Living with Dignity
After ending his conversation with the IMU representative, Shen Qi uploaded the "Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis Based on the 'Twin Matching Method'" to arVix from his hotel room.
Shen Qi will need to stay in Washington for two more days to attend the award ceremony the day after tomorrow; he is a nominee for the New Horizons Award for Mathematics.
With such a fantastic presentation this morning, it seems the New Horizons Award for Mathematics is well within Shen Qi's grasp.
The next morning, after getting up, Shen Qi turned on his laptop and browsed the IMU website.
Shen Qi was in a good mood. "Today is a good day; good news came as soon as we turned on the camera."
Two messages on the IMU website caught Shen Qi's attention.
"Shen Qi proved a supplementary approximation theorem to the 'Muller -Shen Theorem' in Banach space. This theorem was verified by the IMU and named the 'Shen Proximity Theorem'. The original paper was published in <Inventiones Mathematicae>."
"At the second day of the academic conference for this year's Breakthrough Prize and New Horizons Prize, Shen Qi delivered a conference report entitled 'Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis Based on the 'Twin Matching Method',' the full text of which is pre-recorded on arVix."
The first piece of news is that IMU has officially recognized "Shen Proximity Theorem".
The second message from IMU objectively reported on the important academic events that occurred yesterday.
The subtext conveyed by IMU's second message is that we do not deny Shen Qi's proof of the Riemann Hypothesis, but at the same time, we do not endorse it.
IMU's attitude is noncommittal, which is normal. Shen Qi's report, "Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis Based on the 'Twin Matching Method'", needs some time to be verified.
On the IMU website homepage, there's a piece of news that isn't exactly news: Shen Qi's basic information has been added to the section introducing this year's most popular mathematicians.
Profile picture: Reposted from Shen Qi's profile picture on arVix, young, handsome, and with a cool hairstyle.
Name: Shen Qi
Nationality: China
Age: 22
Universities: Yenching University, Princeton
Major: Basic Mathematics
Areas of specialization: number theory, Functional Analysis, algebra, etc.
Mentors: Sun Erxiong, Allen Muller
Academic Achievements: Proof of the Wash Conjecture, proof of the Muller -Shen Theorem and the Shen Proximity Theorem.
Awards received: Chern Prize in Mathematics, Ford Prize
The information is very basic, but it is of great significance, indicating that Shen Qi has attracted the attention of the most authoritative mathematical organizations.
On Shen Qi's WeChat, people from the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, the Capital Economic Circle, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Northeast China, Northwest China, Southwest China, Central China, Fujian, Fulan, New Jersey, New York State, Washington D. C., and the Belt and Road Initiative sent congratulatory messages, and the number of comments reached 99.
The system wasn't to be outdone. "New achievement! The International Mathematical Union has recognized the mathematical theorem named after the host's surname. The base reward is 300,000 Academic Excellence Points, multiplied by the Mathematical Talent Coefficient of 2.0, resulting in a final reward of 600,000 Academic Excellence Points. Balance: 621,538."
Please confirm to accumulate academic points.
Today is the last day of the academic conference, and the winners of the Breakthrough Prize and the New Horizons Prize will be announced tomorrow.
Shen Qi headed to the main venue with a relaxed attitude. He didn't have any reporting assignments today, so he was going to listen to other mathematicians' presentations and clear his head.
Upon arriving at the main venue, Shen Qi was immediately surrounded by friends from the media, mainly American media.
A white male reporter asked, "Shen, hello, I'm a reporter from the Discovery Channel. At yesterday's briefing, you presented a proof of the Riemann Hypothesis, so this Millennium Prize Problem has been solved by you and your team, right?"
In a particularly good mood, Shen Qi chatted and laughed, "It's a preliminary solution, but ultimately it still needs to be widely recognized by IMU and the international Mathematics Community, which will take some time, conservatively estimated to be more than three months. You know, the verification work of Fermat's Last Theorem and the Poincaré conjecture lasted for more than two years. That's the characteristic of mathematics; proving a conjecture is not difficult, but proving the 'proof' is not easy."
A female reporter asked, "Shen, hello, I'm a reporter from CNN. It's said that you've already won the 'New Horizons Award for Mathematics,' and you might even become the youngest person to compete for the $3 million 'Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics' at the age of 22. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Considering the Muller -Shen theorem, Shen Proximity Theorem, and the proof of the Wash Conjecture, I believe I am qualified for the 'New Horizons Award for Mathematics.' After all, among mathematicians under 30, I have done an outstanding job in Functional Analysis and number theory." Shen Qi objectively stated the facts; in the United States, excessive modesty is not a virtue.
"If IMU could recognize my research on the Riemann Hypothesis today, I can say with certainty that my name should not be absent from the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Unfortunately, we all know that's impossible," Shen Qi said regretfully.
After the interview, Shen Qi entered the main venue and listened to reports from mathematicians from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, gaining some inspiration.
Another day has passed, and the most exciting moment of this conference is about to arrive.
Today is the final day of the Breakthrough Prize & New Horizons Prize conference. The organizing committee will present several awards today, including:
The five Breakthrough Prize each come with a prize of $3 million.
The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is a single prize of $3 million.
The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics also comes with a single prize of $3 million.
This demonstrates that life sciences have received special favor from the organizing committee. The five "Breakthrough Prize" will be awarded to five scientists or research teams from different fields of life sciences, with a total prize of up to $15 million in the life sciences field.
This is the same every year: five Breakthrough Prizes of $3 million each are awarded in life sciences, and one each in fundamental physics and mathematics.
As is customary in previous years, the $3 million prize money for the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics is often shared equally by two or more scientists or teams.
Shen Qi is competing for the "New Horizons Award for Mathematics," an award given to young mathematicians. There are three prizes, each with a prize of $100,000.
Regardless, compared to other awards, the prize money for the Breakthrough Prize and the New Horizons Prize is quite generous.
The Nobel Prize carries a prize of $1 million, while the Fields Medal is even less, at only 15,000 Canadian dollars, which is approximately $11,500.
The prize for solving a Millennium Prize Problem in mathematics is $1 million, but it's not an easy problem to solve. Shen Qi and his team worked hard for several months to make a preliminary solution to the Riemann Hypothesis, and they haven't yet received final approval from the IMU.
"$100,000 it is. The prize money for the Chern Prize in Mathematics is 100,000 RMB, and the Ford Prize doesn't have a prize. I also applied for a scholarship from Princeton and paid $20,000 in award fees." Shen Qi didn't care about the prize money anymore. For him, honors and titles were more important. Living with dignity was more meaningful than money. He longed to win another award.