A Small Step and a Giant Leap
Charles Feierman completed his calculus studies at age 12, graduated from the University of Maryland at 17, received his Ph. D. in mathematics from Princeton at 20, and became a full professor at the University of Chicago at 22.
Charles Feierman was only 29 years old when he won the Fields Medal, and none of the other nine Fields Medal winners present were as young as Feierman when they received their awards.
Feierman was an Academic God in his childhood, a mathematical genius who shocked the world in his youth, and is now the Princeton Mathematics Department, the big boss here.
Princeton University attracts geniuses from all over the world, and the administrators who manage these geniuses must also possess genius-level abilities; otherwise, they would be unable to manage a group of geniuses.
Feierman was ahead of his peers from childhood until he became an old man; such a person possesses a strong ambition and desire for dominance.
The sixty-something genius Feierman has his eye on the twenty-something prodigy Shen Qi.
The onlookers consisted of middle-aged geniuses and even older geniuses.
If you win the Chern Prize in Mathematics, you will be required to give a speech and answer questions from Chinese experts at a subsequent academic conference.
Shen Qi treated today as an awards ceremony, testing any member of his expert panel—someone he couldn't hire even if he paid money.
The gathering of dozens of prominent figures is a spectacle that is not seen every year, let alone at the Chern Prize in Mathematics award ceremony, or even at the Fields Medal award ceremony.
"Dear Mr. Feierman, it is an honor to join today's academic discussion." Shen Qi stood up and slowly walked around the room, gradually regaining his composure. "Research on the Wash Conjecture has been ongoing, but no one has proven it in the most convenient way, so I did it. My inspiration came from giving efficient irrational measures for some numbers in the imaginary quadratic field. Fortunately, I succeeded."
Feierman, holding a coffee in one hand and flipping through the * Journal of the American Mathematical Society * in the other, crossed his legs and asked with a sharp look, "This inspiration of yours wasn't mentioned in your paper."
"It doesn't count if it's mentioned in the paper; it only counts if all the gentlemen here approve it. That's Princeton's rule." Shen Qi walked to the window, rested his elbow on the windowsill, and smiled calmly, but his mind was incredibly tense as he organized his next words.
"Yes, that's the rule at Princeton," Professor Witten chuckled.
"Chinese boy, you learn really fast, you clever young man," Professor Elon Professor Lyndon Strauss smiled.
Shen Qi is trying to use the Princeton method to get the bigwigs at Princeton to know him, accept him, and remember him.
It seems there are initial results.
The stern-faced Director Feierman placed his coffee cup on the table, seemingly somewhat displeased. "Your method of obtaining an efficient algebraic approximation by using efficient irrational measures of some numbers in an imaginary quadratic field is not novel, and is even a bit outdated."
"This... "Shen Qi thought to himself, "Yes, Director, you're really direct."
Shen Qi fell silent, his mind racing as he considered how to respond.
Just then, Professor Lyndon Strauss, who had just assisted Shen Qi, turned around and pointed out. "Padé approximation, Thue equation, Gap criterion, yes, Shen Qi, you're using technology from decades or even a hundred years ago."
This... Shen Qi looked at Professor Lyndon Strauss in astonishment. This Israeli was an expert in number theory.
Is this the typical style of high-level meetings at Princeton: praising me one minute, then making things difficult the next? Giving me plenty of praise first, then delivering a fatal blow?
A middle-aged white man, also browsing the * Journal of the American Mathematical Society *, added, "There's no new technology."
A triple denial!
Shen Qi looked at the big-headed, thin-necked, and dazzlingly white white man. This man was none other than Grader Faltings, the mathematical genius who was famous in the 1980s.
Grader Faltings was 32 years old when he won the Fields Medal, which is considered a young age for him to achieve great success. He is a leading expert in Algebraic Geometry and number theory.
Charles Feierman, Elon Lyndon Strauss, Grader Faltings, three Fields Medal winners, grilled and denied Shen Qi's claims within a minute, which greatly surprised Shen Qi.
Just minutes before, Shen Qi thought he was being invited to the Princeton Outstanding Youth Awards ceremony.
Professor Witten shrugged at Shen Qi, indicating that he couldn't help him and that he wasn't good at number theory.
International academic struggles are indeed incredibly complex and brutal. Shen Qi slowly walked to the fireplace, squatted down, and observed the fire inside.
A group of bigwigs just stared at Shen Qi, with only the crackling sound of burning wood audible.
"Shen Qi?" Director Feierman reminded Shen Qi that it was time to wake up.
Shen Qi stood up, faced the assembled dignitaries, and maintained his composed smile, "The Apollo moon landing project did not use a single new technology; it was entirely a comprehensive application of known technologies. I believe that integration is also a form of innovation. Mr. Feierman, what do you think?"
"Next, I will answer Professor Lyndon Strauss's question. I did not use a new technique to prove the Wash Conjecture, but my definition of the Thue equation is different from other Thue equation in the world. In this definition, if for some k greater than or equal to 0, u2k+1 is a square number, then u1 is also a square number. I should be the first person in history to define it this way. Of course, this is nothing special; anyone with elementary mathematical knowledge can make such a definition."
"Professor Faltings, your question is the same as Professor Lyndon Strauss's. My answer is that when I make an effective approximation of a redefined mathematical hypothesis, it is new and entirely new."
Shen Qi moved among the various bigwigs like a wandering poet, loudly reciting what he considered to be beautiful poems.
Be calm and confident; even if you're not 100% sure, you must project an image of confidence.
Most of the statements Shen Qi made in this room did not appear in his paper, because he had just grasped the new inspiration.
People are often forced into certain situations.
Even if forced to death, one must maintain dignity.
The Proof of Diophantine Equation Wash Conjecture has been officially published. If Shen Qi were given another chance, he believes he could write an even better paper.
This is thanks to the persistent questioning from the three Fields Medal winners.
Within half an hour, Shen Qi elevated his intellectual level and academic understanding to a new level.
Mathematical experience points +1
+2
Shen Qi's math experience points were rapidly increasing; he was now at level 9. This kind of large-scale, daily grinding of math experience points had never occurred before after reaching level 5 in math.
Shen Qi spoke for half an hour without pausing.
Director Feierman refilled his coffee three times. He didn't interrupt Shen Qi, and finally smiled.
Lyndon Strauss and Faltings, two world-class masters of number theory, nodded repeatedly, and Shen Qi's professional presentation gradually began to impress them.
Seeing that the experts had stopped asking questions and denying his arguments, Shen Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. In reality, only he knew that more than half of his arguments in this debate were made up on the spot. If he were to read his original paper aloud, he would definitely be criticized by the experts to the point of questioning his existence.
It's not that Shen Qi's paper was full of flaws, but rather that the requirements of the bigwigs in the Princeton Mathematics Department were too high, even demanding.
Besides being able to write, you also need to be able to speak and act, have a substantial role, and possess a rich and varied range of expressions, with a confident yet enigmatic smile.
"That concludes my statement on the proof of the Wash Conjecture, thank you." Shen Qi had been performing for over half an hour, his mouth was dry, and his facial muscles were twitching from laughing.
"Excellent, even more excellent than your paper." Director Feierman applauded and said to Shen Qi, "This is why I invited you to today's meeting. The number theory textbook for undergraduate students in the Princeton Mathematics Department needs a revised edition because one of your proofs."
"And among the authors who led the revision work are two Fields Medal winners. Yes, it doesn't matter if JAMS publishes your paper; it only counts if our group approves it. Grader, Elon, what are your opinions?" Director Feierman then turned to ask the two mathematical masters for their views.
Professor Faltings said, "The new number theory textbook will probably be seven to nine pages shorter."
Professor Lyndon Strauss said, "Shen Qi's name will appear in the new textbook. He proved the Wash Conjecture this year, and the reduction of 7 to 9 pages is due to the addition of the Wash theorem."
"This is a small step for mathematics, but a giant leap for you. I have written three textbooks for students at Princeton and Johns Hopkins. Kid, would you like to take on the challenge?" Professor Witten asked, looking at Shen Qi.
"Edward, you're so lazy! You only have three books, while I have six."
"Edward and Andre together have exactly one more book than I do."
"Shen Qi, my child, would you like to take on the challenge?"
The experts all pointed out that the textbooks they wrote were classic teaching materials in the Mathematics Community, and even UC Berkeley, the "Math Capital of the West Coast," was secretly using mathematics textbooks written by some professors from Princeton.
"I..." Shen Qi was speechless. I'm not targeting any one of you. What I'm trying to say is that everyone here is... a true big shot!
Hahaha.
Laughter erupted.
The experts stopped teasing Shen Qi. Their critical nature had finally acknowledged Shen Qi's small achievement. It was a small step in mathematics, but a giant leap for a young Mathematical Research.