What is the principle behind the If Phone Booth's wish fulfillment and what are its potential dangers?

Hello! Talking about Doraemon's "What-if Phone Booth," this is one of my favorite gadgets—both incredibly powerful and deeply philosophical. As a seasoned fan, let me explain what this thing really is and why it's so dangerous.

The "What-if Phone Booth": A Reality-Reshaping "BUG"

First, it's important to clarify: many people see it as a simple "wishing machine," but that's actually not quite accurate.

How Does It Work? — It's Not a "Wishing Machine," but a "World Editor"

The true mechanism of the What-if Phone Booth is more like creating or switching to a parallel world that meets the specified condition.

Imagine our world as a vast, complex computer program.

1. Inputting the Command: When you step into the phone booth, pick up the receiver, and say something like, "What if the world had no money...", you're essentially inputting a new line of core code or a rule into this "world program."
2. Recompiling and Running: The phone booth receives this command and instantly "recompiles" the entire world. Based on the new rule (e.g., "no money"), it deduces a logically consistent, brand-new world. In this new world, humanity never developed a monetary system from the start, relying instead on barter or other methods. History, culture, technology, and even everyone's memories and common sense are modified to fit this new setting.
3. Overwriting Reality: When you step out of the phone booth, you enter this newly "edited" worldline. To everyone in this world (including yourself), the world has always been this way. The previous "world with money" seems like it never existed.

In plain terms, it doesn't magically grant your wish; it throws you into a parallel universe where "the wish has already become reality." This is also why, to undo it, you must re-enter the booth and say, "Make the world as it was." This is equivalent to executing an "undo" command, switching you back to the original worldline.

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What Are Its Potential Dangers? — Sounds Amazing, But It's Full of Pitfalls

The power of this gadget lies in its ability to fundamentally alter reality, but that's precisely where the danger comes from. Its main risks are:

• 1. The Butterfly Effect and Unintended Chain Reactions (Monkey's Paw-Style Curse) This is the most common risk. Your wish might sound wonderful, but the process of fulfilling it and its side effects could be disastrous.

  • Example: Nobita hates doing homework. He might wish, "What if the world had no homework?" As a result, homework truly vanishes, but exams might disappear too. Schooling becomes optional, no one studies, society's technological and civilizational level regresses, and Nobita grows up unable to find a good job due to lack of knowledge. He only saw the benefit of "no homework" but didn't anticipate the cost the entire world would pay.

• 2. Fatal BUGs That Can't Be "Undone" This is the most terrifying risk. If your wish inadvertently affects the What-if Phone Booth itself, you might be trapped forever.

  • Classic Case: In Nobita's Great Adventure in the World of Magic, Nobita wishes for a world of magic. In the new world, the phone booth is considered a superstitious relic and thrown away as trash. If Doraemon hadn't had a spare pocket, they would have been permanently stuck in that demon-infested magical world.
  • Another Example: If you wish, "What if the world had no high-tech products?", then the phone booth itself, being a pinnacle of 22nd-century technology, might vanish or become an ordinary, unusable old booth. You'd lose any chance to say "restore the world."

• 3. "Memory Overwrite" That Even Deceives You The phone booth's trickiest feature is that it modifies your memories. After entering the new world, you too will believe this world is how it's always been.

  • The Danger: You might not realize anything is wrong with the world or remember making the wish. This means even if your life becomes miserable, you'd just think "life is supposed to be this hard," without considering going back to the booth to fix it. In the stories, it's usually Doraemon or a chance event that makes Nobita realize the truth. Without that warning, the consequences could be dire.

• 4. A Personal Wish, Paid for by the Globe Your wish might be selfish, but it changes the entire world. To satisfy one person's laziness, greed, or fantasy, all 7 billion people on Earth have to bear the consequences. That in itself is an immense act of irresponsibility.

To Summarize

The "What-if Phone Booth" is essentially a parallel world switcher or a reality rule editor. It creates a new reality that fits your "What if..." condition by altering the world's fundamental settings.

Its dangers lie in:

• Uncontrollable Consequences: You cannot predict how disastrous the chain reactions from a simple rule change might be.
• Potential Point of No Return: Your wish might destroy the very means of returning.
• Self-Perception Confusion: Overwritten memories can trap you in the new world, unable to save yourself.

Therefore, while this gadget is tempting, every use is like a high-stakes gamble, with the fate of the entire world on the line. It perfectly illustrates the old adage: "Be careful what you wish for."