Leaving a Message
The following day, Shen Qi was invited to visit and give a lecture at the Morning Star Mathematics Center in Zhongguancun.
This was arranged in advance, and we will proceed as planned today.
The Morning Star Mathematics Center was jointly founded in 1996 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Hong Kong real estate group, and its headquarters building is located within the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The operating model of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study is well known. It was invested and built by a wealthy brother and sister from New Jersey. It is not affiliated with any university, nor is it under the jurisdiction of the U. S. government. It is a completely independent academic research institution.
The Morning Star Mathematics Center, drawing on the successful model of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, is a semi-independent private academic research institution. It is guaranteed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which provides the venue, while a Hong Kong real estate group funds the construction and recruits mathematical talent.
Because it is semi-independent and semi-private, the authorities do not set rigid research targets for the Morning Star Mathematics Center, so researchers here do not have to worry about not being able to get promoted if they do not meet the required number of papers this year.
They receive a fixed monthly salary from a foundation established by a Hong Kong real estate tycoon, live for free in apartments built by the tycoon, have no worries about food or clothing and no rigid tasks, and have found a paradise in the bustling metropolis for full-time Mathematical Research at the Morning Star Mathematics Center.
The Morning Star Mathematics Award, established by the Morning Star Mathematics Center, is hailed as the "Chinese Fields Medal Mathematicians." It is a prestigious Chinese mathematics award on par with the Hua Luogeng Mathematics Prize, the Chern Prize in Mathematics Zhong Jiaqing Mathematics Prize Award.
The Morning Star Mathematics Center is particularly keen to invite leading figures in academia to give lectures and workshops, and these figures are quite accommodating.
Among the prominent figures who have visited and lectured at the Morning Star Mathematics Center are Fields Medal Medalists Edward Witten, Laurent Lafog, Bocherds, Qiu Chengtong Yau, Nobel Prize laureates in Physics Gross, Cortes, and Oshea, and Stephen Hawking.
Today it was Shen Qi's turn.
Yenching University is not far from the Morning Star Mathematics Center, both located in the Zhongguancun area.
A Hong Kong real estate tycoon happened to be in the capital negotiating a big deal these days. When he heard that Shen Qi was going to visit and lecture at the center, he specially dispatched three Alphards to Yenching University to pick up Shen Qi.
A black Alphard led the way, a white one brought up the rear, and Shen Qi sat in the silver one in the middle.
This Hong Kong real estate tycoon is very concerned about the development of scientific undertakings in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He and his father have spent a lot of money on scientific undertakings in mainland China and Hong Kong over the decades, but it has been all investment without any output.
Although he couldn't recoup any of his investment costs in academia, the Hong Kong tycoon's other businesses in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong flourished, growing several times over.
The Hong Kong tycoon, who is not short of money and is particularly fond of pomp and circumstance, and who is the main investor of the Morning Star Mathematics Center, led the center director and all the researchers to stand outside the lobby of the center building, waiting for the arrival of Fields Medal winner Shen Qi.
Shen Qi was half an hour late because of traffic, but this did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm.
Accompanied by the Hong Kong boss and the center director, Shen Qi toured the center building and highly praised its hardware and academic facilities, "Chairman Kuang, Director Wu, the conditions here are excellent. The Princeton Institute for Advanced Study can't compare to our center."
"Professor Shen is joking. Our center's hardware facilities may be newer and more advanced, but in terms of software, it's worlds apart from the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study." Director Wu is a pragmatic scholar and a rigorous mathematician.
"With Professor Shen here, the gap will be bridged." Chairman Kuang, a Hong Kong businessman, is deeply concerned about the scientific cause of his motherland and maintains a high level of respect for the renowned scientist.
"I wouldn't dare accept that," Shen Qi said with a smile, waving his hand.
Chairman Kuang led Shen Qi to the front desk, where a beautiful guestbook was placed.
Chairman Kuang handed Shen Qi a pen and gestured for him to write something, "Professor Shen, please bestow your calligraphy."
Shen Qi took the pen and slowly flipped through the guestbook with great interest.
Qiu Chengtong once visited, and his message read, "A clear conscience is the key to success." -- Qiu Chengtong
The French mathematician Laurent Lafog visited. He wrote in French, which Shen Qi couldn't understand. Chairman Kuang translated it for Shen Qi: "Mr. Lafog's message was, 'The thinker is the genius.'"
"This quote is from Maupassant." Shen Qi continued to the next page. The message on this page was in English, with only one signature: Edward Witten.
The coolest one is Witten. At least Lafog, the winner of the Fields Medal, quoted a famous line from Maupassant, Witten simply didn't write anything, just signed their name and that was it.
Chairman Kuang said, "Mr. Hawking visited and lectured at the center in 2004. Unfortunately, he did not leave any written record."
Given Mr. Hawking's physical condition, what could he do...? Shen Qi turned to a certain page and exclaimed "Eh!" with obvious curiosity.
The style of the messages on this page is completely different from that of Witten; the page is filled with densely packed numbers, arranged according to some mathematical rule:
6,5,0,0...0,0
1,6,5,0...0,0
0,0,0,0...1,6
Below the last line of numbers is an English signature: BE Borcherds
"Are you happy with this little prank?" Shen Qi stared at the English signature and laughed.
"This page contains a message from Bocherds. It's a determinant; Mr. Bocherds has given us a difficult problem," Chairman Kuang explained enthusiastically.
Shen Qi was somewhat surprised. "Chairman Kuang, you must be the most mathematically literate among the billionaires. You even understand determinants."
"I studied finance at university in the UK."
"I see, so finance majors need to study mathematics."
British mathematician Bocherds, who won the Fields Medal in 1994 for his Monster-Group moonlight conjecture, made a playful remark during his visit to the Morning Star Mathematics Center, leaving behind a page of determinants composed of numbers.
You're being cheeky, so am I.
Shen Qi was aroused, but despite his cunning, his eyes were incredibly sharp.
Concentrating intently, Shen Qi quickly scanned the numerical code array left by Bocherds, which reminded him of the final question he encountered during the IMO in high school.
The Monster-Group swarm had brought Shen Qi to the brink of collapse, but he had a flash of inspiration and used the language of determinants to break the Monster-Group swarm, ultimately winning a gold medal with a perfect score of 1 point at the IMO.
At this moment, Shen Qi is battling Bocherds across thousands of miles. He stands with his hands behind his back, head down, trying to break through the formation, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead—a sign of extreme mental strain.
The hall was completely silent. Chairman Kuang, Director Wu, and the other staff held their breath and dared not utter a word, for fear of disturbing Shen Qi's power.
This determinant is actually not difficult to solve; Director Wu and the Mathematical Research had already calculated the standard answer.
But since Shen Qi suddenly decided to use his powers to break the formation, we could only let him do as he pleased, since he was the big shot of the Fields Medal.
Of course, there are also highlights. Solving the problem by hand without any drafts is quite challenging, as mentally calculating this complex determinant is very difficult.
Thirty seconds later, Shen Qi's furrowed brows relaxed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked everyone, "Was the date Bocherds wrote down this determinant May 3, 2005?"
This...
Amazing!
Chairman Kuang was astonished. "Mr. Bocherds visited and lectured at the center on May 3, 2005. Before leaving on May 3, he wrote this columnar message. Professor Shen, Master Shen, you are incredibly prescient!"
Shen Qi smiled faintly, "Then I was right. Bocherds wrote on this page, 'I, Bocherds, was here on May 3, 2005.' This determinant is actually just a date, expressed in the language of determinants."
Director Wu humbly asked, "Professor Shen, we all know how to calculate the standard answer to this determinant, but we don't know how May 3rd was calculated?"
Shen Qi said, "After expanding, we can just take 3 for n."
"Why is n 3?" Director Wu was puzzled, then suddenly realized. "Could it be... the long-lost Hadamard's Third Algorithm?"
Shen Qi nodded. "Yes, that's right."
Director Wu and the other Mathematical Research were stunned. "Professor Shen, you actually performed such a massive amount of calculations in less than a minute, and all mentally! Amazing, incredible!"