Training the Heavens

Chapter 150: Alternative Genius
"How many points can you get?" Yao Xiuhua asked again.

"71 points." He Chengxuan had already calculated it.

"Higher score than Ning Bi." Zhao Liwei made a subconscious comparison.

He Chengxuan shook his head. "We can't compare them so simply. We used the college entrance examination papers, and Ning Bi answered questions specially made for him by teachers from USTC. The difficulty of the two papers is different. Who scored higher or lower can't measure their math skills."

"Teacher He, how about giving Tunan a few more questions?" Yao Xiuhua was excited. A genius had emerged from her class, something she could brag about forever. But she was also a little curious. "Tunan used to have good grades, but I didn't think he was that much better than the other students."

"Maybe he's finally got it?" Before Zhuang Tunan could say anything, Zhao Liwei found a reason for him. He also wanted to see what level Zhuang Tunan could reach. "Teacher He, you've taught math at the university too. Why don't you give us a few difficult questions?"

"Jiangsu Normal University cannot compare with USTC," He Chengxuan said modestly.

In fact, Jiangsu Normal University is also quite good. Its predecessor was Soochow University, which has trained many well-known alumni, including Li Jishen and Zhao Puchu in politics, Rong Lao in business, Qian Weichang, Fei Xiaotong, and Tan Jiazhen in academia. If the scope is expanded to the affiliated middle schools, there are also Nobel Prize winners like Tsung-Dao Lee.

In a few years, Jiangsu Normal University will be changed to a more familiar name - Suzhou University. After all, it is a 211 prestigious university. Although it cannot be compared with USTC, it is not bad either.

He Chengxuan has been in the affiliated primary school for so many years, dealing with children every day. Now that he has met a little genius, he really wants to test him. He found an empty desk and sat down. After thinking for a moment, he began to ask questions.

During the break, the teacher came in. After hearing about this, everyone kept quiet and didn't dare to disturb him. When the bell rang again, He Chengxuan handed the questions he had prepared to Zhuang Tunan, "Tunan, right? Try to do these ten questions. They are all questions you have learned."

"Okay." Zhuang Tunan agreed obediently. He took it and looked at it. Sure enough, the knowledge points involved in the question were the ones he had answered correctly just now.

He did not rush to answer the questions, but read them carefully first. After reading them, he secretly praised He Chengxuan in his heart. He was worthy of being a teacher who had taught mathematics in college. The quality of the questions was indeed very high.

This "high" does not mean that the questions he asks are difficult, nor are they tricky or weird. All ten questions may seem ordinary, but they really test the test-taker's mastery of these knowledge points. If you have indeed mastered these knowledge points, you will be able to answer them very smoothly, otherwise it will be a headache.

To give a simple example, it's like a football player going for a tryout. A discerning coach will definitely not look at how smoothly you can do a bicycle kick or a rainbow pass. What they look at is the most basic skills of stopping the ball, dribbling the ball, and passing the ball. A true genius will definitely perform these basic movements differently from an ordinary player.

This actually suited Zhuang Tunan's purpose. He started answering the questions right after reading them. He spent quite a bit of time thinking about each question, but when it came to actually answering the questions, he didn't encounter many setbacks. He basically finished them in one go with hardly any revisions.

He Chengxuan watched quietly from the side, his eyes shining brighter and brighter, and he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth as he saw the last question. When Zhuang Tunan finished answering the last question, before Yao Xiuhua and the others could ask any more questions, He Chengxuan blurted out, "All correct!"

"Teacher He, what about Tunan?" Yao Xiuhua had just started to speak when the bell rang. "Oh, it's time to go home, Tunan. The teacher might come to your house for a home visit later, so stay home tonight and don't run around, okay?" He Chengxuan patted his head and sent Zhuang Tunan away.

As soon as he left, He Chengxuan closed the door and turned around to explain, "Tunan is still young, so some compliments may not be appropriate for him to hear."

Yao Xiuhua heard another meaning in his words, "So, Tunan is indeed a little genius?"

He Chengxuan immediately shook his head. "Tunan isn't a genius in the traditional sense. His thinking isn't sharp. He's not very fast at solving problems. The questions I ask are actually quite basic. Many smart people can come up with the answers right away."

Just as everyone was beginning to feel disappointed, he changed the subject, "But Tunan has a rare talent: a deep understanding of mathematics. Most people study mathematics just to answer questions. Such students can easily get high scores, but they may not be suitable for actual research."

"Tunan is the opposite. He doesn't study math to solve problems, but to truly understand the underlying formulas and theorems. People like him might initially learn more slowly than quick-thinking geniuses, but they build a very solid foundation. Over time, they can surpass these geniuses, leaving them far behind."

“For mathematicians, quick thinking and skilled techniques are certainly important, but the extreme care and patience in repeatedly observing things are even more valuable.”

"To use an inappropriate analogy, the genius people usually think of is like a 100-meter runner. As soon as he starts running, we can see his talent. But Tunan is like a 10-kilometer runner. At the beginning, his speed seems very slow and it's hard to attract attention. But as you continue to watch, you will find that he runs more steadily than anyone else, and ultimately runs farther than anyone else."

If Zhuang Tunan heard these words, he would definitely feel sympathetic, because this is the image he wants to create for himself. He doesn't want to be a sharp genius like Terence Tao and Galois, because true high IQ cannot be faked. He only has super memory but not super IQ, and it is too difficult for him to play the role of a high-IQ genius.

However, there are more geniuses in mathematics than just Terence Tao and Galois. There are also some slightly more alternative geniuses, such as the 2022 Fields Medal winner Jun-il Huh. He did not show dazzling talent at a very young age like Terence Tao, but he also won the highest award in mathematics.

It was not until he was 24 that Heo Jun-il began to develop an interest in mathematics. He then signed up for the mathematics class of Fields Medal winner Hironaka Heisuke. The mathematics class of a Fields Medal winner must be very profound. At first he could not understand it, but gradually he was able to understand some simple examples. Then he was able to discuss some relatively simple mathematical problems with Hironaka Heisuke, but he still did not stand out too much.

Fortunately, he met a mentor like Hironaka Heisuke. The Fields Medal winner keenly noticed that Huh Jun-il was extremely meticulous and patient, and he had a very pure and extreme pursuit of mathematics.

He is not satisfied with just getting a good conclusion; he will also strongly demand an accurate and clear understanding of this conclusion. Such a person may master knowledge a little slowly, but once he masters it, it will be more solid than anyone else.

Just over a decade later, Huh Jun-il repaid Hironaka Heisuke's trust with the Fields Medal, an achievement that most agile geniuses cannot achieve.

"Such a special talent must be nurtured carefully. Teacher Yao, where does he live? I want to go talk to his family tonight."

(End of this chapter)