Tech Hammer

Let’s go back to a week ago.

It was another unpleasant Monday morning in London, England.

Handel was sitting in his office thinking quietly.

As he expected, Ningwei's paper received a lot of traffic due to the controversy on the Internet.

He has been paying attention to the reactions of young people on Twitter and Facebook, and can even feel the pressure from Connerson. It is a pity that his American colleagues can really tolerate it. In the face of the surging passion of the students, since no one speaks out Order something.

It just so happens that March has the traditional holiday of Western universities, spring break.

Young people's attention is always diverted too easily.

When spring break comes, the questions and shouts on Facebook are quickly replaced by the beautiful scenery and joyful parties everywhere.

This is understandable, who hasn't been young before?

It's just a pity. I thought I could watch a good show.

Handel had no personal grudges with Lucasian Flanders, and even less friendship with Connerson. The reason why he thrust out that sword was that if Handel was to evaluate himself, it must be as a noble and moral emperor. The Earl couldn't bear to see that the scientific world, which was supposed to be bright and bright, was cast a shadow over nothing.

Of course, if one of Handel's old friends were to judge, this matter would have absolutely nothing to do with justice. It's nothing more than a certain declining nobleman living in ancient glory who couldn't stand the dictating style of an emerging federal country. When he took the opportunity, he thought he could do something.

It's just that Handel would never admit it.

How could a gentleman have those villainous thoughts?

Of course, Handel would not force himself to say something for Ningwei when the situation was over.

Not guilty.

The other party had declined his friend's invitation and ultimately did not choose to come to Imperial College. In Handel's view, this was obviously not a wise decision.

But what surprised him was that he saw another paper submitted by Ning Wei in the submission system of Nature.

It’s just that this paper has nothing to do with the N-S equation. Instead, it uses statistical methods to solve another mathematical problem raised by a Fields Medal winner. What made Handel feel that the world was full of coincidences was that Professor Jean Burgan who asked this question was the same 1994 Fields Medal winner as Lucassen Friend. What’s even more coincidental is that both of them were He has his own office at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

The only difference is that Professor Jean Burgan, who proposed the KLS conjecture, passed away in 2018.

This series of coincidences made Handel feel that Ning Wei did it on purpose.

Of course, it's intentional, but no one has such a mathematical talent.

He is indeed a young man full of fighting spirit! But maybe it was his email that inspired the young man's fighting spirit? Handel thought proudly.

Think about it, after this young man from China knew that Lucassen Friend was the culprit of the catarrhal paper, he actually chose to spend about a month researching and proving a man with the same characteristics as Lucassen Friend. A conjecture proposed in the 1980s by a mathematician who won the Fields Medal at the same time.

More importantly, today, when computer technology is particularly advanced, the proof method proposed by Ning Wei is very easy to prove its correctness on a computer.

So Handel found a very suitable reviewer for this paper after communicating with the deputy editor.

Yes, there is no more suitable reviewer than him.

…

Hiram Gower wanted to reject the email from Nature.

In fact, he did not have many opportunities to review papers for Nature, because this journal rarely publishes papers in the field of pure mathematics. Generally speaking, high-quality papers in the field of mathematics will be published in the four world-recognized top mathematics journals.

As a professor at Princeton, he can feel the role that "Nature" played in the last "American Mathematical Society" controversy.

Everything has its rules and is inevitable. This is Hiram Gower's view on the last incident.

As a mathematician obsessed with research, Hiram Gower did not want to think about too many non-academic issues, let alone judge whether Lucason Friend's approach was correct, and of course he would not pay attention to Ning Wei. whether there is any injustice in the experience.

He just instinctively dislikes Nature's provocative attitude.

However, the editor's wording in the email inviting him to be a reviewer made it impossible for him to refuse.

"Dear Mr. Gower, I once heard that your teacher, the respected Professor Burgan, called you the day before his death to discuss with you the proof of the KLS conjecture. This is indeed a touching story. story. But today, we received this paper, which uses a method that no one has thought of before to complete the proof of the KLS conjecture. Since this was your teacher’s last wish before his death, after research and decision by the editorial office, you are specially invited to Serve as a reviewer for this paper. Many thanks.”

I can't refuse this.

Not to mention that proving the KLS conjecture was the last wish of his most respected teacher. He himself has spent many years working on this proposition. Although his current research topic is not this, every time in the dead of night, he will remember what he once did. Take out the argumentation process and study it carefully, hoping to make new discoveries.

Now that someone actually claimed to have proved this conjecture, how could he refuse? !

So after reading the content of the email, he agreed without hesitation.

At this time, it no longer matters who wants to invite him to review the manuscript.

Wait, recursion?

Hiram Gower was immersed in the argumentation process of the paper. Two hours passed quietly in the process of reading and verifying the paper. After reading the paper, he was in a trance.

Is this proof? !

It turns out that this can be proven!

Although his sixth sense told him that this extremely rigorous thesis was correct, he decided to check it carefully.

When it comes to his mentor's last wish, Hiram Gower felt that it could not be too rigorous.

Fortunately, in the era of rapid computer development, it is very simple to verify this paper.

Regardless of how late it was, he immediately contacted his friend, a computer expert, and then hurried to the school computing center to convert the mathematical ideas of the paper into codes that the computer could recognize, directly and finally proving The correctness of this paper.

"Congratulations to Hiram, this proposition has finally been solved. I think Professor Burgan will be very relieved to learn about this in heaven."

"Yes!" Hiram Gower nodded excitedly. Even though he had stayed up all night without rest, he was still in a very excited state.

An unexpected angle perfectly proves the KSL conjecture. The author of this paper must be a genius!

After bidding farewell to his friend, Hiram Gower immediately logged into his mailbox and began to write a sincere email.

"I am very grateful to the editor of Nature for trusting me to review this paper. After rigorous review, I can be 100% sure that the proof process and conclusion of this paper are correct, so my choice is to pass . But I am very eager to know the author of this paper, and I hope you can tell me immediately after seeing this paper. This will give me the opportunity to thank him for fulfilling my teacher’s last wish. Thank you!”

After clicking the send button, Hiram Gower did not close the mailbox, but sat there anxiously waiting for the other party's response.

He calculated the time difference and found that it should be two o'clock at noon in London, which should have passed the lunch break. If the editor was dedicated enough, he should see and reply to his email immediately.

Yes, at this moment he couldn't wait to know the author of this paper, and then express his gratitude to him in person.

This is not considered a violation. Even if it is a double-blind review, after he has given the final review opinion, the author of the paper is no longer a secret. After all, everyone will know after the paper is published.

Most people may not be able to understand this feeling, but many people in the mathematics community know that Hiram Galben is Jean Burgan’s favorite student. It can even be said that his journey has been so smooth, and Jean Burgan is He has done a lot, and this relationship has long gone beyond the ordinary relationship between teacher and student. Especially when he began to show his talent in the mathematics world, Jean Burgan was not only his guide on the path of mathematics, but also his confidant. Companions on the road.

Time passed by, and the sunlight outside the window fell on the professor's face through the simple window, leaving little spots of light, but Hiram Gower seemed not to notice it. At this time, his whole mind was absorbed in In the memory.

Jean Bourgoin's voice and appearance kept reappearing in his mind, and he seemed to have returned to his past days, from one who humbly asked for advice, to the other who gave careful guidance, to the two of them arguing with red faces in order to defend their respective views...

Until the computer made a "ding dong" sound.

There was a new email in the mailbox, and the editor of Nature magazine finally responded.

Hiram Gower subconsciously glanced at the time. Ten minutes had passed?

He took a deep breath, then put his hand on the mouse and opened the email with a solemn expression.

"Dear Professor Gower, thank you very much for your immediate feedback. The author of this paper is a young Chinese mathematician named Ning Wei. I hope this answer can help you."

Would you rather?

Hiram Gower was stunned.

The name is familiar.

He even knew that if he opened Google now and searched for this name, he would find more than 100,000 entries about this name.

But how could it be him?

…

There is no doubt that a paper that solves a world-wide problem must be placed on the front page of the official journal. This is not only for Ning Wei, but also for a deceased Fields Medal winner.

Not surprisingly, the paper caused a stir in the academic community as soon as it was published.

With a rigorous demonstration process and an extremely easy-to-verify mathematical method, Ningwei's name was soon noticed by countless mathematicians again.

what's the situation?

What's even more coincidental is that the solution to this problem can help the computing community provide ideas for upgrading the random walk algorithm. When these big guys in the computer community began to naturally study this paper, they also noticed the first author of the paper. name.

Him again? !

Well, whoever has completed the argument of a world-class problem should enjoy the praise.

On Twitter, many people began to express their emotions.

"Congratulations to that Chinese boy, this is a perfect proof! I believe Jean Bourgan will open a bottle of champagne to celebrate if he knows about this!"

"Unfortunately, I knew that Jean Bourgan spent much more time and energy on this problem than any other problem. I just didn't expect that in the end this problem was solved statistically."

"I feel mixed. I should be happy to have solved another mathematical problem, but it's a pity that it's four years too late!"

…

Two days after this paper was published in Nature, Handel smiled and once again posted a sentence on the official Twitter of Nature.

"Yes, it's him. The process of that Chinese boy proving KLS's conjecture was like a bolt of lightning falling from the sky, illuminating a corner shrouded by dark clouds!"

The accompanying picture is the title of Ning Wei's paper, and then adds a particularly large mathematical conjecture with four words, accompanied by an X, which means that the conjecture has been proved.

Originally, everyone was still celebrating the victory of another mathematical problem, but as soon as this tweet came out, it quickly brought back memories that were not so long ago...

Is there something wrong with this?

The proof process of the KLS conjecture was not submitted to the four top journals in mathematics? Published in Nature again?

Ridiculous!

Although mathematics can also be regarded as a "natural" science, which serious mathematician would not devote such praiseworthy research results to nature? How many mathematicians would look for mathematical papers in Nature?

Forget about Smith, that guy has always been maverick, and he doesn't have good relations with many big guys in the mathematics world.

But this would rather be...

Oh, I remembered that my previous paper on NS equations was submitted to the American Mathematical Society and was rejected, so I submitted it to Nature and successfully published it.

Now, the pressure in the editorial office of the American Mathematical Society is even greater.

Countless doubts came in like a tide again, and this time these doubts have directly begun to challenge the impartiality of one of the world's top mathematics journals.

"It is a shame for the American Mathematical Society that a mathematical paper should be published in Nature."

"Strongly demand that the paper "The Three-dimensional Incompressible NS Equation Exists a General Solution Under Restricted Conditions" be disclosed and reveal the truth that it failed to pass the review of the journal."

"Concealing it won't solve any problems, please don't avoid it anymore. Don't let the faith of countless people collapse!"

…

At the same time, in the office of the editor-in-chief of the magazine "American Mathematical Society", Connerson was sitting opposite him. It could be said that he was his boss, the secretary-general in charge of the work of the society.

"Connerson, my friend, after all, you handled this matter carelessly. Many people asked you to resign. You know, you have put us under a lot of pressure."

"So you also think I should resign? John." Connerson shrugged and asked.

"As things stand now, I think it doesn't matter what happens. We need someone to take responsibility for this and calm the anger. Connerson, of course, in exchange, what conditions can you offer. If you can sign a I want to make an agreement to ensure that I can keep it secret after resigning, and maybe I can help you get an extra amount of compensation."

"Oh? If this number really makes my heart move, I don't mind putting a sincere resignation letter on this table tomorrow." Connerson pointed to the desk in front of him and said.

"In that case, then, two hundred thousand dollars! Connerson, you know this is not a small amount, it is roughly equivalent to your two years of salary in this position. And you are still a member of the society..."

"For $300,000, I promise not to say anything!" Connerson smiled, shook his head, and then said.

"Okay! But we need to sign a contract."

"no problem!"