Training the Heavens

Chapter 175 Testing
The new students arrived and the school officially opened. Huang Tunan did not get involved in the affairs of the Student Union and the Class Committee this time. His current image is that of a genius boy and he does not need to create opportunities for himself like Gao Jialin did.

He attended classes diligently every day, and after class he went to the library with Lu Qiujian and Qi Jiwen to read books. His classmates were very surprised to see him.

After getting used to the age difference, they found that there was nothing special about Huang Tuanan except that he studied faster than them, so they gradually accepted the fact that there was such a special student around them.

Department Head Ping Zetao accepted He Chengxuan's suggestion and did not require Huang Tuanan to attend classes with the freshmen. He did not need to attend the subjects he had already learned. When other students went to class, he could study in the dormitory or library, or study more in-depth subjects with He Chengxuan or other teachers.

At the beginning, the teachers who were substituting for freshmen had some opinions, thinking that even a genius boy should have a solid foundation, so He Chengxuan asked them to set questions for Huang Tuanan.

The teachers followed his advice and gave a test paper that was not easy. Huang Tuanan had a PhD from a 985 university, a gift of photographic memory, and had learned these subjects in advance, so these exams were not difficult for him.

Just like the previous exams, he used up enough time for each subject and gave impeccable answers. When the teacher was grading the papers, it was easy to tell that he had indeed thoroughly understood the knowledge points.

If that's the case, what else is there to say? Wouldn't it be a waste of time for him to continue attending classes with me? So Huang Tunan was no longer restricted by the curriculum and could freely choose the subjects he wanted to study.

He had also chosen number theory as his current focus, following his own plan. He Chengxuan kindly advised him, "Tunan, didn't you get the idea for number theory after reading that reportage? Actually, this direction might not be suitable. Researcher Chen has already perfected the sieve method. Continuing to use the sieve method might make it difficult to truly solve the Goldbach conjecture."

Huang Tunan actually knew that even by the year he traveled through time, the Goldbach conjecture had not been truly solved, but this did not mean that he could not make a breakthrough on this problem. Mathematicians in later generations had achieved new progress using new methods.

Of course, it was a bit too early to tell He Chengxuan about this, so Huang Tunan replied, "I'm just interested in number theory right now. I haven't thought about solving any difficult problems yet. I should first familiarize myself with this field and see if I have the talent for it!"

"Besides, there's more to number theory than just the Goldbach conjecture. Maybe as you study, you'll find inspiration to solve other difficult problems."

The papers by Zhang Yitang on solving the twin prime conjecture and Wiles on proving Fermat's Last Theorem are all in his mind. When he can understand and grasp these papers thoroughly, he can take them out.

Moreover, there is a simpler breakthrough in the field of number theory right now. This breakthrough does not require too advanced mathematical knowledge. Huang Tuanan plans to find an opportunity to bring it out.

"That's true. Number theory is a large branch of mathematics. Even if you can make a tiny breakthrough, it will be enough." He Chengxuan was slightly relieved to hear that Huang Tunan was not obsessed with the Goldbach conjecture. This was a bottomless pit, and he didn't want Huang Tunan to fall into it.

He was not worrying about nothing. In fact, since Xu Chi's article was published, there have been reports of students in many universities who became obsessed with it and ruined themselves. It is also not uncommon for many amateur enthusiasts who do not have sufficient mathematical foundation and talent to waste a lot of time on this issue.

There were also cases in the future. The most famous one was probably Liu Hanqing, who was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology at the age of sixteen. He originally studied in the Department of Building Materials, majoring in heat treatment. He had excellent grades, but unfortunately he saw Xu Chi's article in the library during his junior year.

Liu Hanqing was overwhelmed with emotion after reading the article. He secretly resolved to carry on Chen Jingrun's legacy and prove the Goldbach conjecture. From then on, he became obsessed with mathematics and determined to solve this problem. He studied number theory on his own every day, spending days and nights in the library, even reading and solving problems during his mealtimes.

Unfortunately, he did not have enough talent. After studying hard for several years, he not only did not make any breakthroughs, but also failed a lot of professional courses. The school valued talents and gave him another chance, allowing him to postpone his graduation and advised him to use this time to make up for the failed courses.

However, he still refused to listen to advice and was still obsessed with Ge Guess. In the end, he had to go home with a certificate of incomplete studies. After returning home, he tried several jobs. When he was at work, his mind was full of mathematics and he could not adapt at all. In the end, he chose to go home and concentrate on conquering Ge Guess.

This kind of life lasted for more than 400 years. When my parents were alive, I relied on them for support. After they passed away, I lived on a minimum living allowance of yuan per month and spent almost all my time on mathematics.

During this period, he also sent his article to Academician Pan Chengbiao, a domestic mathematics authority. After reading it, Academician Pan directly pointed out that the early arguments in his paper had no proof and the subsequent discussion was meaningless.

Despite this, he still went his own way and asked his classmates to help publish the paper on the ARXIV preprint website. After reading it, several mathematics PhDs pointed out bluntly that this mathematical paper was full of loopholes and could not be considered a mathematical paper at all.

Liu Hanqing's painstaking research for more than 20 years was completely meaningless.

"Teacher He, I saw in a journal that computers can be used to solve many mathematical problems. I want to learn computer science now. Is that okay?" After dispelling He Chengxuan's concerns, Huang Tunan put forward his own request.

"Indeed, a few years ago, American mathematicians used computers to prove the four-color theorem. If you want to learn it, I will ask the leaders for permission right away, and they should agree." He Chengxuan felt a little relieved. As long as Huang Tunan could learn computers, his future livelihood would definitely not be a problem.

In this way, Huang Tunan started to learn computers with students from other departments. He became more familiar with it and quickly completed the freshman courses and learned to program on his own.

Time passed unknowingly, and summer vacation was soon approaching. At this time, the Zhuang family received a letter from Guizhou, saying that Zhuang Hualin, the second daughter of the Zhuang family, had settled down there, got married, and had children.

According to current policies, it is impossible for her to return to Suzhou, but her son can come back as long as he has a place to live.

The quality of education in Suzhou is much better than that in Guizhou. Zhuang Hualin wanted her child to come back to study, so she wrote a letter to her family for help, hoping that the old couple could provide her child Pengfei with a place to live.

Lao Deng’s first reaction was to refuse. Wouldn’t this just cause trouble for his family?
But on second thought, this might be a good opportunity to test Huang Ling.

(End of this chapter)