"As for the question you asked: whether transfiguration can create thoughts, Aaron, this is really a question worth discussing...I think you discovered this in practice?"
"Yes." Aaron nodded, "When I was practicing the transformation technique... I did seem to make something that I could think about."
"Really? That's really an interesting phenomenon."
Dumbledore smiled faintly. He first praised Aaron:
"Transfiguration is a field that only belongs to a very small number of talented people. Aaron, I am very happy that you can set foot here. This means that I have another student to be proud of."
Aaron added a 'but' in his mind before he finished listening.
Sure enough, Dumbledore's next words were:
"but……"
"I still need to remind you that using transformation to give objects the ability to think... This is a very dangerous thing. You must think carefully and be prepared before trying it."
"Professor, I understand."
Dumbledore nodded and continued:
"You asked me whether transfiguration can create thoughts. Frankly speaking, I don't know for sure. I can only say that it may not be able to 'create' thoughts, but it can 'project' thoughts."
"Projection..." Aaron was stunned for a moment, "Professor, what does this mean?"
Dumbledore did not answer him directly, but waved his wand, turning the tea cup in front of him into a beautiful butterfly.
The butterfly was flying gracefully in the room, its colorful blue wings reflecting the brilliant light.
"I think you should know the five exceptions mentioned in Gamp's basic principles of transformation, right?" Dumbledore asked.
"You can't conjure food out of thin air, you can't create life, you can't conjure unknown things, you can't conjure items with magical properties, and... you can't change the quantity." Aaron answered fluently.
"Yes." Dumbledore asked:
"Have you ever wondered why the inability to create life is an exception to the Transfiguration Technique? Obviously Transfiguration Technique has the ability to turn stillness into movement."
Aaron thought for a moment, then slowly said:
"Perhaps it's because the animals created by wizards lack one of the most basic instincts of life."
"oh?"
Dumbledore looked at Aaron with interest and motioned for him to continue.
"Stay alive."
Aaron said slowly and methodically:
"Staying alive is the most basic instinct of all life. Seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in order to survive. This is what every life will do."
"However, the animals transformed by wizards will not do this. Due to the effectiveness of magic, they will completely obey the wizard's orders and will not do anything that is beneficial to themselves."
"Therefore, they cannot be regarded as living beings, they are just some kind of magical puppets with animal shapes."
"Crack, snap, snap."
Dumbledore couldn't help but applaud and said approvingly:
"Very well, Aaron. Your intelligence is amazing. I have to admit that you do have some refreshing insights into the art of transfiguration."
"Thank you, Professor." Aaron bowed his head humbly.
"However, there is actually another standard for judging life..."
Seeing that Aaron's curiosity was aroused, Dumbledore did not show off, but said bluntly:
"think."
"Suppose we have a statue in front of us, a thinking statue."
"It was erected at the gate of the castle. Day after day, it greeted the students coming and going, listened to their conversations, and absorbed their wisdom. Eventually, its thinking became extremely developed."
"So one day, it got tired of this world, and in its mind - let's just pretend it had a brain, the thought of death came to mind."
"Then the statue at this time is enough to be called a life."
Dumbledore's words were no less than a thunderbolt in Aaron's heart.
think……
Objects capable of thinking…
Have life...
"If an object has a sufficiently developed mind, can it also be called a life?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore sighed softly:
"Fear of death is a sign of life; but those who cross death by their own will can also be called life."
"That means..."
"That means we can't create an idea out of thin air and then ascribe it to an object, Aaron."
Dumbledore said seriously: "Because if you create an independent thought, then once it has the will to give up existence for some greater benefit."
"This means that you have created a life, and creating life is a boundary that transfiguration is destined to be unable to cross."
"But……"
Aaron couldn't help but doubt himself: "I did use transformation to create some thinking objects."
"You have to understand, Aaron."
Dumbledore said slowly:
"In the world of magic, there is always a situation like this: in practice, we discover a certain phenomenon that is mysterious and unexplainable. The existing theories are full of loopholes in front of it, and we have no way of knowing how it came about. of."
"However, I may be able to give you some relatively reasonable explanations for what you made."
"Projection of thoughts?" Aaron reacted immediately.
"Yes, the projection of thoughts."
Dumbledore nodded:
"We can definitely think of it this way - when you were practicing Transfiguration, you desperately wanted to create a thought, so the magic responded to you, infusing part of your own thought into the object in front of you, so that it had thinking Ability."
"However, this does not mean that you created a thought, and the thought itself existed - it was your own thought, and all you did was make a copy of your thought and transfer it to an object Go up."
"This process we call the projection of ideas."
Aaron asked, "Like the Sorting Hat?"
"Like the Sorting Hat."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Sorting Hat, which was napping on the shelf behind Dumbledore, suddenly snored for a long time, as if it had discovered that someone was talking about it.
Dumbledore fell silent and raised a finger to his lips, making a cautious expression.
Aaron couldn't help but laugh.
He already understood what Dumbledore meant.
To use a popular metaphor to describe it is...artificial intelligence.
The objects Aaron created using Transfiguration were equivalent to machines in the Muggle world.
And if an object has thoughts, it is equivalent to the machine having intelligence.
However, just like in the Muggle world, it is extremely difficult to truly iterate artificial intelligence to possess human intelligence and become an existence like electronic life.
In the wizarding world, creating a truly independent mind is also nearly impossible.
Therefore, there is a method that is almost cheating like 'thought projection'.
This is like a scientist who wants to develop a real artificial intelligence. He needs to collect huge amounts of data, constantly revise his model, needs huge amounts of computing power as support, and needs to go through countless hardships and efforts.
But even so, it is impossible for him to create a true electronic life-like existence.
So, he chose to take a different path.
Directly use a special method to place the human brain in the machine, so that no matter from any angle, the machine is intelligent enough to apply for citizenship - because it is a person in itself.
The same is true for the projection of thoughts - if intelligence is not enough, artificial intelligence must be used to make it work.
In short, creating life - this is a private place reserved by God for himself. Neither wizards nor Muggles are allowed to have the slightest ambiguous or vague prying.
The only thing they can do is be a porter.
…
"Well, Professor, I have one more question."
"Speak, Aaron."
"According to my personal experience - these items that possess thoughts through 'thought projection' are somewhat... unusable."
When saying this, Aaron thought of that damn wardrobe, which always recommended all kinds of women's clothing to Aaron——
This may be because when Aaron implanted his thoughts into it, he substituted his own aesthetics and preferences for girls' dressing, but it mistakenly thought that Aaron himself liked to dress this way.
What wizard would like to wear a sailor uniform and white stockings?
As the saying goes, "you have to throw it away". Compared with the Sorting Hat, a magical item that can still faithfully perform its master's tasks after thousands of years, this stupid wardrobe was almost completely destroyed in seconds.
"You want to ask if there is any way to improve them and create some perfect magic items like the Sorting Hat."
"Yes, can you tell me?" Aaron was very excited. This is what he wanted!
Dumbledore shook his head: "Unfortunately, I don't know how to do it, and even if I did, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell you about it."
"Why?" Aaron couldn't help asking.
"Because your progress is too fast."
Dumbledore said in a sigh-like tone:
"The four founders of Hogwarts were able to leave the Sorting Hat. Not only because their magical attainments had reached the highest level in their era, but also because they had gone through many vicissitudes at that time and had honed their skills. Wisdom enough to control one’s own abilities.”
"And you, Aaron, you are too young, so young that it makes people a little scared. You are constantly carrying out new magic research and constantly pursuing new power - I know this. I also know that you have achieved great results."
"So, can you grasp all this?"
"Professor, I..."
"You don't have to answer me, Aaron."
Dumbledore waved his hand, and he seemed to look beyond Aaron and see a figure who was sitting in the same position fifty years ago.
Also young.
Equally handsome.
Equally talented and full of thirst for knowledge.
The difference was that Dumbledore did not see that kind of flamboyant ambition in the young man in front of him.
"Aaron, please forgive the conservativeness of an old man. I can't tell you the shortcut to the end. I understand your thirst for knowledge, but I don't want you to go astray because of this..."
