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Chapter 90 The Boss's Attention
In Beijing, at the Beijing International Mathematics Center on the campus of Yanbei University, after receiving the email forwarded by Xue Song, Tian Yanzhen checked the time.

It's already 5:20 in the afternoon.

But it was still early. There was still an hour before dinner, and since she had nothing to do today, Tian Yanzhen downloaded Qiao Yu's paper to her computer and printed it out.

Tian Yanzhen actually had an impression of Xue Song. After all, he was once a professor at Princeton, and after returning to China, he served as the vice president of Yanbei University, where he was mainly responsible for foreign affairs.

So I have been in touch with many mathematics professors at Princeton, including Xue Song’s mentor, Juel Bhargava.

When Xue Song returned to China, Jule Bhargava talked to Tian Yanzhen about his student.

Xue Song's evaluation of him was not particularly high, but not low either. He was just average, which was why he left a private number for Xue Song at the time, and one of the reasons why he was willing to listen to Xue Song's words just now.

In a sense, there is a small connection between the two. And considering Juel Bhargava's status in the world of mathematics, even if it is just an ordinary evaluation, it is enough to show that Xue Song is at least a talent.

However, Tian Yanzhen never expected that Xue Song's first call to him would be about Qiao Yu.

Just as Xue Song judged, Qiao Yu had not really been officially included in the sights of these top bosses.

Being good at competitions does mean you have a talent for mathematics, but it is hard to say whether you can persist and develop in academic fields.

The big guys have seen too many young talents in their lives, for example, a group of them can be selected every year in IMO.

But there are very few people who have made real achievements in mathematics. There has only been one mathematical genius as brilliant as Peter Schultz in the West in all these years. And even though he has won almost all the mathematics awards at a young age, Peter Schultz has not yet proven himself on some major issues.

Mathematics in this era has been expanded from a small lake to an ocean by countless predecessors with extraordinary intelligence. Any sub-field may require a genius to study for a lifetime, and whether it can make progress depends on luck.

This can actually be seen from the current proliferation of papers around the world.

More papers are published every year, but it is hard to say whether mathematics has made any significant progress compared to the last century.

In order to pay tribute to the 2003 problems Hilbert proposed at the World Congress of Mathematicians in Paris, the Clay Institute also proposed seven difficult mathematical problems in the millennium. Now years have passed, except for the Poincaré conjecture which was solved by Perelman in , the other problems are still unresolved.

Even the four-color conjecture among the seven problems had been proved with the help of computers as early as the last century, but the mathematical community has still not come up with a complete set of conclusions formed by logical reasoning.

This is certainly not because the IQ of modern people is deteriorating. In fact, with the development of science and technology and the great abundance of material resources, the average IQ of the entire human group is also constantly improving.

The reason why there has been no major achievement that can shock the world is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve results in mathematical research. The emergence of various new interdisciplinary subjects has greatly distracted the attention of researchers.

Whether you are really suitable for research in mathematical theory can only be determined during the graduate stage.

But if we assume that what Xue Song said just now is true.

That means that without any systematic study of number theory, Qiao Yu solved a special cubic Diophantine equation in just ten days, and then completed his first paper in just two months while teaching himself relevant knowledge about paper writing.

Xue Song could find no fault with this paper.

Obviously, this is beyond the scope of ordinary genius. This is simply a congenital scientific research saint, born with all the necessary qualities for mathematical research.

There is a joke circulating in the mathematics academic community: a mathematics PhD student only needs to knock on the door of his or her supervisor's office twice: the first time is to determine the topic, and the second time is to submit the paper directly. As for the middle part between determining the topic and completing the paper, what does it have to do with the supervisor?

Although the joke is a bit exaggerated, it actually illustrates the particularity of mathematical research to a certain extent.

Let's put it this way: for a difficult math problem, as long as the student has a little talent and the teacher is patient and explains it step by step, it is still possible for the student to understand it. But for a mathematical research direction that is unknown, how do you expect the tutor to explain it?
Number theory has no experimental process and relies entirely on logical reasoning. Most of the experiences that the instructor can share are very abstract, just like the three times that Bodhi Patriarch hit Sun Wukong. In the end, it still depends on the students' self-learning ability and their own understanding, especially the latter.

After all, if you don't understand the essence of the mentor's experience, all the teaching will be in vain.

No matter how talented graduate students majoring in mathematics, especially those studying number theory, will ask their supervisors to change their direction at least once before graduation, and there are many who have changed their direction two or three times.

It's not that everyone doesn't work hard, it's that they don't have inspiration and can't come up with a paper. This shows how important self-study and understanding are in mathematical research.

Qiao Yu has both points.

Such a talented student, not to mention Tian Yan, would be really attracted to him. Even if the world-class professors from those top foreign universities knew about it, they would also be excited.

……

After the paper was printed, Tian Yanzhen put on his glasses and began to read the paper attentively.

It's still pure English.

Just from the abstract and introduction, it can be seen that Qiao Yu is very proficient in the use of English, at least in the field of mathematics.

For example, terms like Diophantine, Torsion, and Lattice in the introduction will not be understood by English majors who do not understand mathematics.

For a student who has not even attended high school for a few days, and without the guidance of a tutor, to be able to write an introduction of this standard is a testament to his level. This paper is indeed worth a closer look.

Just like Xue Song, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.

Outside the office, Academician Tian's secretary had already looked at the door several times, but he saw that Mr. Tian was sitting at his desk with full concentration, holding a pen in his hand and doing calculations on the manuscript paper next to him from time to time.

He must be reading a paper, so the secretary didn't dare to disturb him.

Having followed Tian Yanzhen for several years, he naturally knew that it was okay to do so at other times, but he should not disturb the boss when he was concentrating on reading a paper.

It's just that usually the boss would have gone to eat at this time, but today he didn't let him know in advance, so he couldn't leave on his own. He could only make a phone call and ask someone to go to the cafeteria to order two meal sets.

The meal had been delivered, and when he was unsure whether he should send it in, there was finally a noise in the office. He quickly picked up a box of lunch and looked at it at the door. Sure enough, Tian Yan was standing in the office doing simple stretching exercises.

He knocked on the door twice and walked in with the lunch box.

"Professor Tian, ​​it's already 7:30. I asked someone to bring back a box lunch. How about we just have a simple meal in the office?"

"Oh, it's already past seven o'clock? I was just going to take a quick look at a kid's paper, but I got so absorbed in it that I forgot the time. So just eat something. By the way, have you eaten yet?"

"Professor Li just brought the food here. Mine is still outside."

"Then bring it in and eat together."

……

Soon the two lunch boxes were placed together.

"Xiao Su, you know Qiao Yu, right?"

"Oh, I know. Last time, he even got full marks in the final of the competition. It's a pity that I didn't come to the award ceremony and didn't see him."

"It doesn't matter. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to see each other more often in a while."

"Oh? Are you interested in that kid?" Xiao Su was a little surprised. After all, the boss was almost seventy years old and had been in a semi-retired state recently. He had become more cautious in accepting students.

"Professor Xue Song from Yujiang University recommended him to me. He seems to be quite good, but we still need to observe him. By the way, the leader of this year's IMO national team is Professor Xiao from the research center, right?"

"Yes."

"Remember to remind me that the leader of the IMO team next year will still have to be a professor from Yanbei University."

"Okay, I'll write it down later. Is this for the convenience of observing Qiao Yu up close?"

"more or less."

"Should we also strive for the deputy team leader and observer positions?"

"Haha, that's not necessary. By the way, you can go back after dinner. I still have some small things to take care of."

"Okay, Professor Tian."

The meal was quickly finished and the matters were explained.

Tian Yanzhen sat back at his desk, opened his email, and wrote a letter to Professor Jule Bhargava of Princeton, Xue Song's mentor.

The content of the letter was also very simple. After a brief greeting, it asked about Xue Song's performance during his time at Princeton University.

However, it is not an inquiry into academic matters, but rather an inquiry into the tutor's basic impression of the student, such as character and moral integrity.

Although advisors, especially those from abroad, do not interfere too much in students' private lives, professors like Juel Bhargava, who has won the Fields Medal, will still get to know their students better when accepting them.

And after a few years of getting along, you will definitely have a general impression of each other.

After Professor Xue Song's email was edited and sent, Tian Yanzhen sent another email to Xue Song, saying that he had read the paper and that it was well written.

Apart from this, there were no further comments and no suggestions for revision.

As he said on the phone, just wait and see.

Moreover, this is not his research direction, and no journal would ask him to be a reviewer for such papers.

Anyway, after giving a very appropriate response, he planned to go home.

What he didn't expect was that when he was about to turn off the computer, Jule Bhargava replied.

He checked the time. It was only eight o'clock. Based on his understanding of the work and rest schedule of these professors in Princeton, they should not have arrived at the office yet. It was a little too fast.

But he didn't mind spending one more minute reading an email.

"...In my impression, Xue is a very diligent and persistent student. Of course, I didn't get to know him very well, but I have heard other people's comments about him, saying that he has the kind of almost old-fashioned nobleness and sense of justice that are unique to Chinese people..."

Well, this is the translation. Tian Yanzhen understood it this way because the other party used the words "Aloof" and "Strict" to describe Xue Song.

To be honest, these two words are not really positive words in the Western context, but this is exactly what Tian Yan really wants to see.

If Xue Song really had this kind of personality, he probably wouldn't bother to falsify Qiao Yu's paper.

Yes, emotions have been aroused, and it would be a shame if it turns out to be just a joke in the end.

……

In Xingcheng, Tieyi Middle School, Qiao Yu also stretched his body lazily.

After finishing his meal in the cafeteria, he came back to correct his senior's papers. Yes, correcting, not revising.

Anyway, wherever he felt there was a problem, he would mark it with a red line and then make a simple note of one or two sentences next to it to explain why it needed to be revised. But even so, he did not finish revising the paper until the bell rang for the end of the second evening self-study get out of class.

The greatest educational significance for Qiao Yu today is probably that it made him understand that papers are also divided into different levels.

This world is not only filled with excellent papers that make people love to put them down, but also with junk papers that make people feel overwhelmed and at a loss at first glance.

It is no exaggeration to say that Qiao Yu wanted to ask this senior brother face to face several times, why did he create this thing, did he have a grudge against his tutor, and deliberately took revenge on Lao Xue? Or is it that the way for a student to show his unyielding spirit against the world is to write such a paper to pollute the database?

As for the final review opinion, Qiao Yu did not write it.

The main reason is that it is difficult to control your emotions.

Qiao Yu couldn't say anything good about the author who had wasted an entire evening, so he left a thoughtful comment at the end: "It would be best if the final review opinion of the paper was personally approved by the supervisor."

After finishing all this, he sent the revised paper to Xue Song.

Then I just felt relaxed.

Since Lao Xue has approved his paper and said that it has met the submission standards, it means that he can relax and think about nothing during the upcoming seven-day National Day holiday.

This is the life a young person should have, being able to indulge themselves from time to time.

Of course, the other young man didn't think so.

……

Xiaozhou, Yujiang University.

Xue Song finished the work at hand and opened his mailbox to take a look. At the top was the email from Tian Yanzhen.

Although there was no clear statement in the reply, Xue Song couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Many times, you don’t need to say much in the email, as the time of reply can tell you a lot.

For example, if you are not interested after reading a few pages, you can just leave the paper there for a few days, and when you open your email and remember it, you can make some random suggestions that seem pertinent but are actually useless. They are just template opinions to deal with the issue.

It seems to give people the impression that it is taken very seriously, but in fact, it is not taken seriously at all and is just a way of getting by.

On the contrary, emails that are replied within a few hours, without any professional response or advice, but just casually comment, appear more sincere.

The next thing is simple.

The paper has been converted into PDF format, and the next step is to go through the submission process.

Generally, almost all journals have their own submission systems on their official websites.

This part of Qiao's metaphor is totally incomprehensible, but for Xue Song, who often submits papers, it is naturally familiar.

He has almost all of Qiao Yu's information here, including name, work unit, research field, email address, and then he selects the paper type and fills in the title, abstract, keywords...

When helping Qiao Yu write the cover letter, Xue Song also applied to avoid several reviewers who were notorious in the relevant academic fields, and then recommended two reviewers who he thought were very suitable.

This is probably a hidden benefit of studying abroad with bigwigs. With a great mentor, you can always get some information that others don’t know much about, and then when submitting to foreign journals, you can make the most beneficial choices.

When he finished all these and was about to turn off the computer and go home, Qiao Yu's email came again.

Really, Xue Song, whose mood had almost calmed down, felt a surge of anger in his heart after glancing at Qiao Yu's reply email.

Especially after opening the attachment and seeing Qiao Yu's densely packed notes and the last piece of advice, he couldn't suppress his anger anymore.

So he took out his cell phone without hesitation and called his beloved disciple.

"Qin Jingru, come to my office now."

"Ah? Boss, now? You're still in the office so late?"

"Yeah, why don't you guess why I'm still in the office? If you can't guess, please let me see you within fifteen minutes, otherwise don't show up in my office anymore!" After saying that, Xue Song hung up the phone.

If Qiao Yu were asked to comment on this, he would still say it is quite unreasonable.

We clearly agreed to let people guess first, but he hung up the phone before they even guessed.

This is a judgment question that is forcibly inserted into a multiple-choice question.

But for students, they have to accept any questions the instructor gives.

Xue Song gave fifteen minutes, but Qin arrived at the tutor's office panting in ten minutes.

This means that the single guy doesn’t have a girlfriend.

What if you are dating your girlfriend by the Xiao Lake? I am afraid that even if the online car-hailing driver steps on the accelerator, he won’t be able to get you back.

"Boss, I'm here."

Bang! A stack of printed papers fell directly onto the table.

"You take a look first."

Student Qin picked up the paper with trepidation, took a look at it, and then swallowed subconsciously.

He just sent the paper to his supervisor yesterday, but it was full of red comments.

"Hurry up, don't waste time, turn a few more pages, especially the last page!"

Student Qin forced himself to flip through a few pages, then quickly turned to the last page and saw the eye-catching red words at the bottom.

"It is best if the final review opinion of the paper is personally approved by the instructor."

Across from him, Xue Song saw that Qin had turned to the last page, so he said, "Guess again, who commented on your paper?"

　PS1: The 10th day of checking in for the -word update is completed!
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(End of this chapter)