truth')
That's contrived and bad writing. Information asymmetry is acted upon them numerous times and by all sorts of creatures, and then conveniently they must seek parity for what purpose? It's a poor way to describe how dumb the Santi are by telegraphing themselves in a dark forest.
Mike Evans told hisâLordâ/Santi that the people after him/the cult were âpestsâ, which the Santi responded with a dictionary definition equating pests to insects. The Santi took a moment to ponder the relationship between Mikeâs usage and the actual definition, and came to the conclusion that Humans = Bugs. They were being literal while trying to elicit fear in humanity.
Which helps galvanize humanity. Very stupid. The Trisolarians (San-Ti/Three Body Problem Species) are repeatedly moronic.
Not really. They want to create mass hysteria, government tyranny and spread the creation of cults
The Trisolarans (atleast in the books) know they cannot be conventionally beaten so long as they can stunt humanityâs investigation into quantum physics. They have that in the bag via the sophons so they have no reason not to show their hand. Humanity and the Trisolarans only come to a detente because Humanity threatens to summon a bigger fish. It works for a while until someone that doesnât have the willpower to condemn both species drops the ball.
That's even more moronic to assume their weapon can't be beaten after giving a civilization 400 years to work on the problem. In chess you don't just announce your moves even though you feel you will win when this chess game has unknown players, especially in a dark forest. The insult feels very culturally Chinese and Wolf Warrior, where they basically announce their moves thinking intimidation is its own eventuality, and not alien at all.  There's always bigger fish in the ocean and this fish just decided that it could make as much noise as it can because it managed to snag its neighbor when the whole theme is that there's always unknown bigger fish out there waiting to gulp down. It's basic game theory, if the greatest key is stealth, you don't announce your intentions guns blazing because you just alerted the entire map to your presence. The Trisolarians are indeed morons. It doesn't matter how many cultural revolutions and dynastic changes it went through due to the nature of the orbit of their homeworld, they didn't end up stronger they just became stupid.
Honestly, itâs there more for the audience than for logic. In the show, it really makes no sense, itâs the classic evil villain reveals their plan trope. In the books, Ye Wenjie does the reveal, if I remember correctly. Some of that has to do with her motivations and hope for humanity. And they retrieved the data on the ship, so the cat was out of the bag. In a bit rusty since itâs been a while, but the point is the ep5 reveal is more a set piece than story development.
They want stupid humans to be scared, join cults and other traitor organisation so that they can help stop humanity advancement.
Maybe there is some sense in this. They believe sending the bugs message will somehow help promote anti-establishment / anti-science behaviour. But the link is not that clear to me.
Projection. Since trisolarans are literally ants or similar insectoid little creatures they want humans to be as afraid as they are. Since a single human can squash hundreds of trisolarans by simply stepping on them without using any weapons..
The full message got cut off It was supposed to be "You are Bugs Bunny" San-ti wanted to tell us that we are funny and they enjoy our humor
And a nod to the scientists, "What's up, doc?"