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

Chapter 131: Comparing yourself to others makes you angry. Can you win the Fields Medal? (Subscribe)
Peking University Yanyuan, Library.

Wang Duoyu, who was free today, came here to borrow books, but he didn't have a library card and he was not a Peking University student, so he could only stay in the library to read.

If he was willing to trouble others, a library card would not be a problem at all, but he was just too lazy to bother others.

Wang Duoyu was so engrossed in reading a book at an empty table that he didn't realize several people were already sitting opposite him.

While drinking water, Wang Duoyu saw clearly that several students opposite him were studying his thesis, which made him feel a little funny.

The lecture was originally supposed to be held at Peking University today, but for some unknown reason, it was postponed for two days and the lecture address was also changed.

So Wang Duoyu had no choice but to come to Peking University to study.

Discussions with Zhu Ling about buying a house are already underway, and Zhu Ling will be responsible for this matter, after all, she is more familiar with Beijing.

After she has decided on the alternative houses, she will notify Wang Duoyu, and then she will decide which one to choose and buy it when the time comes.

Just as Wang Duoyu was laughing, Ding Haiyang, one of his classmates sitting opposite him, suddenly glared at him angrily.

Even Yang Nianzhen and others next to Ding Haiyang glanced at Wang Duoyu. If it weren't for the fact that the library needed quiet, he would have probably been scolded by Ding Haiyang and others by now?
"Don't look at me like that. You were arguing too loudly just now, and you got it wrong. The second paragraph on page four of the paper should be interpreted like this."

Since he had nothing to do and his head was dizzy from reading, Wang Duoyu took out paper and pen, wrote a paragraph, and then explained a section of the paper in full detail. Then he handed the three pages of paper to the other party.

Yang Nianzhen, Ding Haiyang and others were still very surprised. When they saw the contents on the note, shame suddenly welled up on their faces, and then all their attention was attracted by the mathematical symbols at the back.

Wow, no one expected that the peer sitting in front of them could analyze and calculate the entire second paragraph on page 4 of the paper so quickly.

The whole process was very smooth and fluent, allowing Ding Haiyang, Yang Nianzhen and others to fully understand it.

Ding Haiyang and the others were overjoyed, their faces filled with joy. When they looked at Wang Duoyu again, their eyes were completely different.

They apologized to Wang Duoyu very seriously, and then respectfully asked him for the analysis of the third paragraph.

When Wang Duoyu saw the note they handed over, he smiled slightly, looked up at their expectant eyes, then picked up the paper and pen and began to write.

However, he only limited himself to the third paragraph and did not continue to analyze the paper for them.

When he got up to leave, Yang Nianzhen quickly got up and followed him out.

She really wanted to know how to interpret the paper, because she had asked her teachers at school, but the teachers were reluctant to tell her.

Thesis is very difficult. To understand it requires talent and time.

The fact that people like Yang Nianzhen and Ding Haiyang were able to get into Peking University shows their unquestionable abilities, but not everyone of them has been exposed to advanced mathematics.

You have to know that in the past ten years, most people have given up the pursuit and exploration of mathematics, and there are very few people who can access advanced mathematics. Yang Nianzhen is relatively lucky.

There were two university professors in their village at that time, and these two professors lived in Yang Nianzhen's home, so she had been tutored in mathematics by these two professors since elementary school.

Also because of Yang Nianzhen's talent in mathematics, the two university professors were very surprised and taught her knowledge seriously.

At that time, both professors had lost the will to live, but the appearance of Yang Nianzhen changed their minds, and they both took Yang Nianzhen as their last disciple.

Because of this, Yang Nianzhen was able to understand the paper, but only the first three pages. From the fourth page onwards, it was difficult for her to understand because it was too difficult.

"Teacher, teacher, can I trouble you for something? I really want to understand that paper."

Wang Duoyu, who was stopped, smiled gently:
"There will be a lecture in two days, so listen carefully then."

After saying that, he left. Yang Nianzhen was so angry that he stomped his feet: What are you so proud of?

In the blink of an eye, the day of the lecture soon arrived.

Tsinghua University, Great Hall.

A mathematics lecture was about to be held. More than three hundred people showed up in the auditorium. They filled all the empty seats in the auditorium, and added a lot of seats in the back row. The corridors were also full of people because this was an extraordinary lecture.

"Which school are you from? How much of that paper did you understand?"

In the back row of the auditorium, Yang Nianzhen, last year's top scorer in the Sichuan College Entrance Examination and the first in the Peking University Mathematics Department's final exam last semester, was chatting with Qian Xiaohong next to him.

Qian Xiaohong was very fond of Yang Nianzhen, a girl with delicate features and fair skin. She smiled and shook her head, saying, "I'm a graduate student at the Institute of Mathematics. You should be from Peking University, right? You're so young, have you also started reading that paper?"

"Yes, that paper is so popular that almost everyone in our school has a copy. I copied the entire paper, but I can only understand the first three pages. From the fourth page on, I can't understand it."

Yang Nianzhen's eyes were bright as he looked at Qian Xiaohong, as if he had found a confidant:
"Comrade, which page have you read yet? You didn't understand it all, did you? I heard that it's very difficult to get into the mathematics department as a graduate student. It seems that they only select a few dozen people from thousands, or one in a hundred."

"How can that be exaggerated?" Qian Xiaohong corrected him. "Graduate school is much easier than the college entrance examination. The college entrance examination only admits a few hundred thousand out of millions of people. And getting into Peking University is even harder."

The two chatted for a while, and Yang Nianzhen confirmed that Qian Xiaohong had only read to the second page, and immediately his interest in chatting dropped a lot.

Qian Xiaohong was obviously a graduate student in mathematics, but she could understand fewer pages of papers than an undergraduate like her. Although it was not difficult to understand, Yang Nianzhen did not want to talk to her any more.

At this moment, a boy sitting in the row in front of her aroused Yang Nianzhen's curiosity.

Just because the boy has been calculating with his head down, the manuscript paper is covered with dense mathematical symbols.

In Yang Nianzhen's opinion, these are the students who truly understand mathematics.

So she immediately tapped the other person on the back, wanting to communicate with him.

"Hello, classmate. Are you here for the lecture as well? Which page of the paper are you on?"

The young man glanced back at the other person and echoed his words. However, Yang Nianzhen, Qian Xiaohong, and the others were all surprised, their mouths wide open. Qian Xiaohong and the other graduate students in the mathematics department were especially surprised. They stared at the young man and blurted out:

"Researcher Wang, why are you here?"

Wang Duoyu heard this and didn't expect to meet an acquaintance so soon. He couldn't help but smile:
"Well, I just came here early to familiarize myself with the environment."

Yang Nianzhen looked stunned and stunned. He didn't expect that the person he met by chance in the Peking University Library that day was actually the author of the paper. Isn't this too much of a coincidence?

No wonder that Wang Duoyu could easily and perfectly analyze the second paragraph on the fourth page of the paper.

Without waiting for Yang Nianzhen, Qian Xiaohong and others to continue speaking, Wang Duoyu had already stood up and left.

He had indeed come here in advance to familiarize himself with the environment of the auditorium, and also to escape the nagging of Liu Deben and the others.

why?
The repeated postponement of the lecture is actually related to Liu Deben and others.

Ever since Feng Kang learned about Yan Jici's request, the news spread to everyone. Then, people from other places in the south, such as the Magic City and Baiyun City, called one after another, wanting to attend the lecture.

Liu Deben quickly selected the students and brought them directly to the capital.

Originally, Wang Duoyu was supposed to give another lecture after returning to Harbin Institute of Technology, but now there is no way, so Liu Deben can only bring his students to Beijing first.

The whole thing is a bit complicated. Anyway, Wang Duoyu is not very clear about some of the things behind it, but there is no doubt that in the past few days, the leaders of Peking University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Science and Technology of China and other schools must have engaged in countless games behind the scenes.

At this moment in the auditorium, Yang Nianzhen, Qian Xiaohong and others stared at Wang Duoyu who was walking towards the podium. However, the latter did not reach the podium and was pulled away by Tao Fangqi.

Tao Fangqi introduced several leaders to Wang Duoyu. These were the leaders above, namely the heads of the education department and the science and technology department.

Frankly, Wang Duoyu didn't really enjoy this kind of situation, but he had no choice; social etiquette was a must. After the leaders' praise and pleasantries, Wang Duoyu was pulled over by Liu Deben again, and then he came to the podium to begin today's lecture.

Today's lecture can be said to be a prelude to the report meeting in April, or it can be said to be a special training session given by Wang Duoyu to everyone.

"Hello, leaders, teachers, and students! Today we will mainly talk about a paper on the Poincare conjecture."

Wang Duoyu did not talk too much, but went straight to the point and started with the topic.

In his previous life, he had been a professor at Peking University, so there was certainly no problem with giving lectures. He didn't feel nervous or anything like that, nor did he have a blank mind and be unable to say anything because of so many people in front of him.

He spoke confidently, not only because the paper was already engraved in his mind, but also because he knew that his lecture today had two hours and he knew how to allocate the time.

It will definitely be a little lengthy, but it won’t go into too much detail. Just listen if you can understand it, and there’s nothing you can do if you don’t understand it.

Therefore, not long after the beginning, Yang Nianzhen, Qian Xiaohong, Ding Haiyang and others could not understand, and then Jian Xianglan, Xue Xiaoling, Dai Yian and other Harbin Institute of Technology students came in.

To be more precise, people like Jian Xianglan have never attended Wang Duoyu's lectures, so they don't understand very well.

After five minutes, many master's and doctoral students began to not understand.

Next came the mathematics teachers Su Zhenghuai, Shao Zongjian, and Yang Xiuhua.

Zhu Hanting was sitting in the middle of the auditorium. He could understand what was being said at first, but the further he listened, the less he understood.

His expression gradually became confused. Although he could understand every word Wang Duoyu said, he had no idea what they meant when they were put together.

This is the same as the paper published by Wang Duoyu. It was clearly published in November last year, but he still can't understand it.

The paper was right in front of him, but he just couldn't understand it. The gap between him and Wang Duoyu was indeed very large.

Fortunately, Wang Duoyu no longer lives in dormitory 303, so I don’t have to be beaten to a pulp by Wang Duoyu so often.

However, now he sees Wang Duoyu standing on the podium, teaching everyone, while he can only sit in the audience and listen to the lecture. They are classmates who took the college entrance examination last year, but their positions are now very different.

At this moment, Zhu Hanting was still filled with emotion in his heart.

Comparing yourself to others will really make you angry!
Li Rui and Liu Deben also didn't quite understand what Wang Duoyu was talking about because they were not mathematical researchers at all.

So they didn't listen carefully, but wrote and drew on paper.

On the other hand, Wu Congxin, Liu Taoshun and others listened very carefully because they also wanted to understand the paper, but they could not fully understand it.

I can understand some of the content, but I only have a vague understanding of the more advanced content.

As a top mathematical problem, the Poincare conjecture has indeed troubled generations of people. Many top mathematicians have tried hard but have not been able to prove it, which is enough to show how difficult it is.

Therefore, even the paper proving the Poincare conjecture in four-dimensional space is very difficult. It is certainly not easy to read and understand this paper.

If you are majoring in topology, then Wu Congyin and others may be able to fully understand it, but their research in topology is not very in-depth.

Wu Congyin and others did not understand it very well, but young mathematicians such as Chen Jingrun, Feng Kang, Yang Le, and Wang Yuan could understand it.

There are also mathematicians of the older generation such as Wu Wenjun, Hua Luogeng, and Su Buqing. They can also understand it because they have spent time studying this paper and of course they can understand it.

Although it took a bit of time, after all, they are old and their energy is not as good as before. They certainly can't stay up all night like the young people.

Regardless of whether they could understand it or not, at this moment, in the entire auditorium, only Wang Duoyu's voice was heard, and everyone else was listening carefully and watching him speak.

"He's so confident. Our country's mathematics will have successors!"

Wu Wenjun, who was sitting next to Hua Luogeng, suddenly approached the former and whispered.

The two have been comrades-in-arms for many years, so their relationship is of course extraordinary.

When he first won the first prize of the National Natural Science Award, he and Hua Luogeng were the only two people in the mathematics community, in addition to Qian Xuesen.

It was first held in 1956, and only three people won the award. It was then discontinued for more than 20 years.

"Yes, no one expected him to write such an article so quickly. To be honest, I am still surprised."

Hua Luogeng smiled and nodded.

Wu Wenjun's comments are very pertinent. Mathematics in China is indeed in the hands of young people now, and Wang Duoyu is undoubtedly a leader among the younger generation in mainland China's mathematics community.

"Well, I just wonder if he will get the Fields Medal in three years?"

Hearing Wu Wenjun's sudden sigh, Hua Luogeng suddenly laughed and shook his head, "Whether we can survive for three years is still hard to say, why worry so much? Let's take care of the things in front of us first."

The Fields Medal is currently the highest honor award in the international mathematics community. Since there is no Nobel Prize in Mathematics, the Fields Medal is actually the Nobel Prize in Mathematics.

This is already a consensus in the global mathematics community!
Therefore, if Wang Duoyu can win the Fields Medal for his paper proving the Poincare conjecture in four-dimensional space, it would be a truly amazing thing.

Now that we are about to carry out reform and opening up, we are also actively sending young scholars and students to the United States and other countries to learn advanced Western technology. In fact, at this time we really need to gain recognition from the West.

Of course, our strategy is somewhat different from that of the Polar Bear Empire back then.

At the very least, the United States is still competing with the Polar Bear Empire, and at this point in time, the situation between the two countries has reached a white-hot stage.

Regardless of these international backgrounds, now in February 1979, our country is very eager to make a big splash on the international stage, gain recognition from others, and become well-known.

Therefore, whether it is in the economic or cultural aspects, anything that can enhance our international status is something we are very eager to do.

Hua Luogeng, Wu Wenjun and others are mathematicians of the older generation, and of course they very much hope that Wang Duoyu can win the Fields Medal.

Wang Duoyu, who was sitting on the podium, had no idea of ​​Hua Luogeng and the others' earnest hopes. He looked at the people sitting in rows below, and saw many students with bewildered looks in their eyes. He was speechless.

He really overestimated this group of people. There were less than a hundred people who could understand his paper.

Well, this is already very impressive.

There are indeed many mathematical geniuses like Yang Nianzhen, but they are of no use because she has not grown up yet.

If Yang Nianzhen was given some time to spend learning more about topology, she might be able to understand this paper quickly after a year or two.

More than an hour later, Wang Duoyu finished his lecture. Then it was time for questions, and he only gave ten places.

In fact, the process now is the same as that of a report meeting, except that the timing is different.

There was no way. The abilities of the audience in the entire auditorium were uneven, so there was no way to ask Wang Duoyu to strictly follow the time of the lecture.

If this is true, then even more people will not understand or follow his thinking.

But if you listen to it a few more times, you will probably be able to keep up next time.

Qian Xiaohong and others raised their hands, but Wang Duoyu ignored them and looked at Chen Jingrun, because the latter raised his hand.

(End of this chapter)