After class, Lu Zhou spent about ten minutes answering the students' questions, whether simple or complicated, before putting away his textbook and leaving the classroom.
Perelman rose from his seat in the back row. Having waited for quite a while, he followed Lu Zhou out of the classroom and walked up beside him.
After walking like that for a while, Perelman, his face pensive, suddenly spoke.
"It was a very ordinary class."
Lu Zhou smiled and casually replied, "It was meant for undergraduates. If it were too difficult, they might not understand it."
"Why do you teach undergraduates?"
"Occasionally reviewing why the obvious things are obvious helps us think about why the not-so-obvious things are not obvious... In fact, that was Fermi's view, and I agree with it. Maybe a few Fields Medal winners will emerge from the students who take my classes someday. That would be far more fulfilling than winning an award myself."
Perelman's expression did not change much.
He had always rejected awards in the mathematical community, pursuing purity as he did, so Lu Zhou's words could not possibly resonate with him.
However, the first half of Lu Zhou's statement did send him into deep thought. He could not help muttering as he savored the words again.
"...The not-so-obvious things."
"That's right." Lu Zhou nodded and spoke conversationally. "For example, Motive Theory and the Langlands Program. These things may seem simple and easy to understand, but they actually explain principles that are not so obvious. What is the essence of numbers and shapes? Ever since Mathematics came into being, civilization has been pondering that question. And throughout history, great mathematicians have often also been theologians or philosophers."
"Are you a theologian?"
"Unfortunately, I'm a materialist who stubbornly sticks to reason... We're here. This is my office."
Lu