"For instance, the pride humans once had in themselves historically, versus the inferiority complex they have now," Lu Bao Bian changed lanes. "Or the intense desire for fame and social status in ancient times, compared to the passive, live-for-the-day attitude of most modern people."
"These are just examples. What caused such a drastic shift in human thought and collective psychology throughout history? What are the societal impacts of this shift today? And how does a colonial general like you need to adapt to and leverage this influence? This is roughly what my course aims to explore."
Jiang Ye was utterly bewildered.
Although Lu Bao Bian was speaking Chinese, Jiang Ye felt as if he couldn't understand a word.
He suddenly remembered that he hadn't even graduated from high school, and strictly speaking, his education was only at the junior high level.
"I'm slow-witted, student..." Jiang Ye blushed. "I don't quite grasp the issues you just raised."
Lu Bao Bian seemed to perk up, smiled, and placed his glass on the coffee table.
"The first issue I mentioned, the historical human pride in self versus the current human inferiority complex. Can you understand that?" Lu Bao Bian asked.
Jiang Ye was confused for a moment. "Teacher, to be honest, I'm an ancient person. I was born on Earth, a young man from the 21st century. Later, I used cryopreservation technology to travel through many years to arrive here today."
"Oh?" Lu Bao Bian raised an eyebrow in surprise and sat up straighter, as if a medical expert had stumbled upon a rare case.
"However, when you spoke of historical human pride in self, I didn't feel that," Jiang Ye rubbed his hands. "When I was a child, I never felt proud. On the contrary, I was quite self-conscious because my academic performance was always mediocre. I liked to tease my deskmate in class, so teachers often scolded me. I never placed in sports events either, and my appearance was just average. In short, there was nothing to be proud of."
"No, no, no, you misunderstand. I'm talking about how ancient people felt about humanity as a whole, not about your personal feelings," Lu Bao Bian smiled. "According to historical records, ancient humans had a very strong sense of pride in the human species."
Jiang Ye thought for a moment. "It seems so, but what specifically do you mean..."
"Before the space age, humans considered themselves the pinnacle of creation, the king of beasts, so-called advanced animals, at the top of the food chain. Everyone believed that one day, with technological advancement, humanity would conquer the universe and gain god-like abilities, such as immortality and time travel," Lu Bao Bian spoke at an unhurried pace. "This was the pride of ancient people in the human race, a sense of pride that came from the heart."
"When I studied ancient history, I watched many old movies from before the space age. One of them was about contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. The aliens were metallic and could transform into cars upon arriving on Earth. They even protected Earthlings from alien invasions," Lu Bao Bian paused. "They were called Autobots. After arriving on human territory, they would actively learn human languages and befriend humans."
Jiang Ye's expression was subtle. "Teacher, was the protagonist of the movie you watched named Optimus Prime?"
Lu Bao Bian pondered for a moment. "It's been too long, I can't quite recall. I think that was his name."
Jiang Ye was dumbfounded. A popcorn movie was being deeply analyzed by a professor of philosophy and sociology in later generations?
"Since you've seen it, it's easier to discuss," Lu Bao Bian smiled. "Everything in this movie reveals a mindset of human supremacy. People of that era seemed to subconsciously believe that humans could defeat any alien through struggle, and that aliens wanted to befriend humans. Ancient people never considered that humanity's position in the universe was like a beetle on a garbage heap at the street corner."
Jiang Ye was bewildered. He had never imagined such an inexplicable interpretation.
"This subconscious idea of human exceptionalism actually stemmed from the fact that before the space age, humans were unaware of extraterrestrial civilizations," Lu Bao Bian smiled. "I've consulted some ancient texts, and at that time, humans were even seriously discussing whether aliens existed in the universe, a ridiculous question. Some absurd theories also emerged, such as the Fermi Paradox."
"We truly didn't know about aliens back then..." Jiang Ye scratched his head. "No one paid attention to aliens either; everyone was busy with exams, work, and so on."
"But after the space age, humanity's perception of itself changed. Even elementary school students now know that within the Milky Way alone, there are eight hundred thousand intelligent species that have developed civilizations. Beyond the Milky Way, there are another 7 trillion known galaxies, most of which are teeming with aliens," Lu Bao Bian smiled. "Humanity's overall strength places us in the last tier of the universe. The achievements of the higher tiers are beyond our comprehension. The gap is measured in hundreds of thousands of years."
Jiang Ye glanced at the night sky outside the window. "Indeed... it's enough to feel inferior."
"Therefore, with the advent of the space age, humans no longer have confidence in themselves. When we see the mediocre ants, it's as if we see ourselves," Lu Bao Bian said. "Ancient humans were often passionate about striving, climbing the social ladder, and earning more money. Ancient children all dreamed of becoming number one in the world. But children in the space age find it hard to have great ambitions; they are often happy just finding a job to make a living."
"Is the root of this change in mindset due to contact with more alien civilizations?" Jiang Ye finally started to understand.
"There's a theory called the 'Mountain Village Rich Household Theory.' Have you heard of it?" Lu Bao Bian changed the subject.
Jiang Ye shook his head.
"In a mountain village, there was a rich household. The entire village had only four cows, and three of them were in the rich household's possession. He was richer than the entire village combined, and he felt his wealth had reached its peak, making him very proud," Lu Bao Bian began his explanation.
"Later, the rich man left the mountains and traveled a long distance into a bustling metropolis filled with high-rise buildings. As he wandered the streets of the metropolis, the rich man was shocked to discover that even selling both his cows wouldn't be enough to buy a small watch from a roadside shop. To be precise, he would barely have enough to buy a watch strap."
"And in this metropolis, wealthy individuals attending parties would casually throw watches worth ten times more into swimming pools, letting their servants dive in to retrieve them," Da Feng Novel Network.
"The rich man threw his watch away because he was in a bad mood lately; he had just fallen out of the top ten thousand wealthiest people in the country."
"And those at the top of the national top ten thousand wealthiest list could barely squeeze into the bottom of the world's top ten thousand wealthiest list."
Jiang Ye thought to himself, what kind of eccentric scholar invented this theory? It's like a nesting doll.
"Humans who had just joined the Galactic Empire were like the mountain village rich household," Lu Bao Bian said. "They originally thought they were significant figures, but upon entering the vaster universe, they discovered they were nothing."
"Thus, a huge psychological gap and a complete shift in mindset occurred?" Jiang Ye understood.
"Exactly. The first generation of humans in the space age were also known as the 'generation of confusion.' Their manifestations included economic stagnation, widespread laziness, mass resignations and business closures, soaring suicide rates, a near-total absence of idealistic literature and film, and a significant increase in average sleep time," Lu Bao Bian smiled. "It's said that at that time, cheap motel owners would ask arriving guests, 'Are you here to stay or to jump?'"
Jiang Ye fell silent. All of this had happened after his cryopreservation and before his awakening. He never would have imagined it.
"It seems you've been listening. Now I can tell you in advance the final exam questions for my course. You can start preparing early," Lu Bao Bian said with an appreciative smile.
Jiang Ye felt invigorated. Chatting with the teacher to get close was indeed effective. He was about to get the final exam questions before the semester even began?