1840Indian rebirth

William Mackintosh was a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, where he taught physics, or to use a more classical term, natural philosophy.

Although, in this university full of talents, McIntosh has nothing to stand out except for his slight qualifications.

But as a natural philosopher in people's eyes, he always gets extra respect in life, and he likes this experience very much.

However, in recent days, McIntosh felt as if his dignity had fallen into the quagmire. He could not stop struggling for a moment, and all dignity was gone.

The anxiety caused by this kept him awake almost at night.

During the day at school, he was also in a daze. From time to time, he would take out an academic journal that was opened to a certain page and stare at it blankly for a long time.

The source of all states is naturally the paper on this page - "Estimation of the Age of the Sun".

Thomson once again made big news, and was discussed both inside and outside the academic world.

It is certainly enviable and jealous for Thomson to be so prominent at such a young age, but most people at the University of Glasgow are used to it, and even the whole of Britain does not think this is something outrageous.

After all, Newton was a young man in his twenties when he pioneered classical mechanics.

As the field that most needs fresh brains, there are too many young geniuses in the scientific community. At this time, Britain was still the British Empire and the center of science, with geniuses emerging in large numbers, so it was not difficult to accept this.

But this paper that caused a huge response actually has an Indian second author, which is a bit strange.

In Europe, some people may show sympathy and kindness to Indians, but absolutely no one will think that they have anything to do with science.

However, now, an Indian appears in the media of the British Empire as a physicist - Ma Shao. This awkward transliteration of the name is obviously not an English name or any European name.

If that was all, McIntosh, like most British people, might just discuss it out of curiosity.

But not long ago, he had some contact with Ma Shao, which was an extremely bad contact for him.

"Real savage", this sentence still echoes in McIntosh's ears, making him feel angry from time to time.

At first he could hypnotize himself and convince himself that he was not as knowledgeable as the savages, but after seeing this paper, panic instantly filled his heart.

Although he was not completely sure whether the horse whistle was the Indian who humiliated him that day, the incident was right around him, and there were too many signs pointing to a definite answer.

"Real savage" echoed crazily in McIntosh's ears again, with bursts of magical sounds.

Could it be that... the barbarian is really myself?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Obviously impossible!

When reason points to self-denial, people will inevitably avoid reason.

McIntosh did not dare to think deeply, so he could only brainwash himself over and over again, repeating the monologue "I am obviously not a barbarian" in his heart.

Self-hypnosis is very effective.

After a few days of being in a trance, McIntosh's symptoms worsened and his thoughts began to wander.

So he simply took the paper and went straight to Thomson, and his attitude was quite rude.

This is very unusual. Thomson is a highly anticipated physics genius, and everyone knows that he has a bright future. Although McIntosh has more seniority, he still had to be polite to Thomson in the past.

"Thomson, why did you sign the paper with that Indian's name?" McIntosh said.

Thomson was stunned for a moment and said in confusion: "What else could it be because of? Of course it's because he is also one of the authors."

"He is an Indian!" McIntosh emphasized, "a naked Indian who hunts buffalo on the prairie with stone arrows."

Thomson smiled: "Strictly speaking, that is only a part of the Indians, or most of them. Now we have seen another small part, or even the only one, a talented Indian physicist."

McIntosh was about to say something else, but Thomson seemed not to have finished speaking, and then added: "If Ma Shao is not one of the authors, what motive would I have for him to sign the paper and share his honor?"

Give it to him?"

McIntosh was silent for half a second: "Maybe he paid a sum of money..."

"I'm not Bernoulli." Thomson frowned, "The horse whistle is not Lópida. With all due respect, McIntosh, such groundless speculation is already an offense."

McIntosh had just sobered up a little: "I'm sorry, Thomson."

Thomson pondered for a moment: "I don't know why your reaction is so strong...but I can understand what most people think. If I hadn't communicated with Ma Shao personally, I wouldn't be able to believe that such an Indian physicist exists.

."

McIntosh said nothing.

Thomson continued: "Soon, there will be an academic conference held at Cambridge University, and thermodynamics will be an important topic at the conference."

"I will attend the meeting, and the horse whistler will also make a report. I think as long as you listen to his report, you will have no more doubts."

…

"Cambridge University?" Ma Shao couldn't help but be startled when he heard the name.

"Sir Newton's alma mater." Thomson said with a smile, "I believe you must have wanted to visit there for a long time."

Ma Shao nodded: "Yes, I would never have imagined that I would have such a day when I was giving an academic report at Cambridge University."

Thomson: "I believe this is a good opportunity to eliminate doubts from the outside world. You may not know the extent to which some people doubt you, and even think that I took your money to give you this honor."

, just like Johann Bernoulli, it’s incredible.”

"No, I will not be like Bernoulli. Even if I really want to sell my research results, I will not go back on my promise." He added.

In order to make a lot of money, John Bernoulli sold some of his research results to the French aristocrat Lópida, including the famous Lópida's law.

After Lópida's death, Bernoulli wanted to regain his honor and exposed the transactions of that year. As a result, he was despised by many scholars.

Academic trading itself is already very shameful, but breaking the contract after the transaction is completed is simply worse than free prostitution.

The two chatted for a while.

"We should set off in a few days." Thomson said, "There is no direct train from Glasgow to Cambridge. We have to take the train to London first, and then go to Cambridge."

"After arriving in London, we won't board the train to Cambridge immediately. I also need to visit a friend of mine. And it's your first time in London, so you probably want to look around."