The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 111: Mathematicians’ Logic of Thinking, Yuan Jigang: Involution is Too Exhausting! Small Classrooms and Photographic Memory

The train from the capital to the north had not yet left Shanhaiguan, but Wang Duoyu felt that a long time had passed.

When he first got on the train, the person who greeted him was none other than his roommate Zhu Hanting.

"I received a letter from the Journal of Mathematics on the 9th. I had just replied that day when they called me. Then I received their letter of introduction on the 11th."

"On the 12th, I headed south from Ice City to the Magic City. After arriving, I reported in. I haven't even gone home yet."

"Two days. Under the guidance of my instructor, I finished the revision in two days."

"But you know what? I met Professor Su Buqing over there. Do you know what he's been doing lately? He's reviewing a paper that's said to have a huge impact worldwide. But the paper is so important, Professor Su said it'll take another two weeks to review."

Zhu Hanting said this with some exaggeration.

Logically speaking, as a student of the Department of Computational Mathematics at Harbin Institute of Technology, he should be very rigorous in his words, after all, he is studying mathematics.

why?
There is a little story about a biologist, a physicist and a mathematician who were traveling to Scotland. They saw a black sheep in their car.

Biologists would say: Scottish sheep are actually black!
The physicist corrected him by saying: We can only say that there is at least one black sheep in Scotland.

But mathematicians are extremely calm and rigorous: In fact, we can only say that there is such a sheep in Scotland, at least the side of the sheep we see is black.

From this story we can see that biologists are arbitrary, physicists are relatively conservative, and mathematicians' rigor is ridiculously exaggerated.

Because mathematicians' rigor is based on a very strict mathematical logic foundation. After all, mathematics is based on a series of axioms and definitions, and conclusions are drawn through a rigorous reasoning process to ensure the reliability and accuracy of mathematical conclusions.

For example, Euclidean geometry is based on five axioms. Based on these basic axioms, mathematicians constructed the entire plane geometry system through logical reasoning.

Zhu Hanting had no idea what mathematical paper Professor Su Buqing was reviewing. He just said that because of what the latter said. People who didn't know would of course be confused.

For example, Fan Rongqing, who was standing aside at the moment, really didn't understand.

However, Wang Duoyu guessed something, most likely his paper on the four-dimensional Poincaré conjecture.

He sent it out at the end of September, and now it is mid-to-late November, almost two months have passed, and they have not yet completed the review of the paper.

It was indeed a bit unexpected, but it also seemed within expectations.

"Great! Han Ting, which issue will your paper be published in? I'd like to read it when the time comes."

As soon as Wang Duoyu finished speaking, Zhu Hanting immediately became embarrassed. "Duoyu, how about we forget it? My paper is so bad, I'm afraid it will pollute your eyes."

"Hey, you're really funny. What do you mean by polluting my eyes? Why are you being so shy? Are you still a man?"

Provoked by Wang Duoyu, Zhu Hanting had no choice but to tell the truth.

Anyway, Harbin Institute of Technology has subscribed to the "Acta Mathematica Sinica". Even if Zhu Hanting didn't say it, would Wang Duoyu not be able to see it?
However, Zhu Hanting’s paper will not be published so soon. It will be published next month because this month’s paper has already been submitted and there is no way to jump the queue.

It was already 4:30 p.m. on November 19th when Wang Duoyu and his friends got off the train at Bingcheng Railway Station.

All six sacks of letters were stuffed into the car. When Wang Duoyu and Zhu Hanting were riding in the car, they each had to hold a sack of letters in front of them.

After the car entered Harbin Institute of Technology, Wang Duoyu asked Professor Liu Taoshun to help prepare a storage room to store the letters.

Old Liu was very easy to talk to and gave it to me in the storage room as soon as I asked him to.

After Wang Duoyu threw all the letters into the utility room, he returned to dormitory 303.

Zhu Hanting glanced back at Fan Rongqing who was driving away, then quickly caught up with Wang Duoyu and asked curiously:
"Duoyu, your position in the army must be quite important, right? Was that your guard just now?"

"Can you please stop guessing? Lao Fan and I just happened to meet by chance. He's a guard, but he's actually the acting company commander. What kind of status do I have to allow him to be my guard? Don't you see how old I am?"

Wang Duoyu rolled his eyes. Zhu Hanting was too gossipy and had a very rich imagination.

The two walked and talked as they returned to the dormitory. Surprisingly, Yu Xinyao and the other six were all there.

"Oh my god, why did you two come back together? What a coincidence, Duoyu, you said you'd be gone for a week? It's already been half a month since the 6th, and hey, you didn't bring back any gifts?"

Yuan Jigang stood up immediately and looked at Wang Duoyu and Zhu Hanting with great curiosity.

Lou Jianguo, Mo Ruogao, Tian Maohua and others also stood up one after another. They stopped reading and came closer to take a curious look.

I have to say that there is a big boiler in the dormitory building, so it is warm. It is really cold outside.

With the return of Wang Duoyu and the other person, dormitory 303 is finally complete and the dormitory has become much more lively.

Wang Duoyu did buy some gifts this time, but they were not many.

The gifts I bought from Jiangcheng were meant to be taken home, and there weren't many of them, definitely not enough to share, so I was too lazy to take them out.

Yuan Jigang and others who received the gifts were not very satisfied because they felt unbalanced.

why?
This is because in the dormitory, only Wang Duoyu and Zhu Hanting's papers can be published in the "Acta Mathematica Sinica", while the other six people in the dormitory cannot do it.

Compared with Yuan Jigang, who had no idea of ​​publishing a paper, Lou Jianguo, a simple and honest man from Sichuan, came to Wang Duoyu for advice with a paper he wrote.

After reading it, the latter was speechless.

"Jianguo, why don't you learn the basics first? It's too early for you to write a paper now."

Lou Jianguo's expression darkened when he heard this, and he pretended to be indifferent and said:

"Yeah, I thought so too, but I saw you all were so relaxed, so I wanted to give it a try too."

Wang Duoyu glanced around the dormitory. Mo Ruogao, Yu Xinyao and others were eager to try, but Lou Jianguo's words made them hesitate.

"Don't hide away, just ask if you want to. I can take a look for you. It's just a matter of a word."

Mo Ruogao and the others were immediately overjoyed and gathered around. Even Zhu Hanting stretched his neck to get closer to watch the fun.

Only Yuan Jigang wasn't interested in this, because he was so lazy that he hadn't thought about writing a thesis, just wanting to graduate smoothly. It was too tiring to be in the same boat with Wang Duoyu and the others!
"Duoyu, how can I write a qualified paper?"

In dormitory 303, a small class started for the first time. This question was raised by Zhu Hanting.

He was about to successfully publish his first paper, in the top domestic journal Acta Mathematica Sinica. Writing a paper shouldn't be that difficult for him, right? Why did he still ask questions?
The reason is very simple. Although he is a proud person, his experiences over the past decade have almost smoothed out his edges, making him more humble and introverted.

Secondly, after entering Harbin Institute of Technology, Zhu Hanting was hit hard.

It’s okay that Wang Duoyu is the top scorer in the college entrance examination, but Jian Xianglan, Xue Xiaoling and Dai Yian, his three classmates, are so awesome, which really proves the saying: There is always someone better than you!

And this is just Harbin Institute of Technology, not including Peking University, Tsinghua University, and seniors from the previous class.

After all, many people from the class of 1977 took the college entrance examination. Although the difficulty of the examination was relatively low, those who were able to get into university were not ordinary people.

In 1977, 5.7 million people registered for the college entrance examination, but only 273,000 were admitted. More than half a year later, in 1978, a full 6.1 million people took the college entrance examination. The original plan was to enroll 293,000 students, but the actual enrollment was 402,000.

Zhu Hanting's college entrance examination score was not low, and mathematics was his strong point. However, he was so frustrated in the first class of the Department of Computational Mathematics at Harbin Institute of Technology that he almost doubted his life.

Finally, Wang Duoyu has published so many papers in "Science China·Mathematics" and "Acta Mathematica Sinica", which shows that his understanding of papers has exceeded that of ordinary teachers.

Zhu Hanting even dared to say that neither Associate Professor Liu Taoshun nor Professor Wu Congxin of Harbin Institute of Technology have published so many mathematical papers in top journals, right?

Therefore, instead of asking the teacher, it is better to ask Wang Duoyu.

Mo Ruogao, Yu Xinyao, Tian Maohua and others were either standing or sitting, staring at Wang Duoyu. Even Lou Jianguo had picked up paper and pen and started taking notes.

Only Yuan Jigang was still leisurely reading a book, but in fact he was also listening with his ears perked up.

Even though he didn't want to write the paper, it didn't mean he didn't want to listen.

"Do you really want to write a paper so much?" Wang Duoyu asked them in return, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You are only freshmen now. You should study hard instead of rushing to write papers."

"It won't be too late to write your thesis slowly after you graduate from university."

Rong Guangxia immediately said, "Duoyu, here's what I'm thinking. I can use my spare time to write a paper. It's just to hone my abilities, so I don't end up not being able to write a paper by the time I graduate."

"Yes, Duoyu, you still have time now. If you go on business trips every day in the future, we probably won't be able to see you even if we want to. Then we probably won't be able to ask you for advice."

Zhu Hanting spoke something, almost telling the truth.

Yuan Jigang, who had been unconcerned at first, came over with a pen and paper. "Duoyu, hurry up and start teaching. I've already prepared my notebook. Damn it! I didn't even think you might not come back. I almost let my guard down."

"Han Ting, you think quite far ahead." Wang Duoyu laughed. The other party did tell the truth, but it was not entirely correct.

At least in the next one or two years, he will definitely stay at Harbin Institute of Technology more often.

"Stop talking so much and let Duoyu give the lecture." Yu Xinyao said, interrupting Tian Maohua and others who wanted to continue asking questions.

Next, Wang Duoyu shared with everyone some tips on how to write a paper with a smile.

The main steps are also very simple, including topic selection, information consultation, outline preparation, first draft writing, paper revision and finalization.

"Let me first talk about what you think is the most difficult part, which is drafting an outline. This part is the most important."

"You might not have understood before why I asked Director Wu to procure so many professional journals and books from abroad. Now you should understand, right?"

"When we write papers, we have to research. If you haven't read enough books, you won't have any direction. You won't know how to choose a topic, write an outline, etc."

Wang Duoyu said a lot, and spoke very seriously and carefully.

Yuan Jigang and the others suddenly understood. Lou Jianguo raised his hand and asked, "So, Duoyu, how many books and journals have you read?"

Hearing Lou Jianguo's words, Wang Duoyu couldn't help but recall the past when he was frantically doing exercises and staying up late to look up information.

Starting from his master's degree, he entered the stage of writing papers. At that time, he not only needed to follow the projects and calculate experimental data, but also wrote papers. It was really busy.

Fortunately, when he was studying for his master's degree, although there was competition, it was not as serious as the millions of postgraduate entrance examination candidates later.

"How can I afford to stay so long? Forget it in the past. Anyway, I used to finish at least seven books a week. Sometimes I even stayed at home for a whole month and could finish a hundred books in a month."

hiss!
Rong Guangxia and the others immediately gasped, their faces filled with shock.

"Duoyu, you're not just reading the book hastily, are you? Just skimming through it?" Lou Jianguo asked suspiciously, using himself as an example:
"When I read, if I just flip through the pages casually, I can read not only a hundred books a month, but even a thousand books. That's no problem."

Wang Duoyu rolled his eyes at the other party after hearing this:
"If I say I can still remember the books I've read, would you believe me?"

As a soldier, Yuan Jigang was the first to shake his head in disbelief. "Is there really someone who has a photographic memory?"

At this point, Zhu Hanting nodded seriously and said, "I have a say in this. Although I don't have a photographic memory, I can generally remember about 70% of a book I've read two or three times."

"real or fake?"

Rong Guangxia and the others immediately sought confirmation, and the result turned out to be true. Wang Duoyu nodded in agreement, thinking that Zhu Hanting was indeed quite capable, as he was able to publish a paper in the Journal of Mathematics.

"So, Duoyu, you have a photographic memory?" Yuan Jigang suddenly turned his gaze towards Wang Duoyu, and everyone became curious.

After all, Wang Duoyu is extremely talented. If he also has the ability to remember everything he sees, wouldn’t he be invincible?

No, he is invincible now.

"No, I'm about the same as Han Ting."

Wang Duoyu told a white lie. No matter whether they believed it or not, it was enough for him to know that he had a photographic memory. He didn't want to let them know, so as not to upset them again, which would cause tons of hurt.

(End of this chapter)