From University Lecturer to Chief Academician

Bruce Pulitzer is completely off his feet.

He was sitting in front of the desk, looking at the transcript of the conversation with Wang Hao on the computer, one after another, one word after another, carefully looking at it, he wanted to know if Wang Hao was joking, but found that it didn’t look like it at all. joke.

"Is it true? No, just ask again!"

Bruce Pulitzer hurriedly typed a few lines and sent it, "Dr. Wang Hao, is it true? Have you completed the proof of the hail conjecture?"

"Are you still there? Please, don't make such jokes, okay?"

"Is it true or not..."

He sent several messages in a row, but unfortunately there was no reply.

At this time, Bruce Pulitzer was 90% sure that Wang Hao was not joking, and he began to think carefully.

He was joking just now.

When Wang Hao asked whether the proof of the hail conjecture could be published next month, he directly said that it could be reprinted, and the website would publish it simultaneously, but in fact it was not possible.

Whether it is published on the website or temporarily reprinted, it is not a big problem. The problem lies in the review.

"New Advances in Mathematics" is one of the four top journals in international mathematics, and they must ensure the correctness of published papers to the greatest extent.

Even if you publish a small paper with little influence, whether the paper is correct or not is more important than whether the content is influential or not.

If an incorrect proof of Kakutani's conjecture is published, it can be said to be a major blow to the weight and influence of the journal.

Even though the contributor is Wang Hao, who has already published top-level mathematical results internationally, there are many more outstanding mathematicians. Bruce Pulitzer knows several Fields and Wolf winners.

Wang Hao is still a bit worse in comparison.

In addition, the hailstone conjecture is a conjecture known to elementary school students. It is very well-known and influential. As long as the proof is published, the influence will spread beyond the mathematics world, and many media will report on it.

"Advances in Mathematics" publishes a paper, which means that the proof is approved. If the subsequent report is wrong, don't think about the impact on "Advances in Mathematics". Bruce Pulitzer feels that he can write a resignation report. It is even not easy to find another job in the same industry with a lower salary, and he will be directly rejected by the editorial boards of other mathematics journals.

So review is definitely crucial.

What should we do now?

"I have just agreed, and Wang Hao must have taken it seriously. If the submission is delayed until next month, Wang Hao will probably withdraw the manuscript, and will not even cooperate with "New Advances in Mathematics" in the future."

"A paper of this level must not be missed!"

"Absolutely not to be missed!"

Bruce Pulitzer was well aware of the importance of major mathematical results.

"New Advances in Mathematics" is one of the top four international mathematics journals, but even the "top" journals are still mathematics journals, and they have to face competition from the same industry. They must attract more and better paper submissions in order to maintain their reputation in the industry. Only by having a competitive advantage can we stabilize those scholars who have subscribed to the journal.

As long as the proof of the Hailstone Conjecture is released, it will definitely attract the attention of the whole world. Some of the top mathematical institutions will pay attention to "New Advances in Mathematics".

So the question is back again, what to do now?

As soon as Bruce Pulitzer gritted his teeth, he started calling and sending emails. He contacted almost all the top mathematicians he knew, including several Fields and Wolf winners, including the Clay Institute of Mathematics and the Princeton Institute of Higher Education. Institute mathematics professors.

"Do you have time, help me to do an audit, the proof of the hailstone conjecture, just a part... not sure yet..."

"It's very urgent, maybe I will receive the manuscript in two days, thank you in advance!"

"Contributors are kept secret, but there will definitely be..."

Every mathematician who was contacted was very interested, because the content of the review was a proof of the hail conjecture.

Even with false proofs, it's fun to find mistakes.

"New Advances in Mathematics" is still very authoritative, and the people in the editorial department are also very high-level. The proof that no mistakes can be seen in the first trial must be of a certain level, and many people are looking forward to it.

Among them is Qiu Chengwen of the Center for Mathematical Sciences at Shuimu University.

Qiu Chengwen also knew Bruce Pulitzer, and the papers of the Center for Mathematical Sciences were also given priority to be published in Advances in Mathematics.

When I heard Bruce Pulitzer say that I hope he can help review the content of the manuscript, or the proof of the Hail Conjecture, Qiu Chengwen immediately became interested. Even though he is over 70 years old and spends most of his energy on education, but I still have a strong interest in mathematics, especially the latest mathematics research.

Qiu Chengwen, like many mathematicians, asked, "Can you name the author of the paper?"

"Sorry, contributors are confidential."

Bruce Pulitzer gave a standard answer.

...

It's time for the next day.

Wang Hao went to the office very early, calculated and sorted out the proof process from beginning to end, and then let out a sigh of relief.

He looked at the time, continued to sort it out, and wrote a little introduction in front.

Then submit it.

If it is someone else, you must carefully correct the format before submitting the manuscript, and add a lot of introductions.

Wang Hao doesn’t have to do this at all. This is the privilege of a top mathematician. After completing the big results, he doesn’t need to correct the format. The editorial department of similar work will be responsible for the editorial department. They will send special personnel to correct the corners and corners Do.

Of course, general papers do not enjoy this kind of treatment.

Wang Hao's submission was very ordinary, he just delivered the manuscript directly on the website as usual.

Then he was about to send a message to Bruce Pulitzer, only to find that the other party had sent a lot of messages. He read it carefully and decided to ignore them.

"I've already submitted a manuscript." He sent a message, adding, "If you can't publish it early next month, please let me know in advance."

Everything is done!

Wang Hao's heart was calm.

He glanced at the time, only to realize that it was already half past nine, and quickly opened the textbook "Algebraic Geometry" to take a look, because he had been busy with the proof of Kakutani's conjecture, and he hadn't prepared for the course yet.

Fortunately, the first class is all about the basics, and even half of it is an introduction to the subject of 'algebraic geometry'.

"This kind of content should be okay according to the class, right? But it can also be used freely. It's just an introduction to the development history of the characters. The purpose is that students like this class..."

Wang Hao thought about it.

After Zhang Zhiqiang finished his class, he returned to the office. Seeing Wang Hao, he immediately leaned over and asked in a low voice like a thief, "How is it? Have you finished writing the certificate?"

"It has already been submitted."

"So fast?" Zhang Zhiqiang felt surprised, and he was even a little excited, "Where did you vote?"

"New Advances in Mathematics."

Zhang Zhiqiang nodded obediently, and then continued to ask, "Then it won't be published until next month, right? This is fairly fast, normally it will take three months."

"That won't work." Wang Hao shook his head and said, "In terms of time, it should be published next week, their editor-in-chief told me so."

"The editor-in-chief of Advances in Mathematics?"

"right."

Zhang Zhiqiang didn't know what to say for a while, since he was young, he hated privileged treatment the most.

Now the privilege appeared in front of my eyes. I was also submitting to an academic journal. Others had to wait in line after passing the review, but the guy in front of me actually said that it would be published in a week after submitting.

Is it still unreasonable?

Why can he jump in line to publish?

What? His thesis was to solve the Kakutani conjecture? Forget it, it's all right!

Thinking that if I can complete such a major research, I will definitely be able to jump in the queue for the four top mathematics journals, right?

Privilege, what a beauty!

Zhang Zhiqiang looked forward to it beautifully, and then asked, "Are you sure you can publish it? What if you can't?"

Wang Haodao, "Then I will withdraw the manuscript and post it on the Internet. That's what Perelman (the Poincaré conjecture prover) did. I think this idea is very good. See."

Zhang Zhiqiang gave him a thumbs up. He kind of hoped that Wang Hao's paper would not be published early next month.

The proof of Kakutani's conjecture, such a major mathematical result, is published directly on the Internet, which sounds really interesting.

Wang Hao mainly did not want to wait too long. Such a large achievement can be published anywhere, and there is no need for influential mathematics journals to increase the weight.

If it is published in the four major journals of mathematics, the advantage is that it can be seen internationally faster and recognized by top institutions faster.

I don't want to admit it, but I have to accept that the authority of domestic mathematics institutions is relatively small.

...

Wang Hao and Zhang Zhiqiang chatted for a few words before going to class.

Algebraic Geometry.

He was already looking forward to this course.

Whether it is "Partial Differential Equations", "Functional Analysis", or other courses, the mathematics described can be said to be mathematics from a hundred years ago.

Those knowledge contents existed hundreds of years ago, even hundreds of years ago.

The undergraduate-level mathematics courses in colleges and universities sound very profound. To put it bluntly, the contents are all researched by mathematicians a hundred years ago, and even mathematicians hundreds of years ago studied much more advanced.

For example, Bernhard-Riemann, who studied Riemannian geometry 170 years ago, but the knowledge field involved in undergraduate courses is far from the level of Riemannian geometry.

"Algebraic Geometry" is the real modern mathematics.

"Algebraic Geometry" studies the geometric properties of sets formed by several algebraic equations with common zero points in dimensional space.

This explanation sounds complicated, but it is easy to understand with an example.

X2+Y2=1 (square), a standard plane equation, the corresponding geometric figure is a circle.

This is a high school math level understanding that deals with the real number solutions of equations.

If it is placed in the content of "Algebraic Geometry", what is studied is not the real number solution, but the complex number solution. On the real number solution, it is a standard circle, but if it is a complex number solution, it becomes a ball.

Further expansion, what about X3+Y3=1 (cubic power)?

The graph of this equation turns into a ring. When the power number n is greater than 3, the corresponding graph becomes very complicated, and it is difficult to understand by relying on imagination.

This is "Algebraic Geometry", which studies the graphics formed by the corresponding solutions of equations, and studies algebraic problems in a geometric way.

"Algebraic Geometry" is related to many fields of mathematics, such as number theory, analytic geometry, commutative algebra, differential geometry, topology, etc. Some of the research methods it contains are of great reference and value to other disciplines. Value.

The reason why Wang Hao has high expectations for this course is that he wants to expand his knowledge field.

His main research directions are partial differential equations and number theory, and many mathematics subjects are related. Expanding the field of knowledge is very helpful for the study of mathematical theory.

At ten o'clock, the students all arrived in the classroom.

Wang Hao's courses are very popular, and students are looking forward to the courses.

After entering the new semester, Wang Hao's mentality has also calmed down a lot, because it is a postgraduate course, and he doesn't need to deliberately ask students how to do, most students will listen carefully.

In addition, many students were not new faces, and even most of them were familiar faces. He didn't talk about classroom discipline and the like, and directly entered the course.

Wang Hao stood on the podium, walked down and said, "This course is called "Algebraic Geometry". modern mathematics."

"And a lot of the mathematics that you have learned before cannot be said to be ancient mathematics. Its content is also the knowledge achievement of mathematicians hundreds of years ago, or even hundreds of years ago."

"To learn "Algebraic Geometry", we must first understand a mathematician. Most people have never heard of this person. His name is Grothendieck. He is a stateless Jew and a very legendary mathematician."

"His research made the Paris Advanced Institute recognized as the research center of algebraic geometry in the world. At the same time, much of the algebraic geometry we can learn now is the result of Grothendieck."

Grothendieck is a very thoughtful super-genius and one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, even considered by some to be the greatest mathematician of the 20th century, none of them.

He has studied algebraic geometry for a total of about 12 years. During these 12 years, he has written tens of thousands of laws of algebraic geometry, and he has almost built the entire system of algebraic geometry.

Grothendieck's ideas are also important.

At that time, mathematics was considered as a method of solving problems. If there is a problem, then a mathematical method should be used to solve it. However, Grothendieck believed that mathematical research should not only solve mathematical problems, but also study a whole set of mathematical theories. What is there? If the problem is directly found in the theory, everything can be solved.

His thinking has played a very important role in promoting the research and development of current mathematical theories.

It's a pity that geniuses are often very aggressive.

Because of the war he experienced in his youth, Grothendieck was a radical pacifist who could give up his mathematical research for the war.

Grothendieck, who was only 42 years old, gave up his favorite mathematics research because of the YUE war, so he simply went to Hanoi to explain mathematics.

Later, Grothendieck simply went to the Pyrenees Mountains in the southwest of O to become a hermit Buddhist, and even rejected the Craford Prize and the $250,000 bonus on the grounds that he thought the money should be spent on young and promising mathematician.

Since then, Grothendieck has been living in seclusion until his silent death a few years ago, and not even a few media reported it.

Wang Hao explained the development history of "Algebraic Geometry", which also made the students feel immersed in it, and felt the greatness and radicalness of Grothendieck together. At the same time, he also realized that "Algebraic Geometry" is indeed modern mathematics.

The emergence and development of this discipline is very close to the present time, and it is only a short fifty years to go back.

...

While Wang Hao was doing his own course, Xia Guobin was in the office of Navitas Lab, carefully reading every word of the message he received.

The news above made him feel refreshed.

That was the news from the Institute of Aeronautical Materials. They formed a team of experts and were going to visit the Navitas laboratory.

This seems a bit uninvited. Even the Institute of Aeronautical Materials and Nanomicro Lab are at the same level. They are just scientific research institutions, not the relationship between the superior and the subordinate.

But Xia Guobin didn't care about coming uninvited. The important thing was that the other party was from the Institute of Aeronautical Materials. What did the experts from the Institute of Aeronautical Materials come to Nanomicro Lab for?

This is likely to be an inspection of the laboratory conditions, and there may be a big project!

For Navitas Labs, the aviation group only allocates a small amount of research and development funds, which is enough to feed them.

Projects are one aspect.

On the other hand, Xia Guobin also felt that his hard work in developing the laboratory had yielded results, which had been noticed by the Aviation Group, and he even sent a team of experts to investigate.

This is so exhilarating!

Xia Guobin couldn't restrain the excitement in his heart. If he was ten years younger, he might jump up and cheer to celebrate.

He went out immediately, solemnly cheering everyone up.

"The expert team from the Institute of Aeronautical Materials will come in a few days. We must let them see the capability level of Navitas Lab, let them see our mental outlook, focus, devotion, and seriousness on research projects... "

Xia Guobin continued to say a lot, meaning that he must leave a good impression on the expert team of the Institute of Aeronautical Materials.

...

The next day, the office of the complex building.

Wang Hao sat in the office, drinking coffee leisurely, and chatting with other people. He was not talking about the Kakutani Conjecture, but he also attached great importance to the submission situation.

When I opened the submitted manuscript to check the status, I found that the manuscript had quickly entered the second review stage.

This progress still satisfied him.

"Second trial? What kind of expert will be the judge?"

"Princeton? The Clay Institute? Or the Swedish Academy?"

These are all possible.

For a top mathematics journal like Advances in Mathematics, the team of reviewers is not limited to one country.

at the same time.

Qiu Chengwen was sitting in the office, checking the newly received email messages, and he found that the editorial department of "New Advances in Mathematics" had sent a mathematical proof.

There is also a message from Bruce Pulitzer below, "Professor Qiu, this is part of the proof of the hail conjecture.

Thanks again! "

Qiu Chengwen downloaded the content with interest, and looked at the above two pages of proof content, and found that it contained a very subtle conversion method. After a quick glance, he knew that there should be no problem.

He couldn't help wondering again, "Could it be that the Kakutani conjecture is going to be proven?"

"Maybe……"

"That's just part of it."

Qiu Chengwen couldn't help thinking of Wang Hao. He remembered that when Wang Hao came to the Mathematical Science Center, he said that he was researching a new mathematical method that could be used to prove the Kakutani Conjecture.

Now the Kakutani conjecture has been proven.

"That's what makes it interesting."

"It seems that Wang Hao's research is slow! If he knows this proof, he may give up his own research."

Qiu Chengwen thought about it and sighed.

Sometimes scientific research is like this. Someone spends several years researching a problem, but before the research is done, it turns out that it has been proved by others.

Years of hard work in vain...

"I hope Wang Hao won't be hit too hard..."

He shook his head and looked at it seriously.