Rebirth of science and technology academic master

Chapter 268 Math Weird

Suddenly, Qin Yuanqing was stunned.

He looked at a big man in confusion. Everyone else was neatly dressed and well groomed, but the big man didn't dare to compliment him.

An unkempt beard covered his chin, and his sparse curly hair was pulled back like a dog's tail. Although the shape was somewhat similar to Schulz's hair, it showed two completely different styles.

Looking at what he was wearing, he was wearing a pair of shabby jeans and a shirt. The shirt was brown and had a peculiar smell. It was unknown how long it had been since it had been washed.

Where did this beggar come from? Why did he get in here?

But that's not right. This big man looks like a foreigner at first glance. He is probably a furry bear. People who want to be beggars would not come to China but to Western Europe. They are much more prosperous than China, with good welfare and beggars can eat and drink well. Okay, otherwise why would refugees from the Middle East leave for Europe one after another.

And this big man is still with Wiles and the others, so he is obviously not a beggar.

Faltings saw Qin Yuanqing's confused look and introduced with a smile: "Qin, this is Grigory Perelman. He is a talented mathematician. Poincaré's conjecture was invented by him. Proved!”

"Perelman is a rather individual guy, but don't look at him like this. Although he seems to be an unapproachable guy, as long as you ask him some mathematical questions, he will answer you very patiently and has a very good attitude. Surprising! He used to work at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics, and his colleagues had nothing but praise for him!" said Faltings.

Grigory Perelman! ?

Qin Yuanqing couldn't help but look at the big man carefully, with doubts, puzzlement, wonder, and admiration in his eyes, and information about Grigory Perelman couldn't help but emerge in his mind.

Perelman, born in 1966, is a Jewish and Russian mathematician. He showed extraordinary talent in mathematics since childhood. In 1982, just three months after entering middle school, he participated in the IMO and won the gold medal. He was the first IMO gold medal winner with a perfect score of 42 points, setting a record. At that time, an American university invited him to go to college and provided him with a generous scholarship, but he refused the invitation to further his studies in the United States. After graduating from high school, Perelman entered the Department of Mathematics at St. Petersburg University without taking the exam. In his second year of college, he chose the most complex research direction in mathematics - differential geometry.

His classmates described him this way: He is as smart as an alien and is proficient in all the majors he studies; he is willing to help everyone in his studies. A classmate named Georginavich recalled: "He only lived the way he liked. He was careless about his appearance, often carrying a torn bag full of books and wearing clothes with holes in them. , he doesn’t cut his hair even if it’s long. He doesn’t smoke or drink, and is a good boy. For several years in college, he and we didn’t talk about anything except mathematics. Although we are surrounded by outstanding talents in this field, there is nothing No doubt, he is better.

In 1993, Perelman went to the United States as a visiting scholar. During this period, he solved a number of mathematical problems, including the famous "soul conjecture." His achievements attracted the attention of the American mathematics community. A number of famous universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, MIT, and Princeton University offered him high-paying appointments to teach, but he declined all of them. He chose to return to the turbulent Russia. In this aspect alone, Perelman is better than many people who studied abroad and then disliked their motherland.

Perelman has returned to the Jackloff Institute of Mathematics since 1994. According to Perelman's colleague Avjei, "Although he is a bit withdrawn, he is friendly to others. He is very friendly to friends and colleagues. However, when he learned that someone was abusing the research funds at the institute, he behaved badly. He was very angry. He despised those who committed academic fraud. "Because of his achievements in mathematics, the European Mathematical Society awarded him the "Outstanding Mathematician Award" in 1996, but he refused.

Of course, what is more interesting is that from 2002 to 2003, Perelman posted three papers on the website and successfully cracked the "Poincaré Conjecture", one of the seven major problems in mathematics. This shocked the entire mathematics community. Experts believe that the solution to this difficult problem is likely to have "exciting" applications in physics and other fields, helping scientists figure out the shape of the universe. Later, Perelman was invited to give lectures at famous universities such as MIT, New York University, and Columbia University, and received widespread praise from the academic community and follow-up reports from the media. In 2004, the Steklov Institute of Mathematics recommended him to be elected as an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but he declined. The following year, he resigned from his position at the institute; since then, he has disappeared without a trace.

Some people say that because Perelman was angry at the pedantry of the mathematics community, he posted the paper on the website instead of submitting it to a professional mathematics journal. The mathematics community did not approve of the delay in publishing the verification results and wanted to blacken his honor. He believed that The world of mathematics is no longer the mathematical world full of sunshine, but a mathematical world full of darkness and sin. He disdains dealing with mathematicians, so he refuses to be photographed by the media, and he disdains interviews with prestigious magazines such as Nature and Science.

Of course, some people relayed Perelman's words: "I don't think anything I said is acceptable."

Can arouse the slightest bit of public interest." "I don't want to say it's because I value my privacy very much, or that I just want to hide anything I do. There are no top secrets here, I just don't think the public is interested in me. "

This is a weirdo!

A rare weirdo in history!

He has no interest in the windfall, nor is he interested in honor. In 2006, the International Mathematical Union decided to award the Fields Medal to Perelman, but Perelman chose to refuse this huge honor. At the same time, he also refused to receive the US$1 million prize from the "Millennium Mathematics Prize"!

Some people even speculated with conspiracy theories, saying that Perelman did not really prove the 'Poincaré Conjecture'. He did not dare to be interviewed and did not give academic seminars because he could not answer other people's questions. People expose it.

But Perelman never responded to these messages.

"Hello, Professor Perelman, welcome to China, welcome to Shuimu!" ​​After knowing that this big man was Perelman, Qin Yuanqing redeemed an intermediate Russian card. After using it, he spoke in Russian and Greetings from Perelman.

"I'm no longer a professor!" After muttering in Russian, Perelman still shook hands with Qin Yuanqing: "You are a real mathematician. I have read your papers. I have to say that you are full of talent. , no wonder His Majesty Grothendieck gave you his manuscript!"

Qin Yuanqing did not expect that this maverick and weirdo would respect Grothendieck so much and call him his majesty.

"Qin, Perelman came here by train by himself, and he doesn't have a place to live yet!" Faltings said.

Qin Yuanqing saw Perelman carrying a tattered backpack and immediately understood what was going on. He smiled and said, "I'll make arrangements right now. We haven't seen each other for a while. Why don't I make a host and treat you to a taste?" Check out my Chinese delicacies."

The others had no objection. He first asked Perelman to go to the hotel to check in, and then invited everyone to drink tea in a quiet place in the hotel, waiting for Perelman to come down.

"Everyone, my hometown is a famous tea town. This tea is called Dahongpao. Let's try it!" Qin Yuanqing made a brew of Dahongpao, then introduced it, and personally showed everyone how to drink tea.

In the past few years, every time he returned to his hometown, Qin Yuanqing would purchase a batch of tea, either as a gift, or in the office for everyone to drink, or to drink by himself, and gradually developed the habit of drinking tea.

Not far away, Qin Yuanqing's students were all extremely excited. It was the first time for them to see so many math masters, each of whom was a Fields Medal winner.

Even Perelman, who has become a legend in the mathematical community, was present.

"Look, Professor Perelman has sorted it out and it looks so handsome!"

"And Faltins, he's a legend too!"

Some of Qin Yuanqing’s students have seen some Fields Medal winners before, while others have never. As for those who only came under Qin Yuanqing's command last year, they have never seen such a large battle.

And when Yau Shing-tung and Terence Tao arrived, it can basically be said that half of all the winners of the Fields Medal since its inception are still alive. Those who have not come are either not in this field or have more important things.

After making some tea, he went directly to the hotel's banquet room and ordered a table of delicious dishes. Qin Yuanqing took the initiative to explain and introduce various famous dishes.

"Qin, the general solution to the Yang-Mills equation has been verified by supercomputing, and the results are accurate. It can be said that you have perfectly solved the Yang-Mills theory and the unified theory of strong electricity. Congratulations!" Witten said with a smile.

For mathematicians, as long as the existence and general solution of the solution to the Yang-Mills equation are solved, it will be easy to verify the solutions to the problems of mass intermittence, strong interaction and electromagnetic interaction.

It can be said that although the mathematical community has not yet issued an acknowledgment that Qin Yuanqing has indeed solved the Yang-Mills theory and the unified theory of strong electricity, it is only a matter of time. It will be recognized not long after this report, maybe within a month.

"These research institutions are too bureaucratic. They have to verify after verification, haha~~" Perelman suddenly said, sarcastically.

In his view, since the paper has come out, it has to be proven. Unless you can point out that there are logical errors or major mistakes, otherwise you have to admit it if you can't find the problem. How can you keep delaying because you don't understand it.

If you don’t understand, that’s a problem with your level, not your ability to write a paper.

"Qin wrote the paper so clearly that if I were to do it, I could reduce the length by half. Many things don't need to be stated so clearly," Perelman said.