No Chasing, No Avoiding
The Seven Millennium Prize Problem in Mathematics were established in 2000 by the Clay Mathematics Institute in the United States. This wealthy research institution declared that whoever could solve a Millennium Prize Problem would be rewarded with $1 million.
The Poincaré conjecture has been solved by Russian mathematician Perelman, and this year it was Shen Qi's turn. He and his team proved the Riemann Hypothesis.
The Clay Mathematics Institute sent a congratulatory telegram. "Mr. Shen Qi, please come to the institute to receive the award."
Shen Qi: "I've been too busy lately, could you mail the check to me?"
Clay Mathematics Institute: "No, the necessary condition for receiving the $1 million check is that Mr. Shen must be present. In addition to the $1 million prize, we will also award Mr. Shen this year's 'Clay Research Award,' and our institute and MIT have jointly invited Mr. Shen to give a keynote speech on the Riemann Hypothesis at MIT."
Shen Qi: "Okay, see you in Massachusetts."
There was no need to get hung up on $1 million. After ending his call with the Clay Mathematics Institute, Shen Qi made an overseas call back to China: "Professor Sun, I might not be able to return to China until the end of this month. I've turned down all the social engagements I could, but I can't turn down the invitation from the Clay Mathematics Institute."
After the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis was recognized by IMU, Sun Erxiong immediately called Shen Qi, hoping that Shen Qi could return to Yenching University to give a speech.
Shen Qi agreed to Sun Erxiong. He could refuse anyone else, but he could not refuse Professor Sun and his alma mater, Yenching University.
"I understand, I completely understand. We must get that $1 million prize from the Clay Mathematics Institute," Sun Erxiong said, also expressing his strong desire. "Shen Qi, I still hope you can come back at the end of June. Universities in China will be on summer vacation in July. And some of your classmates from the Mathematics Department will be leaving Yenching University in July to start their careers. They are very eager to see you before they leave school and start their jobs."
Shen Qi: "I'll try my best. If I can return to Yanda University before July, I'll definitely come back."
Shen Qi has been incredibly busy lately, with speeches, award ceremonies, and money transfers keeping him extremely occupied.
The Clay Mathematics Institute is located in Cambridge University, Massachusetts, which is part of the Boston metropolitan area. Before donating money to the Clay Mathematics Institute, Shen Qi participated in his doctoral dissertation defense at the Princeton Mathematics Department.
The leaders of the Mathematics Department at Princeton University were thoughtful and considerate. Taking into account Shen Qi's Shen Qi participation in social activities recently, they decided to grant him a doctoral degree sooner rather than later.
When other people go out to show off, they address themselves as professors or deans. Shen Qi is, after all, the person who proved the Riemann Hypothesis. Although he hasn't become Professor Shen yet, the title "Dr. Shen" can be used for a while, as a transition period.
Shen Qi's doctoral dissertation defense went very smoothly. His dissertation was "A Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis Based on the 'Shen's twin matching method'".
"Passed!" Director Feierman declared on the spot during the defense session.
"No problem at all!" Professor Faltings also approved.
"This paper by Qi is quite well written; the derivations are rigorous and the logic is sound," Professor Lyndon Strauss said earnestly.
"Elon, you have the right to overturn the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis," Faltings said.
"Unable to overturn, so it passes." Lyndon Strauss cast the final vote in favor. He was just joking; he was the technical advisor to Shen Qi Team and had offered some valuable suggestions on the paper, "Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis Based on Shen's twin matching method."
The three examiners unanimously approved Shen Qi's doctoral dissertation defense, and the atmosphere was relaxed.
Having good grades really does allow you to do whatever you want; Shen Qi received his PhD from Princeton the day after his dissertation defense.
System: "New achievement! The host has obtained a Ph. D. in Mathematics from Princeton University in less than two years. The basic reward is 500,000 Academic Excellence Points, multiplied by the Mathematics Talent Coefficient of 2.0, resulting in a final reward of 1,000,000 Academic Excellence Points. Remaining Academic Excellence Points: 5,877,510. Please confirm."
Shen Qi, wearing his Princeton doctoral gown, posed for a photo in front of a bronze tiger statue.
He started elementary school at the age of six and graduated with a doctorate at the age of 22. After sixteen years of student life came to an end, Shen Qi embarked on a new journey in his life, driving to Massachusetts to send money.
The Riemann Hypothesis alone is enough for Shen Qi to live on for a lifetime; and this is just the beginning.
Recently, Shen Qi has been racking up so much money that his hands are sore from spending it all. He hasn't even finished spending the $1 million prize money from the Breakthrough Prize in March, and in mid-June, he received another $1 million check: a prize for proving the Riemann Hypothesis.
In addition to the $1 million prize for solving the Millennium Prize Problem, the Clay Mathematics Institute also awarded Shen Qi an award— the Clay Research Award.
The Clay Research Award is a moderately large international award, rated as a B-level award by the system, and it awarded Shen Qi 400,000 x 2 = 800,000 academic points as an achievement reward.
The system has updated the requirements for advancing to Math Level 14:
Condition 1: 18/20 million
Condition 2: S-level awards, 0; A+ level awards, 0; A-level awards, 0; B-level awards, 4; awards below B level are not counted.
Condition 3: The top-tier master-level host has not yet had any students publish papers in the Top Four Journals, progress 0%.
Remaining Academic Points: 6,677,510
After receiving the money and the award, Shen Qi gave an exclusive interview to a Discovery Channel reporter at the Clay Mathematics Institute.
The reporter asked, "Dr. Shen, as the first mathematician to receive the Clay Mathematics Institute's Millennium Prize Problem, what are your thoughts?"
"I'm an ordinary person. I don't pursue money, nor do I deliberately avoid it," Shen Qi said calmly.
When it comes to showing off, Shen Qi only admires one person: the Russian mathematician Perelman, who solved the Poincaré conjecture.
Perelman proved the Poincaré conjecture in 2003, becoming the first person to solve the Millennium Prize Problem.
However, Perelman refused to accept the Clay Mathematics Institute's $1 million prize, and he also refused to accept the 2006 Fields Medal.
Perelman's name can be seen on the list of Fields Medal winners in 2006.
However, Perelman did not attend the award ceremony to accept the award, and the IMU forcibly attached the Fields Medal to Perelman's name.
The Fields Medal has been hanging there ever since, but Perelman has never claimed it; he has disappeared.
No money, no awards, and never a journal article – that's the style of Perelman, the Russian King of Show Offs behavior.
Perelman's proof of the Poincaré conjecture was published on arVix, a website that does not require peer review.
Perelman refused to submit any manuscripts to journals, magazines, or academic publications that required peer review.
Therefore, Shen Qi only respected Perelman. Compared to the Russian "King of Show Offs," he felt that he was just an ordinary person.
The Discovery Channel reporter continued, "Dr. Shen, you've won the Ford Prize, the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, and the Clay Research Award in just over a year—an astonishingly high frequency of awards. Are you looking forward to this year's Fields Medal?"
Shen Qi replied, "As I just said, I don't pursue material things, but I don't avoid them either. My attitude towards honors and awards is the same: I don't pay excessive attention to them, nor do I deliberately reject them. Thank you."