Alma Mater Reaction

"Shocking! A children's song writer had done something this sensational!"

"Are all children's song writers big shots?"

"The Goldbach Conjecture had actually been proven by a children's song writer!"

"The Nobel Prize in Mathematics had been claimed ahead of time, and the winner was actually..."

"This time, he was a citizen of our country!"

After a day of fermenting, especially as news continued to arrive from the Other side of the ocean, everything exploded.

Mathematics awards might have been far removed from ordinary people, but this was, after all, known as the Nobel Prize in Mathematics—and its recipient was the first ethnic Chinese citizen of the country.

Naturally, it stayed at the top of the trending charts for quite some time.

Even the incredibly stubborn Xue Chuan could only come out and make a post explaining himself.

"What I opposed was only Master Yi's improper conduct. Everyone could see that what he did on Mote affected the image of Chinese people. That negative impact would not disappear just because he had achieved something academically! Now that he was protected by this halo, people naturally could not see the negative effects of what he did.

"Since everyone has misunderstood me, I will not respond any further on this matter."

It was tantamount to unilaterally declaring victory, then playing dead.

Yet just as Xue Chuan's explanation came out, a massive anti-"academic discrimination" movement suddenly erupted in Beautiful Country.

The three famous major journals—"Science," "Nature," and "Cell"—all announced they would suspend publication for one issue.

Journals such as "The Lancet," "Clinical Oncology Journal," and "American Mathematical Society Journal" likewise announced that they would suspend publication for one issue in support of the movement.

One researcher after another came forward to describe their experiences. Scholars of Asian, African, and Latin American descent all stepped out to speak for themselves, as though they had once been trapped in the darkest of times and had not dared to speak until now.

At this point, several "Insiders" anonymously revealed quite a few behind-the-scenes details to media outlets such as the BBC.

Take the Beautiful Country Science Promotion Association, for example. Two-thirds of its authors and reviewers were white, while Black people, Latin Americans, and Indigenous people combined accounted for less than 10%. Pacific Islanders and Asians together made up roughly one-quarter.

Scholars who wanted to publish their academic achievements in top journals still relied heavily on recommendations.

Clearly, white people held a greater advantage in this regard. Other ethnic groups might find it more difficult to break into the Academic Circle, and their achievements were less likely to be noticed, which in turn led to insufficient diversity in academia.

Because of academia's own thresholds and barriers, things like Political Correctness had previously struggled to break in. But after Wang Yi tore open a hole from within, a new battlefield was immediately opened up.

All kinds of "correctness" that had long conquered every industry began launching fierce attacks against the Academic Circle's high ground.

It was no longer just about racial discrimination. Some people also discovered that female academic workers accounted for a low proportion of research achievements!

This had to be caused by stereotypes against women!

If Wang Yi's post had not existed, they could still argue that academic achievements were simply academic achievements. But now there was indeed someone whose paper had been rejected due to discrimination, and that directly dismantled such an argument.

Then had there also been large numbers of female scholars in the past whose papers were rejected because of discrimination?

Had those rejections left them disheartened, causing them to give up their research careers?

For a time, this offensive instantly ignited the entire Western Media, while Wall Street was rocked violently as well.

Wang Yi's Mote post was frantically reposted and commented on, as though it were a beacon piercing through the darkness.

The string of explosive news slapped Xue Chuan's face swollen. Fortunately, he had already said he would "not respond further," so he simply played dead, disabled the comments, and acted as though the world was peaceful and nothing had happened.

Even Wang Yi himself was somewhat surprised. Although he had originally intended to use the topic of Political Correctness to stir things up a little, such huge waves definitely meant someone was pushing things from behind the scenes.

But it did not matter. As long as everyone won, they were allies when their interests aligned...

Science Institute, School of Mathematical Sciences.

The Science Institute itself was a relatively "low-key" school, but no amount of "low-key" behavior could conceal the terrifying depth of its foundations.

The School of Mathematical Sciences alone boasted an extravagant lineup of one academician and twenty-four professors. The number of associate professors was not even half that of the professors.

When they learned that the person who had proven the Goldbach Conjecture was actually a student who had graduated from the Science Institute, the entire School of Mathematical Sciences was dumbfounded.

What was going on? Why did we not know about this?

No one had mentioned it in the Alumni Group either. Normally, news of a proof like this would first spread through the alumni group. How had it caught them so completely off guard?

At first, they had merely been marveling that a formidable figure had emerged in the domestic mathematics world, without yet knowing who it was.

And now this formidable figure had actually been taught by them?

"Investigate it! Find out exactly who it is!"

Academician Li rolled up his sleeves in fury and issued a strict order.

But before he had even finished speaking, someone immediately burst his bubble.

"Oh, we found out. He wasn't from our school. He was an undergraduate graduate from the neighboring School of Computer Science and Technology..."

For a moment, silence filled the room.

At this internal meeting of the School of Mathematical Sciences, among the lavish lineup where professors outnumbered associate professors, all the big shots looked at one another, not knowing how to describe their feelings.

Some of them were professors of applied mathematics, and it was true that their research directions involved computers. This was also one of mathematics' more popular major directions at present.

But a conjecture in Pure Number Theory like the Goldbach Conjecture had been proven by an undergraduate from the neighboring computer school?

Where were they supposed to put their faces now?!

"I'll take him on as my graduate studen—"

A professor in his fifties had barely opened his mouth before Academician Li cut him off.

"Take him on, my ass!"

Only after interrupting him did he sigh.

"With that kind of ability, if he truly wanted to continue studying, would he not have done so already? Now that he had produced the proof, forget about further studies—even a place like Princeton might send him an invitation to join as a professor."

Although Princeton University was also private, its academic atmosphere was exceptionally strong, giving it a completely opposite feel from the University of Pennsylvania.

Its most profitable schools—the business school, medical school, and law school—had never been developed. It was absurdly proud.

Someone capable of proving the Goldbach Conjecture being directly hired as a professor by Princeton would be perfectly normal, yet they still wanted to take him on as a student? Were they dreaming?

They had all verified the proof process as well. It was unconstrained and imaginative, approached from an unconventional angle, and flowed seamlessly from start to finish, with every link tightly connected. Even some of the mathematical tools used in the proof were extremely useful.

"Then... should we invite him too?"

"Through a special channel?"

"For an award like this, submitting a report would be quick. Special circumstances, special handling!"

"..."

The Science Institute was the typical sort with backing from above, and it itself possessed independent authority to evaluate professional titles!

Although the evaluation process was extremely cumbersome and required the person in question to apply personally, submitting a report for special handling still had a high chance of approval.

After all, this was a global problem, and there had been no domestic precedent!

Its speed and efficiency certainly could not compare to those private institutions, but this path and direction were feasible.

"Let's first find a way to contact him and ask what he thinks. I have a feeling it won't be useful just because we reach an agreement among ourselves."

Academician Li took off his glasses and wiped them.

For a young fellow who did not even care about degrees, his actions might be highly goal-oriented. He might not necessarily agree with what they wanted...

Two updates complete...

PS: In reality, the Science Institute has three universities under it: "University of Science and Technology of China," "University of Chinese Academy of Sciences," and "ShanghaiTech University." Among them, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences only began admitting undergraduate students in 2012, but this parallel world does not correspond to reality, so do not match them up~

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This chapter has been revised