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Chapter 158 How could I forget?

On the other side of the ocean, it is already late at night or even early in the morning in most places.

But the discussion sparked by Ann.Math’s sudden update is still ongoing today.

Well, it can no longer be called a discussion; it can be said that an earthquake has begun in the academic community.

Mathematics researchers may not subscribe to other journals, but they cannot not subscribe to the four top journals. They are naturally very clear about the publishing rules of the four top journals.

Ann.Math, a bimonthly magazine, is almost never published within the first three days of the month, which seems a bit impatient.

Of course, this also makes many people start paying attention to this year's issue of papers for the first time.

Especially among a group of scholars studying algebraic geometry and number theory, the impact of Qiao Yu's cover paper can even be said to be at the level of a nuclear explosion.

The reason is that the generalized modal axiom system proposed by Qiao Yu is actually a programmatic mathematical idea, and it is a highly creative and cutting-edge mathematical idea.

But at the same time, unlike the Langlands Program, Qiao Yu did not propose a series of conjectures, but directly started to prove these propositions, which reflects very direct operational thinking.

Qiao Yu not only provides a theoretical framework, but also actively works to prove relevant propositions.

It is similar to a path that combines theoretical research and verification, with a seamless process from concept proposal to theoremization.

To be honest, expanding the boundaries of classical mathematical thinking through a new axiomatic system is what every mathematician hopes to do.

For example, when talking about calculus, people will think of Newton and Leibniz, and their status in the mathematics world is naturally unquestionable.

Similarly, if Qiao Yu could perfect his system of generalized modal axioms, this research method would probably become a compulsory course for future mathematics students, just like calculus.

The reason is nothing more than two words: easy to use.

If we ignore its abstractness, if Qiao Yu can enrich this axiomatic system, it will undoubtedly make many problems that seem difficult at present become simpler.

The key here is the expansion of the tool library.

Many people do not quite understand the meaning of tools in mathematical operations. In fact, to put it bluntly, they are the theorems constructed by mathematicians using rigorous logic in their papers.

For example, calculus, Fourier transform, Laplace transform, complex function, variational method, sieve method, group theory, differential geometry, symplectic geometry, Markov chain, etc.

The current situation of mathematical development is that these mathematical tools can only be used in specific fields.

But mathematicians believe that these branches of mathematics are deeply connected, but as to how this connection is manifested, no one has yet discovered it.

Then there is algebraic geometry, which is nothing more than relating algebraic equations to geometric curves.

There is also mathematical physics, and symplectic geometry is used to study Hamiltonian dynamics, whose structure also originates from mathematical symmetries and geometric transformations.

Even the later Langlands Program, the most essential purpose of this program is to unify algebra, number theory and representation theory, and to make cross-field connections by establishing a deeper mathematical tool framework.

Its most successful part is that it provides a macro perspective, allowing mathematicians to analyze the common laws behind these mathematical tools.

This also makes many people believe and judge that the perspectives of different mathematical tools may be abstracted into a more general axiomatic system in the future.

To put it bluntly, Qiao Yu is now doing such work, which can be seen as a new attempt to unify mathematical logic tools.

Of course, one attempt may not create any waves. Mathematicians have made many attempts, but only a few of them can really make an impact.

But there are no secrets in the mathematics world, and the luxurious lineup of reviewers for these two papers has long been known.

After all, for these bigwigs, reviewing a mathematical paper that they collectively believe has rigorous logic is not something that needs to be kept secret.

Those who don't want to be exposed are often the kind who know very well that the article is a piece of shit, but because of personal connections, people come to them for help and they have to hold their noses and give it approval.

So the comment that Dugan Lott helped Pierre Delini to fabricate also spread.

"This will be the greatest milestone of this century, possibly the only one!"

After the paper was published, some friends even sent Pierre Delini a private message asking if this comment was true, and Pierre Delini admitted it without hesitation.

Even said that Andrew Wiles thought he was right...

Yes, Pierre Delini now feels that Lot Dugan is his perfect mouthpiece.

Well, if it weren’t for the paper that Qiao Yu reported at the Chinese Mathematical Society today, he might have pushed Lott Dugan out in a joking tone.

But that's not necessary now.

Although Qiao Yu gave a report at the Mathematical Society early this morning, Pierre Delini had actually read this paper on the prime number problem a few days ago.

It is still being studied even today.

After Tao Xuanzhi accepted the invitation from the Chinese Mathematical Society to jointly review this paper, he also had some more in-depth discussions with Pierre Delini.

The two of them came to the conclusion that transforming the distribution of prime numbers into a modal problem on a geometric path was a very bold attempt.

What the two appreciated most was that Qiao Yu's paper borrowed the idea of ​​the prime number theorem when constructing the modal density function.

This shows that Qiao Yu's generalized modal axiom framework has provided a new tool for solving classical number theory conjectures.

Yes, not maybe, but already!

When the two put forward this argument, Tao Xuanzhi directly posted this view on his personal blog.

Compared to those big stars, Tao Xuanzhi's blog may not have many fans.

But his fans are pure. Whether it is the courses at UCLA, the open classes on MasterClass, or his status as the youngest Fields Medal winner, he has many fans in the mathematics community.

Moreover, his personal blog often comments on papers of some well-known mathematicians, and his comments are very detailed.

Just like he had commented on Zhang Yuantang's paper on his personal blog, he even pointed out many errors in it.

This also once again promoted the dissemination of Qiao Yu's papers.

So after a day, Qiao Yu's paper began to spread widely in the Western mathematics community.

For Qiao Yu, he only submitted an abstract and a preliminary manuscript for his lecture at the Mathematical Society, because mathematics is different from computing after all.

Therefore, Tian Yanzhen’s opinion was to submit the paper directly to the journal after the report was published, and even to make a deal with Lott Dugan using this paper.

Of course, precisely because this paper had already been presented at the conference, Qiao Yu not only directly entered the backend system of Ann.Math after the report, but also posted it directly to the pre-publication website arXiv.

With the help of Tao Xuanzhi's promotion on his personal blog, Qiao Yu's paper on bounded intervals between prime numbers suddenly saw a peak in downloads.

Especially for mathematicians who study prime numbers, this is definitely the most exciting breakthrough in recent years.

Since Qiao Yu has been able to make the prime numbers have a bounded interval of 6, it means that they are not far from completely solving this problem. Maybe they can even use the tools Qiao Yu provided to solve the twin prime conjecture, the Bodonia conjecture, and even the Riemann conjecture...

In mathematics, there are generally two types of mathematicians who are most likely to be remembered by history. The first type is the founder, or the pioneer of a mathematical direction.

For example, Gauss pioneered number theory, algebra, and probability theory; Euler developed analytic number theory, graph theory, and proposed the Euler formula; Poincaré brought topology and dynamical systems into being, and the Goldbach conjecture inspired the study of integer theory...

The second type is the person who puts the finishing touches on a category of problems.

The most typical example is Andrew Wiles, who solved the conjecture that Fermat did not write down because there were not enough spaces. Even though he was over 40 years old, the Mathematical Union specially gave him a Fields Silver Medal. It is the only Fields Silver Medal in the world...

There is no doubt that even if someone solved the Riemann hypothesis at the age of sixty, he would probably be able to win this honor, turning the only Fields Silver Medal into two!

But to be honest, for mathematicians who have reached a certain age, they rarely have such unrealistic ideas to challenge those big propositions.

For example, the six questions of the millennium... Because everyone knows that if you rashly challenge those questions, you will most likely end up with nothing in the second half of your life.

If this gets out, people will laugh at you for overestimating your own abilities.

In fact, mathematics has developed to this day and age where its branches are extremely detailed, and there are many small unresolved problems. They prefer to focus on relatively more specific and controllable problems.

For example, Boolean mean, perfect matching, Hamiltonian path, isometric set...

Really, as long as we don't set our sights so high, the mathematics community still has room for many people to tackle those small problems. Such work is also extremely valuable and can even promote the development of some applied technologies.

But now it’s different. The three papers suddenly made many people have some different ideas.

If we only look at Qiao Yu's first two papers, it is obvious that they focus on the general mathematical language problem of mathematical unification. We can only say that the guy who tried to construct this basic mathematical framework is indeed a genius, and he dares to think and do!
But you can imagine the shock that the third article brought to many people by directly reducing the interval from 246 to 6.

If you can quickly master this new mathematical method and then solve one or two important problems in number theory, you will make a lot of money.

Even if he had only proved the twin prime conjecture, as long as he was within his age, he would have a high probability of winning a Fields Medal.

If some more advanced number theory problems...

Some even think that if Qiao Yu's system is successfully constructed, it may really be able to solve problems such as the Riemann hypothesis, the NS equation, and even N=NP?

Therefore, one can imagine the high enthusiasm of the world's academic community, and the impact is in all aspects!

……

Across the ocean, Berkeley.

Frank had just arrived at the office when he received a call from Lucas Eisen.

After a brief greeting, Lucas Eisen went straight to the point.

"You should still remember Qiao Yu, right?"

"Of course, I think I will never forget him in this life. After all, he made me experience the biggest setback in my life. Well, at least that's the case so far."

Although Professor Frank didn't think so in his heart, or rather, he remembered Qiao Yu not just for this reason.

But apparently this excuse is almost impeccable, and it fits in with the Federals' self-deprecating sense of humor.

Yes, after more than ten years of living in the Federation, he has begun to integrate into this cultural system.

For example, the sense of humor that everyone values ​​the most, but in fact, it is impossible to get the G-spot without this culture...

"Haha, Frank, so you should have been following him, right? Then you should have seen his latest article, right?"

"Are you talking about the two articles published in Ann.Math? Yes, I have read them, they are very innovative. He also generously shared part of the credit with his collaborators."

“No, not just the Ann.Math paper. It seems you went to bed too early last night. You should check out his paper on bounded intervals between primes on arXiv.

Last night, a few of us old guys had a short conference call. In fact, the entire academic community is very interested in his research!
If he is willing to join the Federal Mathematical Society, there is no doubt that this year's Cole Medal will be awarded to him. But one thing is certain, next year's Ramanujan Medal has already been determined to be his, and everyone thinks that no one is more suitable than him. "

Lucas Eisen's words left Frank at a loss for words.

He noticed Qiao Yu's paper in Ann.Math, but hadn't finished reading it yet.

He attended a meeting last night, then went home and went to bed early.

He really didn't know that Qiao Yu had once again disturbed the pulse of the world's mathematical community. "What do you mean?"

“What I mean is that many old guys believe that Qiao Yu’s generalized modal axiom system will become the most important research direction in mathematics in the future.

Some even believe that Qiao Yu can unify number theory, algebra, geometry and representation theory through this theory. So if you have any other ideas, I suggest you try to contact him and join his project.

Although it seems difficult now, after all, there are many people who want to establish a cooperative relationship with him, but considering that you have had some contact before, if you can express enough sincerity, you may be able to get some opportunities. "

Frank took a deep breath. He certainly knew who those old guys Lucas Eisen was talking about were...

In fact, most of the people who can communicate with Lucas Eisen in small-scale meetings are local celebrities.

The academic world also has its own thresholds. For example, although he has some kinship with Lucas Eisen, he is not qualified to participate in such a small-scale discussion.

Do these people even believe that Qiao Yu's generalized modal axiom system can achieve the unification of mathematics?

This represents something that he has been longing for but unable to obtain, but for Qiao Yu, it may be something that he can reach just by stretching out his hand in the future.

You have to know that so far he has only won the Halmos-Ford Award and the AMS Outstanding Teaching Award.

They are all small awards from the Federal Mathematical Society, and one of them is an award for teaching rather than scientific research.

He has published many papers in top journals, but few of them have been discussed by so many big names.

This made Frank feel that this world might be a fake world.

All the things he longed for were within his reach for a sixteen-year-old child.

What made him even more speechless was that this sixteen-year-old child was almost certainly his illegitimate child!

Really, if he had known earlier, he would still work so hard to get the hammer! It would be better for him to stay in China and give birth to this child with his first love.

Then, while studying, he nurtured Qiao Yu into an adult. Frank felt that with his ability, it would not be difficult to become a professor or researcher in a Chinese university or research institute.

The next step is easy, because as long as you raise him to the age of sixteen, this guy seems to know everything, and then you can take him off directly.

Yes, with a Fields Medal-winning grandfather, Frank understands better than most how much of a pleasure it would be to have someone take you flying.

There is no need to think about so many messy things. As long as you have results, you will definitely take off, even if the results are not so outstanding.

For example, the guy named Chen-zhuoyang is obviously the type who is being led by Qiao Yu.

Now he has to compete with others for the opportunity to work with his son. Even if Frank just goes over it in his mind, he feels that life is so damn ironic!

This made Frank regret for the second time. Maybe he should have had a good talk with Qiao Yu about this matter when he met him at the World Algebraic Geometry Congress last time.

If he had honestly told Qiao Yu last time that he was the father, perhaps the paper in Ann.Math would have been the same!
Although China does not recognize this, the international academic community still recognizes it! The father and son worked together to create a new mathematical axiom system, and even promoted the unification of mathematics, which will surely become a major event in the history of mathematics...

"Hey, Frank, are you still there?"

The voice coming from the mobile phone receiver interrupted Professor Frank's fantasy... It was obvious that the old man opposite was a little unhappy.

"Oh, I'm here. Sorry, I was just looking for the paper you mentioned on my computer. I can't wait to see his results. Just like you said, maybe I should contact him and, if possible, join his research group..."

Apparently this reason made the old man opposite feel better, and when he spoke again, he no longer had that impatient tone.

"Yes, you can research it first. Good communication starts with academic recognition. By the way, you can ask him if he is interested in joining the Federal Mathematical Society.

Of course, I'm not saying that you can successfully register by filling out an application online and paying the membership fee, but many senior members, including myself, are willing to write a letter of recommendation for him.

Moreover, the editor-in-chief of JAMS, Professor Kostenbad, is very optimistic about Qiao Yu. He has heard that the status of professors doing basic mathematics research in China is not very high, and he really hopes that Qiao Yu can come to work at the federation.

You can talk to Qiao Yu about these things, but he is only sixteen years old, so you need to master some methods and techniques."

Although he couldn't see it from the other side, Frank nodded subconsciously before answering, "I see."

……

After hanging up the phone, Frank immediately started looking for Qiao Yu's latest paper on the Internet, and took a look at other mathematicians' comments on Qiao Yu in the academic forum.

Soon he saw the comments from Tao Xuanzhi and Pierre Delini.

How should I put it... Anyone who is involved in the academic circle knows that whether it is Federal Government seeking investment, or China applying for various projects or funds, the judges often look not only at what journal the paper was published in, but also at external evaluations.

Even if a paper is only published in an ordinary journal, if it is publicly evaluated by a Fields Medal-level bigwig in a formal occasion as having made some important progress, it means that it has an absolute advantage in any review.

Because this kind of public evaluation, in a sense, is a form of academic affirmation using one's own influence.

Therefore, it is rare to hear math giants comment on other people's achievements through public channels, such as personal blogs, Instagram, or when giving reports at various academic conferences.

Even if they do say it occasionally, they usually use more conservative terms, such as very promising work or ideas worthy of further research.

But this time Pierre Delini actually said: "This will be the greatest milestone of this century, possibly the only one!"

This is not just a simple recognition, it can be said to be a public academic endorsement! The public high recognition from top mathematicians can almost be said to be above the traditional evaluation system.

The moment he saw this comment, Frank realized that Qiao Yu would most likely quickly become a core member of the academic community. No wonder Lucas Eisen said that it might be difficult to work with Qiao Yu now...

This might be extremely difficult.

He even suspected that Qiao Yu's mailbox was already filled with emails requesting cooperation!

This made Frank start to struggle with whether he should contact Qiao Yu in a more direct way... such as making a phone call.

After all, if it was just an email, he doubted that Qiao Yu would even read it!
……

This seems to be the case.

The annual meeting of the Mathematical Society has not yet ended, but for Qiao Yu, it is almost over.

At noon, he was still thinking about going around with Brother Chen in the afternoon, but in fact, he didn't even have time to send a WeChat message to Brother Chen the whole afternoon.

From afternoon to evening, there was an endless stream of professors seeking him for academic discussions, and more than one person expressed the desire to collaborate.

As a result, other branch report sessions became much quieter.

If Qiao Yu just wanted to make an advertisement before, then the effect was obviously unexpectedly good.

Qiao Yu had also begun to doubt his life. He wondered if these people had never eaten fine bran...

It's just a temporary article, why does it suddenly cause such enthusiasm among everyone?
He hasn't solved the Riemann hypothesis yet. No, he hasn't even completely solved the twin prime conjecture.

Now that every professor is so enthusiastic, won’t these people go crazy when he really solves those well-known conjectures?

Well, at this time Qiao Yu didn’t know that several Fields Medal winners had already turned into Qiao blowhards and were bragging about his achievements in their own ways.

If you knew...

You probably think that these big guys really know what they are talking about.

However, at eleven o'clock in the evening, after finally seeing everyone off, Qiao Yu still inevitably felt tired.

Of course, this is normal.

I gave a report in the morning, and in the afternoon and evening, except for dinner time, I was talking to other people and dealing with many problems...

If you can't understand it, you can imagine the feeling of a teacher working overtime for a day. Although the person doesn't move much, the brain needs to keep working and keep talking...

It was supposed to be a mental job, but it was dragged down to become a physical job. That was because he was only sixteen years old, which was the most active time in his life. If it was Tian Yanzhen or Yuan Zhengxin, they would have long lost their physical strength.

"So Director Tian was protecting me yesterday. Oh... I wronged Director Tian! These professors and researchers are so enthusiastic that it's scary!"

Qiao Yu complained to Qiao Xi. Since they were the only ones left, they could speak more freely.

"Well, that's good to know." Qiao Xi answered casually.

Although it was a bit noisy, it wasn't her who was being surrounded. As long as she put on her headphones, she could ignore all the noise.

"Hey... you said so many schools have invited me to give lectures, should I go? If I go, it will take up too much time, after all, I'm very busy; if I don't go, they are so enthusiastic and sincere... It turns out that being too outstanding is a sin!"

Qiao Yu habitually praised himself in a self-pitying tone, then looked at Qiao Xi...

It's almost like saying, "What are you waiting for? Why don't you praise me now!"

But unfortunately, Qiao Xi just smiled and said, "Yes, yes, it's icing on the cake for outstanding people. You published a paper in a top journal and solved a problem that everyone thinks is difficult, so you deserve it.

Don’t worry, you will win an award in the future, and more people will invite you to give lectures. Then we can just live our lives like this, and it feels pretty comfortable.”

Qiao Yu glanced at Qiao Xi and said, "Why are you so useless? I want to do great things!"

"Oh, you still remember? That means you are still on the road, so do you still need to ask me what you should do now?" Qiao Xi replied casually.

Well, standard heuristic education.

The key point is that Qiao Yu actually thinks what Qiao Xi said is right. It can only be said that Qiao Xi knows how to PUA him...

"I was born by you, so you are right!"

After replying lazily, Qiao Yu planned to take a quick shower and go to bed.

There was no other way. With Qiao Xi around, he couldn't be unhygienic occasionally.

Qiao Xi wouldn't scold him or hit him, but she would always stare at him with an incredible look, as if to say, "What the hell did I give birth to?"

Qiao Yu always thought that this was probably the reason why Qiao Xi’s music teacher thought she could be an actor.

Those eyes really seemed to be able to speak. Of course, it could also be that his brain was more flexible and he was particularly good at imagining things...

But before he could enter the bathroom, his cell phone rang.

Well, this person is quite rude. It’s past 11 o’clock at night and he’s still calling.

Oh, it’s an overseas number…

After answering the phone, Qiao Yu greeted naturally: "Hello?"

"Hello Qiao Yu, I'm Frank. Do you remember? We met at this year's World Algebraic Geometry Congress."

Qiao Yu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Qiao Xi...

Look at the question from the other side, too unconfident... After all, he is Professor Frank, he remembers it too well, he can't forget it even if he forgets it...

　Thank you for the reward and encouragement from Chinese to Baby!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)