Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 224 - 107: Presenting Roses, Hands Retain Fragrance_4

"There are so many difficult problems in mathematics, those Millennium Prize Problems have been on the list for years, and no one has solved them. There are even more unsolved problems that aren’t on the list. Are you worried about running out of topics in the future? So, Senior Brother Chen, you need to broaden your horizons. We should lay a solid foundation and then make a stunning impact!"

Listening to Qiao Yu’s old-fashioned words, Chen Zhuoyang couldn’t help but think of the abbreviation for the Huaxia national missile defense system.

This sounds so simple...

Those Millennium Prize Problems...

Are those things that normal people can even think about tackling?

How many people, full of ambition, have chosen such topics and then spent their whole lives stuck on them, wasting their best years without achieving anything, just betting their lives...

He wanted to remind this junior apprentice brother that back in the day, his grandmaster right across refused the teacher’s suggestion to study the Riemann Conjecture among the Millennium Prize Problems, that’s how he smoothly got the Fields Medal.

If Elder Yuan had really chosen to tackle the Riemann Conjecture back then, perhaps the Fields Medal would be out of reach.

But...

Forget it...

"By the way, Senior Brother, are you going back to the office again?"

Qiao Yu’s voice brought Chen Zhuoyang’s drifting thoughts back, and he looked at the junior brother beside him with some embarrassment. He was too busy getting into gossip...

He quickly followed Qiao Yu’s words and said: "Yes, right, I forgot to bring the half-written paper earlier, I need to go back and get it."

"Speaking of papers, I heard from the teacher that you’re researching geometric analysis on complex manifolds?" Qiao Yu suddenly became enthusiastic.

Chen Zhuoyang looked at Qiao Yu warily, nodded, and replied: "Yes, what’s up?"

"Senior Brother, I have an idea. Look, people are already researching the Geometric Langlands Conjecture, you should challenge yourself as well, and incorporate Schulz’s theory of seemingly complete spaces. I have a feeling, as long as you thoroughly understand Schulz’s theory, your doctoral thesis will definitely have a new perspective."

Qiao Yu said seriously.

Chen Zhuoyang paused, then looked at Qiao Yu just as seriously and said: "Well, Junior Brother, you should stick to your own ideas. Really, Senior Brother admits he was wrong, I shouldn’t have said I’d treat you like air when we first met. Can you do me a favor and not have any ideas about my paper?"

Qiao Yu, undeterred, urged: "Believe me, Senior Brother Chen, if you start researching this with me now, once the paper is finished, Mr. Tian will definitely be proud of you! Do you really just want to graduate from the research center as an average doctoral student, then go to an average key university, and have to start as an average lecturer?"

Chen Zhuoyang, with a delighted look, said: "Junior Brother, is there really such a good opportunity? To tell you the truth, being able to start as a lecturer at an average key university is exactly my goal. Could you please ask our boss to recommend me then?"

Qiao Yu: "Senior Brother, you..."

What can I say? This Senior Brother Chen, he seems to have little ambition, which made Qiao Yu very disappointed.

What’s the point of being a mere lecturer, slowly climbing to associate professor, professor... wouldn’t that just waste a lifetime?

He originally thought that Director Tian’s students must all have great ambitions.

Chen Zhuoyang sighed and said: "Ah, Junior Brother, actually, I used to be ambitious too. Really, back then I was second to none, but after seriously doing mathematical research... just look at my hair now and you’ll know.

The teacher often says that my research lacks originality and is only worthy of publishing in mediocre journals. Don’t I know that? But I have no choice, you know? Some things can’t be learned no matter how you try! I wanted to learn Schulz’s stuff too, I’ve read his papers, but I just can’t understand them, you know?

So why do you think I voluntarily take on miscellaneous tasks at the research center? Isn’t it just hoping the teacher sees that I have worked hard and might give me a hand? Oh, having a student like me is a disgrace to the teacher!"

This explanation left Qiao Yu shocked, asking in surprise: "Can’t understand? Senior Brother, Schulz’s paper’s proof process is very clear, logical; why can’t you understand it?"

Chen Zhuoyang raised his head and looked at Qiao Yu with a complex expression: "Schulz’s paper involves functional analysis, probability theory, and mathematical physics, not to mention it. The key issue is completeness and those abstract concepts don’t even have an intuitive geometric explanation.

Not to mention those complex theorems and formulas. For instance, the formula defining a Cauchy sequence contains more than ten conditions and limit concepts, how is it as easy to understand as you say? That day at your seminar, Professor Zhang also mentioned that the beauty of mathematics lies in simplicity.

But what he didn’t say is that simplicity is understandable to everyone, and complexity is difficult! For example, Euler’s formula, it’s simple, beautiful, and easy to learn. It’s even intuitive in geometry, where the complex number e^ix represents a rotation on the unit circle, with cos⁡(x) as the horizontal component and sin⁡(x) as the vertical component of the rotation.

That’s something everyone can easily learn. But those extremely abstract things, it’s not that they’re not beautiful, it’s just that, except for a very few people, not many can really master them, you understand? What you can easily understand, others really may not.

Let me put it this way, I didn’t understand a single bit of your seminar yesterday afternoon... do you understand now? This is probably the reason Professor Zhang criticized you... you don’t consider the vast majority of people enough. So I’ve really given up on research, but I think being a math teacher should still be fine for me."