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Chapter 192 Ambition and Awards

In the small suite, after hearing Qiao Yu's complaints on TV, Qiao Xi looked at his son in surprise and asked, "Did Director Tian teach you these as well?"

Qiao Yu glanced at Qiao Xi and said with a wicked smile, "How is that possible! This is what I thought about, and then I convinced Director Tian. But this is probably what Mr. Yuan meant! I wonder who will have the nerve to deny my project in the future!"

Qiao Xi thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I still don't understand. You won't be short of research funds, so why are you making such a fuss? Are you offending people for no reason?"

Qiao Yu sat up straight and said, "What are you talking about? I don't lack research funds, but do you? Does Lao Xue need it? Does Senior Brother Chen need it? Does Junior Sister Zhang need it?

Will there be many more students of Director Tian, ​​Professor Yuan and me in the future? I am awesome. I represent a group. Only in this way can we form a joint force and make scientific breakthroughs. Do you understand?
Old Xue asked me before, what should I do if there are not enough resources to share after jumping back and forth between Yanbei and Huaqing? I told him, of course, we should make the pie bigger! Isn't it enough for everyone to share?

What is an academic tyrant? Suppressing students is not an academic tyrant, colluding to flatter others is not an academic tyrant, and only grabbing funds is not an academic tyrant! A true academic tyrant should be able to influence the direction of scientific and technological development and get things done!

As long as I apply for a project and succeed in it, no one will be qualified to deny my project before I fail. This is the most important thing at this stage.

You also said that you hope I can stand on the top of a mountain and not be able to see every face below! Solving a few problems can achieve this? That's a joke! This world is material, so you can only achieve this by mastering the right to speak in resource allocation!
So you are still too superficial! When Mr. Yuan asked me to apply for the National Natural Science Foundation of China for the Riemann hypothesis, I didn’t understand this point! But now I understand! Grandpa is really cunning! "

Qiao Yu sat there, looking very high-spirited and lively. Although he was only seventeen years old, he already had a sense of heroism.

Qiao Xi looked at this guy in a daze, but soon reacted and scolded him, "A cunning old man?"

"Well, let's not worry about these words, it's the same if we replace them with resourceful, far-sighted, and mature! Anyway, it's enough to understand what they mean!"

Qiao Yu waved his hand carelessly.

"But how much funding can a mathematics project get? People can't reject your project, but they can't reject other people's projects either? Do you really think you can have the final say?" Qiao Xi asked with a frown.

Qiao Yu sneered, "Who said I must apply for a math project in the future! I tell you, when I apply for a national project, it will be a big project that requires a lot of investment! As long as I get the theory right, then I can do it, right?

For example, how much money is needed for a moon landing project? Do you know how many mathematical problems are involved in the moon landing project? Space dynamics, orbit calculation, navigation and positioning, flight control, attitude adjustment, material and structure analysis, and even mission planning and resource allocation.

Tell me, what doesn't require mathematical assistance? If I can master such a large project, how many mathematical-related projects can I break down? As long as I have the final say on such projects, who dares not give me face when reviewing other basic research projects? "

Qiao Xi had nothing to say.

Since this matter was first initiated by Mr. Yuan, she couldn't say much even if she felt that something was wrong.

Like Qiao Yu, Qiao Xi still respected her teachers. After all, it was only a few words from Mr. Yuan that made her dream of going to college come true.

Fortunately, she didn't need to say anything, she just had to keep focusing on the interview. This was an interview program broadcast to the whole nation, and she just had to be proud of Qiao Yu.

The host on TV has already started asking questions.

"...Many young people may find it boring or even confusing when studying mathematics or other subjects. What do you want to say to these young people who have the same confusion?"

On TV, Qiao Yu was once again talking with a smile on his face.

"Well, actually, there are many students like me. For example, several students who participated in the Xiaolibaba Mathematics Competition with me. They also liked mathematics very much at first.

Later, we became teammates in IMO, and we went to Australia to participate in the competition together and achieved good results. But later, after they entered the Yanbei Elite Class, I felt that they encountered this situation.

Although we are very good friends, to be honest, I think their attitude towards learning is wrong. In fact, everyone has their own shortcomings and strengths. There is no need to be confused or give up on yourself.

As long as people can recognize their own shortcomings and humbly accept that there are better people in this world, all doubts from others will be encouragement to themselves, and they will definitely not be confused.

I don’t know if others think this way, but I have always thought this way. I always maintain a humble attitude in my professional field. I know there are many people in this world who are better than me, and I still need to continue to study hard to stay at the forefront of the times. ”

"Hahaha……"

The laughter was naturally not coming from the TV, but from Qiao Yu who was sitting on the sofa in the room.

Yes, after reading this passage, Qiao Yu ignored the strange look from Qiao Xi beside him and just laughed to himself.

He really didn't expect that the program team actually kept this part intact. After all, he said that purely to disgust the three guys in his friend group.

Maybe this program is to encourage young people to do scientific research! After all, he almost made it clear, except for mentioning the names of those three guys.

There were only six people who went to Australia to attend IMO. Besides him, there were only three people who chose to come to Yanbei University. The other two chose to go to Huaqing's elite class.

"How did they provoke you?" When Qiao Yu had almost finished laughing, Qiao Xi asked from the side.

"They are too embarrassed to talk to me now, haha! I don't know if they have watched this interview. If they have, they are probably cursing me on WeChat!"

As he spoke, Qiao Yu took out his cell phone.

He felt that although these three guys had been silent recently, they would still pay attention to his dynamics. For example, they would definitely take a look at tonight's interview.

Even if they didn't watch it, someone would have told them to watch it. Although there was no TV in the dormitory and they couldn't watch such programs, they could still watch TV on the Internet.

As far as he knows, Yu Wei has the habit of watching the 7 o'clock news on the central media on his computer.

As a result, when he opened the WeChat group, he couldn't find the friend group at the first time. He scrolled up carefully and found that the name of his friend group had been changed to "Be a Human Being"

Sure enough, the group has become lively again.

If he hadn't set his phone to do not disturb mode, he would have seen it just now.

Yu Yongjun: "Brother Qiao, please stop using your magical powers. We have already realized the gap. Don't be like this! This is an interview with the central media!"

Gong Jiatao: "Fuck! The two beasts in the dormitory are now calling me Brother Confused. Master Qiao, don't you feel any pain in your conscience?"

Yu Wei was thoughtful and only sent a line of ellipsis.

"Eh? Why are you taking it so personally? This is just a metaphor. You know metaphor, right? It's a rhetorical device. I can't help it. This interview is to set up some examples and make some criticisms. I can't find something I'm not familiar with to criticize, right?"

Qiao Yu defended himself confidently in the group.

"No, if you say that, it would be unfortunate for us to get to know you. Can't we all just be human beings?"

"If you feel unlucky, just quit the group and block me! Haha... when you are about to graduate, don't mention that you know me when you want to continue your studies! By the way, rich second-generations are not included in this list."

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was pretty good, it made all three of them speechless.

"Okay, I won't talk to you anymore. I still have a lot of things to do. Hey, you don't know, it's so difficult to get anything done now!"

……

"Oh, it's so hard to be a review expert nowadays! How can this kid say that?! How did Old Tian teach this?!"

Lu Yanxiang, who had just finished watching the interview, complained to his wife beside him with embarrassment.

"Why did you reject his project in the first place? Wouldn't it be better to just approve it? This kid is so talented, and his teacher is Academician Tian, ​​and he has a good relationship with Academician Yuan. Why can't you just go with the flow?"

Lu Yanxiang's lover is also a university professor, but he teaches social sciences and humanities, so he doesn't know much about mathematics.

"Why did you reject it? Do you think it's my idea? He submitted a project to solve the Riemann hypothesis. Who would have thought that he could really solve it! If I approved it casually, people would think that I had some kind of deal with Yanbei University!" Lu Yanxiang argued loudly.

"So what? Has the problem of Qiao Yu been solved?" the lover asked back.

Lu Yanxiang immediately stopped talking and had nothing to say.

"Yeah, to put it bluntly, you still look down on that young man! You look down on him, and you don't even allow him to say a few words on TV? I never realized you were so overbearing before!"

"What do you know! That's the Riemann hypothesis!"

"So is it solved?"

Well, Lu Yanxiang finally understood the saying "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit". Even his wife thought so, and he didn't dare to think about how ordinary people would interpret that part after it was broadcast!
I'm afraid he'll be accused of being jealous of his talent. Fortunately, it was a collective decision to reject Qiao Yu's project. "Why don't you just stop being an expert reviewer in the future? Are you willing to do that?"

He was too lazy to say anything, but his lover next to him suddenly blurted out something.

Lu Yanxiang was stunned for a moment, then found that he had nothing to say.

Of course I can’t bear to do that.

Before reaching that age, how many people can really give up the power in their hands without any worries?
Don't underestimate the experts in this review pool.

There are only so many projects in the National Natural Science Foundation of China every year, and there are only so many hats that can be distributed. Who gets the award and who doesn't is naturally decided by the experts who have a say.

With this authority in hand, it would naturally be easier for his students to do anything they want.

As long as there are no mistakes in general principles, they are all promising projects and there is no harm in exchanging them privately.

If we give up the power of review, it will be difficult for many people in the institute to get projects in the future.

This is not even his own business, but a group's business. Who can just give in?
"I don't know what Mr. Yuan and Mr. Tian are thinking?" Lu Yanxiang couldn't help but mutter.

"So you guys always think it was the old guys' idea. Why don't you say that this might be Qiao Yu's idea?
Yes, the child is still young, but how dare you treat a child who can solve the Riemann hypothesis as a child who knows nothing? Children nowadays are precocious!
Besides, this level of interview is recorded, right? What is broadcast needs to be reviewed by someone? I think you should think more carefully now, why did the central media choose this segment to broadcast! "

The lover couldn't help but give her man another reminder.

Lu Yanxiang was stunned for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.

Good man, he is already thinking so far ahead in his teens? What will happen to this kid in the future? With the support of Yanbei and Huaqing, and his own outstanding ability, will anyone else have a say in the Chinese mathematics world in the future?
Especially since the higher-ups chose to broadcast this segment specifically, could it be that they really want to remind the academic community?
Of course, Lu Yanxiang certainly could not have imagined that Qiao Yu wanted to control more than just the mathematics world. After all, what was the point of just a few mathematics projects?
Just as all kinds of thoughts were swirling in Lu Yanxiang's mind, the interview was coming to an end.

"Qiao Yu's success has demonstrated to the world the potential of young Chinese people and has shown everyone the beauty and power of mathematics. Let us all look forward to Qiao Yu's continued brilliance in academic research in the future.

I also hope that more young people can feel the charm of science and the value of persistence from Qiao Yu’s experience. Thank you Qiao Yu, thank you for your wonderful speech today..."

"Ah..." Lu Yanxiang sighed as he watched the clips at the end of the interview. Suddenly he felt like he had gotten old.

After all, this world belongs to those young people... I'm so envious!

……

At the same time, the Fields Medal jury is holding a special online meeting. There is no other way, mainly because the mathematicians on the jury are all over the world and they are all very busy, so it is not easy to get together.

The most important thing is that this meeting was unplanned.

Although the Fields Medal winners are officially announced at the World Congress of Mathematicians in July, the selection committee usually completes the final selection a year before the World Congress.

On the day of the conference, it was just a formality.

Just like the Nobel Prize winners are announced every October, the award ceremony is held on December 10th of each year, the anniversary of the death of the founder Alfred Nobel.

The reason for convening this unplanned meeting was naturally because of the troublemaker - Qiao Yu.

Just as the main members of the judging panel had previously said, although Qiao Yu was nominated this year, most of the judges felt that he should be a runner-up first.

The reason is simple. Winning the Fields Medal at the age of 17 made everyone feel uncomfortable. Not to mention that Qiao Yu is a Chinese.

Especially considering that the seventeen-year-old winner almost killed the suspense of the future youngest Fields Medal winner, this opinion is easier to reach.

Even though Qiao Yu participated in and completed the geometric Langlands conjecture, he also proposed a generalized modal axiom system.

There happens to be a time difference here.

Although Qiao Yu's paper on the generalized modal axiom system was published at the end of last year.

However, it was not until January of the following year that the idea became popular in the world mathematics community. It is normal for academic communication to have a lag of one or two months.

The winner of this year's Fields Medal will be determined by the end of 2025.

But who would have thought that Qiao Yu suddenly solved the Riemann hypothesis? What’s even more amazing is that in just two months, the academic community recognized Qiao Yu’s proof as flawless.

Therefore, there is a high probability that Qiao Yu will not be able to runner-up this year.

If you can't get a Fields gold medal for solving the Riemann hypothesis, then the other winners this year probably won't be in a good mood. Even Wiles will have to return his silver medal.

Yes, when a person becomes capable enough, he no longer needs to win an award to highlight his own worth.

Rather, an award must be given to him in order to demonstrate the credibility of the award.

Qiao Yu was not the only one who received this treatment.

Grigory Perelman had clearly expressed his intention to refuse the award, but he was still awarded the Fields Medal at the 2006 World Congress of Mathematicians.

But he refused to accept it and didn't go to receive the award. Not only that, he also refused the $1 million prize from the Clay Institute and began to live in seclusion.

It is obvious that this guy's pursuit of mathematics is very pure, and it is even more obvious that such pure people are very rare.

If Qiao Yu could also attend this meeting, he would find that he knew half of the thirteen jury members whose information was kept strictly confidential.

After all, three of them were his reviewers.

For example, Tao Xuanzhi, Pierre Delini and Elliott Lieberman.

The chairman of this year's jury is Martin Heyer, whose main research direction is partial differential equations and random analysis.

"Okay, everyone should know the reason for calling this special meeting. At the Mathematicians' Conference at the end of July, should there be an additional candidate for the Fields Medal?

This topic was jointly initiated by three members: Pierre Delini, Tao Xuanzhi and Elliott Lieberman. You have already seen the reasons.

Professor Delini suggested that I use the power of the chairman to make a direct ruling. But I think it would be better for everyone to discuss it. According to convention, I still hope to tend to reach a consensus.

So does anyone disagree with awarding the Fields Gold Medal to the Chinese mathematician Qiao Yu? "

The meeting officially began, and Martin Haile went straight to the point.

What is needed is to cut the Gordian knot quickly, although according to the regulations, if a candidate suddenly solves a well-known mathematical conjecture, the chairman can have the power to make a ruling.

But generally speaking, the chairman of each Fields Medal jury will not use this power. After all, this kind of academic award still has its own rules.

Even if the review committee cannot reach a consensus, they can resolve it by voting directly.

As soon as he finished asking the question, someone wanted to speak.

Martin Haile naturally chose to agree.

The person who asked to ask the question was Louis Caffarelli, an American mathematician of Argentinian descent.

"I would like to ask Professor Tao, Professor Delini and Professor Lieberman, are you sure that Qiao Yu's proof of the Riemann hypothesis is completely flawless?"

"Yes, I'm very sure." Tao Xuanzhi replied.

Pierre Delini nodded and said, "Of course, my team reviewed this paper with a critical mindset. We conducted a very detailed study on each lemma."

Elliott Lieberman shrugged: "I like this question because I'm not sure I would disagree!"

Martin Haier smiled and asked again: "Does anyone have any questions?"

Sure enough, if the chairman had expected, no one had any questions.

After waiting for nearly thirty seconds, the chairman announced directly: "Then I declare that after discussion at a special meeting, Qiao Yu will be awarded the Fields Medal at this year's International Congress of Mathematicians."

(End of this chapter)