Two conspirators are imprisoned and cannot communicate with each other. If neither reveals the other, due to uncertain evidence, each will serve one year in prison; if one reveals and the other remains silent, the revealer will be released for their cooperation, while the silent one will be imprisoned for ten years due to non-cooperation; if both reveal each other, due to conclusive evidence, both will be sentenced to eight years. The prisoners cannot trust each other, so they end up revealing each other instead of remaining silent, leading to a Nash equilibrium that falls only at the non-cooperative point in the game model. This is the "prisoner's dilemma," and "involution" is similar; it is a zero-sum game for the entire society.
Meaningless perfectionism complicates simple problems, leading to passive responses to avoid liability, low-level imitation and replication, internal competition that limits creativity, and endless digging and research on the same issue. Everyone follows the routine, works hard, and enjoys it, but only within a limited internal scope, without expanding outward. The tea cups placed on the conference table, viewed from any angle, form a spectacular sight, painstakingly arranged by many staff members over a long time using ropes for precise positioning. In relation to the content and significance of the meeting, this strict and precise arrangement serves no purpose. To implement projects decided by higher-ups while making the entire decision-making process appear scientific to cope with audits and inspections, a series of feasibility reports are created, and numerous experts and scholars are invited to provide suggestions, leading to repeated review and validation meetings, even though the project has already been decided by the leadership.
The creation of evaluations rises and falls, consuming vast amounts of human and material resources, yet fails to drive the expected work forward, unable to achieve its original intent, with more emphasis on show than substantial effect. Micro-sculpture is merely a formal art; its creative content will always be less than that of normally sized artworks, especially in terms of coloring, where micro-sculpture faces fatal limitations. The artistic connotation of micro-sculpture cannot surpass that of normal artistic creation.
After spending a lot of time and exhausting willpower, not only is no new content created, but one must also use a magnifying glass to see it, which is exhausting. The rigid examination system forces students to work hard within the syllabus to achieve high scores, limiting their free spirit and stifling their creativity. At the same time, to distinguish levels, examiners have to create bizarre and strange exam questions. The Chinese study of historical classics is astonishing; with just a few books, countless scholars endlessly dig deeper, refining further and further. Besides a pile of rotten meat in the pot, what new things can be produced?
How did we find ourselves trapped in such various involution dilemmas? According to the prisoner's dilemma game model, under institutional pressure, people are like prisoners in a dilemma; for their own interests, the vast majority will choose the "cooperative" option, while very few will choose to resist the system. Therefore, people tirelessly engage in zero-sum or even negative-sum games with relevant personnel in a small scope, fighting within their own pants. Everyone argues back and forth, exhausting themselves; no matter how hard you try or how much you give, the total benefits do not increase, remaining just a little bit. Clearly, institutionalized internal competition is a significant factor leading to involution.
On the other hand, cultural genes determine that we are accustomed to internal competition while lacking the courage to innovate and expand outward. From a young age, we are required to be obedient, as the sages said, "Do not speak, see, hear, or act improperly," requiring both words and actions to be proper, accustomed to seeking a place to live and thrive within narrow interpersonal relationships. When traditional culture reaches a certain stage and cannot adapt to new situations, it easily goes astray and enters a dead end. Since we cannot adapt to the challenges posed by foreign cultures, we can only continue to dig deeply internally, seeking solace.
The many rules, customs, and taboos accumulated over thousands of years are involution; feudal superstition has taken involution to the extreme. Human nature cannot remain idle; if no new thoughts arise and no fresh things can be anticipated, it will inevitably come up with something to fuss over. Involution slowly consumes our intelligence and youth, dulling our sharpness.
For individuals, it is a silent and unnoticeable waste of time. For society, a large number of people silently engage in futile work, wasting resources and reducing overall efficiency, weakening external competitiveness. We have a large number of PhDs, professors, and researchers, yet our technological innovation competitiveness does not match this; countless talents are trapped in an involuted institutional environment, unable to extricate themselves, resulting in significant waste. Surface-level refinement, complexity, and attention to detail do not equate to sophistication, let alone advancement; they are merely a self-deceptive illusion, a dark and ignorant consumption, a sad spiritual reliance.
Only by breaking free from self-imposed confines and continuously breaking through, innovating, and creating at a higher level can we avoid being troubled by that delicate, complex, and seemingly dedicated state of involution, allowing us to return to a new normal of upward vitality.