godfather of surgery

Chapter 1149 The Big Topic

"Yes, this is a question the professor gave me. Our research on Tong Yongqian has encountered a problem. His mother's X chromosome carrying the disease gene has been confirmed by testing to not have come from his maternal grandfather. Since it did not come from his maternal grandfather, it must have come from his maternal grandmother. Therefore, we can infer that his maternal grandmother's X chromosome also carries the same disease gene, so this disease gene did not come from his maternal grandfather's Y chromosome."

"In this way, the whole truth came to light, and the entire genetic lineage of Tong Yongqian's maternal grandmother was explained without any leaks."

"It's a real shame that our theory of Y-gene recombination with X-gene has been destroyed."

“When I reported to the professor, he raised this question after reading the genetic testing data I gave him. He said that I should come back to him after I figured it out. He said that this question was both a simple one and a profound logical one.”

Xiao Wu explained the background of the question from beginning to end to avoid leaving people confused.

Hearing that it was a question posed by a professor, everyone put down their work and gathered around, eager to hear what profound question it was.

Zhang Lin brought Song Ziming a glass of water, and Xiao Wu stood behind him, massaging his shoulders to relax the muscles. Song Ziming took a sip of water and said slowly:

"This is a question raised by the professor!"

It seems that it's not that simple. Since it's a logical problem, we need to understand it from a logical perspective.

In other words, we should not treat an X-ray with ordinary thinking, but rather with the mindset of a scientific researcher.

The information carried on all X-ray films is not direct information, but secondary information that has been transformed.

It simply uses the difference in X-ray penetration through substances of different densities to form an image. The basis of any image formation is some kind of difference, which is converted into differences in light and color, and finally an image is formed. Without differences in light and color, it is impossible to form an image.

Since the information carried on an X-ray is secondary information, it is subject to the risk of conversion. Theoretically, during the conversion, there will inevitably be information loss or distortion, which is what we often call information distortion. This distortion will always exist in the information conversion process, only to varying degrees.

To give a simple example, you see red as a red light at an intersection, but a person with red-green color blindness may see red as dark or black.

So, do you think that light is red or black?
The red light waveform is perceived by adults through a complex visual pathway. Simply put, external light enters the eye through the cornea, is refracted by the pupil and lens, and finally focuses on the retina. The rod and cone cells on the retina receive the image formed by the light and convert it into nerve impulses, which are then transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits the signal to the visual center of the cerebral cortex, and finally forms a visual perception in the brain.

His starting point is red light waves, and his endpoint is the perception formed by the cerebral cortex.

In the end, it's just a perception of the cerebral cortex in both your eyes and that of a colorblind person. So, would you say red is correct, or black is correct?

The standard for right or wrong is merely a statistical measure, because the vast majority of people are normal and they see red. Therefore, based on this common perception, what conforms to it is right, and what does not conform to it is wrong. So, what colorblind people see as black is incorrect.

If the situation were reversed, with the vast majority of people in the world being colorblind and only a very small minority being colorblind, then the answer would naturally be reversed as well: what they see would be correct, and what you see would be wrong.

"This is how you look at an X-ray using a scientific research mindset."

After Song Ziming finished speaking, the doctors around him stared at each other blankly, and he had to stop.

"Did you understand?" Song Ziming asked. They all shook their heads. Zhang Lin said, "It feels like you're talking nonsense. Don't misunderstand, I'm completely confused after listening to you. It's like you're talking nonsense. I don't understand what you mean at all. Are your brains different from mine?"

Xiao Wu also shook his head: "I don't understand. It's the same as not saying anything at all."

"Well, okay, I don't know how to say it either. I'll continue, and you can understand as much as you can."

Song Ziming was at a loss. He had already explained it very simply, but they still couldn't understand.

"Now to answer your question, Tong Yongqian's mother's X chromosome has been tested and it did not come from Tong Yongqian's maternal grandfather. We know that a woman has two X chromosomes, one from her father and one from her mother. According to the law of excluded middle and the law of contradiction, if this X chromosome did not come from Tong Yongqian's maternal grandfather, then it must have come from Tong Yongqian's maternal grandmother. The other healthy chromosome came from Tong Yongqian's maternal grandfather. The whole reasoning seems flawless and watertight. For you, the research can end here. All your previous guesses have failed."

"But now for the important part, listen carefully."

Although no one understood, they still perked up and craned their necks, not wanting to miss a single word.

"Now for the important part, everyone listen carefully," Song Ziming emphasized.

"Close the door!"

Zhang Lin immediately directed a graduate student to close the door.

Song Ziming continued:
"But have you considered this? All the information you used in your reasoning just now was secondary information. Everything you used was based on another set of information. If a building is built on sand, and the sand collapses, the building will collapse with it. That's without a doubt."

"Assuming that the information you are using is secondary information, if the underlying primary information is false, then even if your current reasoning is flawless, both the process and the result are false."

"Now we are getting closer to our question: what is the standard for determining that Tong Yongqian's mother's X chromosome did not come from his maternal grandfather? Is this standard valid in the current context? This standard is a cornerstone of the entire reasoning. Is this cornerstone a solid foundation or just sand?"

"If this standard is false at this point, then the conclusions derived from the so-called law of excluded middle and law of contradiction must also be false."

"So your topic looks simple, but it's actually very complex, involving far too many things. Your guess itself is a counterintuitive, low-probability event: during meiosis in germ cells, genes on the Y chromosome are shed, enter the X chromosome, and are then passed down through the X chromosome."

"Since you are studying counterintuitive, low-probability events, are the testing standards applicable in the past? If everything were applicable, Newtonian classical mechanics would be the only thing that matters, and Einstein would not have developed the theory of relativity."

"Your project is a big one, do a good job."

Song Ziming patted Zhang Lin and Xiao Wu on the shoulders.

Why didn't I understand?

Xiao Wu and Zhang Lin stared blankly at Song Ziming.