An Interview

"A country has its laws, and a team has its rules."

"Shen Qi, do you think the Track and Field team can come and go as they please?" Teacher Wu said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Wu, I apologize for my rude behavior yesterday." Shen Qi also realized that it was wrong of him to run away without saying hello yesterday.

Honesty is the most basic quality in interpersonal relationships. Shen Qi said frankly, "Teacher Wu, I get mathematical inspiration when I run, but inspiration is fleeting, so I need to record it as soon as possible. A bad pen is better than a good memory."

"Although I'm a physical education teacher, my math skills are quite good, and I have great respect for mathematicians." Teacher Wu understands that Yenching University students prioritize their studies.

Teacher Wu also knows that most members of this Track and Field team will ultimately choose their major over sports and do not want to become professional athletes. Some students treat track and field as a hobby, and they can play it at a professional level, which is their skill.

Talented students shouldn't be forced; they should be allowed to develop naturally. Teacher Wu laid down three rules for Shen Qi: First, finding inspiration is fine, but he must give notice before leaving. Second, once he arrives, he must train diligently. Third, Shen Qi's not required to come every day, he should come at least three days a week, with a cumulative training time of no less than three hours per day.

"Can you do it?" Teacher Wu asked.

Long live understanding!

Teacher Wu had done everything he could, so Shen Qi had no reason not to respect him. He decided not to run away today and stayed with the team to train for long-distance running until 8 p. m.

Sports experience points +1

+2

With Teacher Wu's professional guidance, Shen Qi realized that even seemingly simple long-distance running requires skill.

During the run, the landing of the feet should be cushioned to minimize resistance and reduce the loss of horizontal speed.

Therefore, when the foot lands, the thigh should actively press down, and the ankle, knee, and hip should be flexed quickly to cushion the impact.

Your toes should always be pointing in the direction you are running, avoiding turning inward or outward, which is crucial in long-distance running.

Teacher Wu calculated some data and told Shen Qi that if an athlete's foot lands at a 20-degree angle to the outside and their foot length is 28 centimeters, then each step will result in a loss of 1.68 centimeters compared to an athlete whose foot doesn't deviate. If the average stride length of an athlete is 1.8 meters, then they will have to run 93 meters more in 10,000 meters, which is almost a quarter of a lap, which is terrifying.

Shen Qi understood immediately and realized two things: First, people who are pigeon-toed or pigeon-toed are not suitable for long-distance running.

Secondly, if anyone says that the PE teacher is bad at math, I, Shen Qi, will fight them.

Data-driven track and field, quantified running—this suited Shen Qi's taste perfectly. He didn't record today's mathematical inspiration, but Shen Qi found an interesting way to play with it.

Back in his dorm that evening, Shen Qi received a new email from Xu Weini, the editor of the * Mathematical Herald *.

"Editor Xu invited me to the editorial office of the * Mathematical Herald * to discuss my paper. That's fine; I was just thinking of talking to the editor. This paper has been stalled three times. What's going on? Third time's the charm; I need a reasonable explanation."

The following morning, Shen Qi arrived at the Mathematics Department building, the editorial office of the "Mathematical Herald," as agreed.

In a conference room, Shen Qi met with editor Xu Weini.

"Coffee or tea? Our editorial department has great coffee," Xu Weini asked.

"A glass of plain water will do, thank you," Shen Qi said.

There was a water dispenser in the conference room. Xu Weini filled a disposable paper cup with boiled water and handed it to Shen Qi: "I already know your basic information. You are a first-year student in the Mathematics Department of Yan University."

"Yes, Editor Xu, let's get straight to the point." Shen Qi knew that most of the people working in this math building had graduated from the Big Mathematics Department at Peking University. Editor Xu was probably a graduate of the School of Mathematics as well. Should I call her "senior sister" according to seniority? But Editor Xu's tone and demeanor were quite formal, and she didn't call me "junior brother," so let's just be businesslike.

Xu Weini opened the folder and took out a stack of files, placing them on the table. "This is your paper, Shen Qi, <Analysis of Generalized Nonlinear Complementarity Problems with Linear Inequality Constraints>, along with feedback from the reviewers and the authors on three separate occasions."

Shen Qi's head was spinning when he saw the pile of documents. "Editor Xu, who exactly are the reviewers?"

"Hey, you're tempting me to break the rules," Xu Weini said with a smile, without answering.

"Chinese?" Shen Qi asked.

"Certainly."

"Southerner or Northerner?" Shen Qi asked again.

"I don't know."

"Man or woman?"

No comment.

"Then I have the right to know which university or research institution the reviewers are from, right? Editor Xu, if you were to find an elementary school math teacher to review my manuscript, I definitely couldn't accept that."

"Hey, Shen Qi, when you submitted your manuscript, I asked you to recommend a few industry experts. We would try our best to select one or more from your list of recommended experts to serve as your reviewers. This is the author's right, but you didn't exercise that right. So our journal arranged for experts to serve as reviewers for your paper on its own. Now you're asking me who the experts are, and I really can't answer you. Please forgive me." Xu Weini spoke flawlessly.

That made sense, so Shen Qi stopped worrying about the reviewer's identity and said, "Editor Xu, just tell me straight, what should I do next?"

"I suggest you revise your manuscript based on the reviewers' comments," Xu Weini said. "Shen Qi, you don't want a paper to take so long to be published, do you?"

Shen Qi handed a document to Xu Weini, which was his draft feedback. "Editor Xu, look, I've written it very clearly. Under certain circumstances, this problem can be transformed into an equivalent unconstrained minimization problem of a semi-smooth equation system."

Xu Weini: "Hmm?"

"So you think I'm wrong?" Shen Qi asked.

"Here, have some water." Xu Weini picked up Shen Qi's paper cup and refilled it with boiled water.

"Thank you." Shen Qi took the water glass and continued, "The reviewers didn't directly answer my question in their comments. Instead, they gave me a new algorithm and asked me to make major revisions based on it. I'm a little unhappy about that. To give you an analogy, it's like I bought you a Mercedes-Benz and you told me, 'No, no, I don't want Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz have problems, they're unsafe. I want a BMW. BMWs are both stylish and safe.'"

"Then please tell me clearly, what's wrong with the Mercedes-Benz? Is it a chassis problem or a body problem? Is it a problem with the airbags or brake failure?"

"I asked three times, just to know the truth, to make things better, to make you happy, and to give you safety. But your answer was the same three times: No, no, I don't want Mercedes-Benz, I want a BMW, you have to buy me a brand new BMW."

"If it were you, wouldn't you be angry?" Shen Qi persuaded Editor Xu with virtue and reason.

Xu Weini didn't really understand the logic of Shen Qi's thesis, since their majors weren't related, but she understood Shen Qi's analogy. "If a man really gave me a luxury car, a BBA-level car, I wouldn't care if it was Mercedes-Benz or a BMW, I'd get in first and drive away first."

"This... you're actually this kind of editor, Xu?" Shen Qi was speechless.

"But writing a thesis isn't as simple as giving girls luxury cars and making them happy." Xu Weini glanced at her phone, stood up, and said, "Shen Qi, you should rest for a while. I have some urgent work to take care of. My colleague will come in later to continue discussing the thesis with you."

"Oh." Shen Qi was a little unhappy. You invited me here, but you didn't talk about a single academic detail in the paper. You just talked about vague things like procedures and rules.

With keen observation, Shen Qi discerned through some probing that Editor Xu didn't really understand his paper; she was merely a mediator, facilitating the process. He couldn't confront the reviewers directly, and the editor couldn't offer any explanation. What could he do?

After a while, a middle-aged man entered. He was of average height and build, and appeared mature and composed, exuding the calm demeanor of a successful man.

"Hello Shen Qi, I'm Xu Weini's colleague, in charge of reviewing papers," the middle-aged man said.

"Hello, editor." Shen Qi didn't know this person's name, but was he also an editor?

The middle-aged man didn't mince words; he got straight to the point. "Shen Qi, I've read your paper. I only have one question: your algorithm's local convergence rate depends on the generalized Jacobian matrix of the potential function, so how do you obtain the local convergence rate of q-superlinear?"

Shen Qi was taken aback, his hair becoming slightly disheveled.

Editor Xu's academic level in his professional field is average, but this male editor is definitely a master!