The Root of Intelligence and the Emergence of Vitality: On the Initiative of "Self Examination" Since ancient times, the pursuit of wisdom by humans has never ceased. From Socrates' questioning on the square of Athens to the rapid development of modern artificial intelligence, we have always been exploring the essence of intelligence and the driving forces behind it. This article attempts to explore the root of intelligence and the mechanism of vitality emergence from a philosophical perspective, and proposes that "self-examination" is the cornerstone of intelligence, while proactive "self-examination" is the source of vitality. Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, is renowned for his unique "midwifery technique" - guiding people to reflect on and question existing ideas through constant questioning and debate. He was ultimately sentenced to death on charges of "blasphemy" and "poisoning promising youth". However, Socrates' death did not stop people from pursuing his ideas. In the following centuries, countless philosophers wrote Socrates' arguments, attempting to draw the source of wisdom from them. This sustained attention to Socrates' ideas, along with Jobs' desire to spend the rest of his life with Socrates for an afternoon, both point to the same core question: how to gain wisdom through Socrates' skill of "self-examination"? The cornerstone of intelligence: self-examination Self reflection is the fundamental way in which intelligence arises. It is a reflection and questioning of one's own cognition, behavior, and values. Socrates' philosophical method is a model of 'self-examination'. He forces others to examine his own views through debate, thereby discovering contradictions and shortcomings within them. This process of "self-examination" not only helps individuals clarify their thoughts, but also promotes the growth of knowledge and the enhancement of wisdom. To clarify the role of 'self-examination', we can imagine a scene of Socrates debating with a young man named Lux. Socrates actively engaged in a debate with Lux, which in itself was a proactive "self-examination". During the debate, Socrates constantly raised questions to guide Lux to reflect on his own views. For Socrates, this debate was an active form of "self-examination," in which he examined and perfected his own system of thought through collisions with others' thoughts. For Lux, being pulled into debate by Socrates is a passive form of 'self-examination'. Although both sides were able to gain wisdom during the debate, Socrates' initiative enabled him to acquire and accumulate wisdom more effectively. The source of vitality: proactive self-examination Self reflection is not only the cornerstone of intelligence, but also the key to the emergence of vitality. However, not all self reflection can bring strong vitality. Only proactive self reflection can endow individuals or systems with sustained growth and strong vitality. The reason why Socrates was able to continuously enhance his wisdom and have a profound impact on future generations is precisely because he always insisted on proactive "self-examination". He does not passively accept knowledge, but actively explores, questions, and reflects. This initiative enables him to constantly surpass himself and achieve sustained growth. In contrast, Lux's passivity makes him lack the internal motivation to actively seek wisdom, and his growth relies more on external stimuli. To further illustrate the impact of proactive "self-examination" on vitality, we can compare GPT in the field of artificial intelligence with Bitcoin in the field of cryptocurrency. GPT enhances its intelligence by passively waiting for human interaction and then updating the weights of the neural network. Bitcoin actively calculates hash values, generates new blocks, and receives block rewards, thereby driving the value growth of the entire network. Both GPT and Bitcoin have the ability to self examine. GPT improves its language model by learning from user input data, which is a form of "self-examination"; Bitcoin maintains network security and provides economic incentives through the process of mining, which is also a form of 'self-examination'. However, GPT's "self reflection" is passive and relies on user input to learn and improve. Bitcoin's "self-examination" is proactive, as it autonomously mines and verifies transactions through pre-set algorithms and mechanisms. This proactive 'self-examination' endows Bitcoin with strong vitality. Although Bitcoin's function is relatively simple, only for transferring cryptocurrencies, its decentralized nature and active mining mechanism make it highly resistant to risks. Even in the face of government regulation and market volatility, Bitcoin can still maintain its operation and value. In contrast, the vitality of GPT is relatively fragile. It relies on the companies and technologies behind it, and once new technologies or competitors emerge, GPT's position may be threatened. Conclusion: Proactive self-examination is the key to intelligence and vitality Through the analysis of Socrates, Lux, GPT, and Bitcoin, we can conclude that proactive "self-examination" is the root of intelligence and the key to the emergence of vitality. Only with the ability of proactive self reflection can individuals or systems continuously surpass themselves, achieve sustained growth, and possess strong vitality. This conclusion not only has important implications for the development of artificial intelligence, but also has significant reference value for our own human growth and development. In the field of artificial intelligence, we need to explore how to endow AI systems with the ability to autonomously learn, innovate, and adapt to changes in the environment. In our own human development, we also need to learn the spirit of Socrates, adhere to proactive "self-examination", constantly reflect, question and learn, in order to constantly enhance our wisdom and vitality. In short, proactive self reflection is the key to intelligence and vitality. It is not only the direction of artificial intelligence development, but also the eternal theme of human pursuit of wisdom and happiness.