[1]LI Deyi,LIU Yuchao,BAO Hong,et al.Understanding Albert Einstein——The “Four Elements Theory” is the first principle that governs human and machine cognition[J].CAAI Transactions on Intelligent Systems,2025,20(4):1046-1052.[doi:10.11992/tis.202506028]
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Understanding Albert Einstein——The “Four Elements Theory” is the first principle that governs human and machine cognition

CAAI Transactions on Intelligent Systems[ISSN 1673-4785/CN 23-1538/TP] Volume: 20 Number of periods: 2025 4 Page number: 1046-1052 Column: 认知物理学专栏 Public date: 2025-08-05
Title:
Understanding Albert Einstein——The “Four Elements Theory” is the first principle that governs human and machine cognition
Author(s):
LI Deyi1;  LIU Yuchao2;  BAO Hong3;  JIANG Sheng4
1. Institute of Systems Engineering, Academy of Military Sciences, Beijing 100091, China;
2. Secretariat, Chinese Institute of Command and Control, Beijing 100083, China;
3. School of Robotics, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100101, China;
4. Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China
Keywords:
first principle; Einstein; Four Elements Theory; cognitive physics; intelligence and energy relation function
CLC:
TP18
DOI:
10.11992/tis.202506028
Abstract:
Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, proposed that first principles could be used to return to the essence of a problem. After developing the general theory of relativity, Albert Einstein, in the 1920s, sought a more ambitious unified theory to explain the interaction of matter and complex physical phenomena using first principles. His attempts to use field theory as a unifying framework were ultimately unsuccessful. This paper argues that achieving such a unified theory necessitates distinguishing between the physical space of the natural world and the cognitive space of the human mental realm, as well as between the hard-structured ware of matter and the soft-structured ware of thought. The universe is fundamentally material; neither emptiness nor time exists objectively within it. Instead, space and time are spiritual constructs of human cognition, lacking independent, objective existence. Human cognition of objective nature is inherently endless and can never be absolutely objective, as it is inevitably progressive, subjective, and constrained. Nevertheless, striving for maximal objectivity remains a central aim. Matter, energy, structure, and time constitute the most fundamental elements of human and machine cognition. The “four elements theory” serves as the first principle to unify human and machine cognition. By employing this theory, we can better comprehend the complex processes of life, elucidate the origins and measurement of intelligence, and, importantly, understand the shared foundations and commonalities between human and machine cognition. Artificial intelligence is to make cognitive machines achieve, or even exceed, human intelligence with lower energy consumption through changes in machine structure and improvement in the accuracy of running time slots.
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