Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 204 - 104 Mathematics is Not That Simple... But It’s Not Hard Either!_3

"No need."

"Let’s go together to the school gate. I won’t go out," Tian Yanzhen insisted.

"Then let’s take the East Gate," Zhang Shuwen said.

"Not going for a stroll by the lakeside? It’ll get lively after school starts next week."

"No, maybe another time."

"Alright!"

After a few silent steps, Tian Yanzhen suddenly sighed, "Mr. Hamilton passed away last year."

Zhang Shuwen was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes, a respectable old man. In your heart, you’re probably complaining why it wasn’t Simon Donaldson instead."

Tian Yanzhen laughed, saying, "I’m not that harsh yet. At our age, many things have become clearer. But speaking of which, Donaldson is 69 this year, right?"

Zhang Shuwen nodded, "Yes, I remember he’s a year older than you."

With just a few words, the conversation touched upon the past history of the mathematics world.

Whether Richard Hamilton or Simon Donaldson, they are internationally renowned mathematicians, especially the latter, a former Fields Medal winner, a British Royal Academy academician, and a double academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, with numerous publications.

However, there were indeed some minor conflicts among everyone back then.

From a layman’s perspective, it seemed as though a significant research result of Tian Yanzhen was claimed by Donaldson’s team as theirs. But the reality was actually more complex, involving issues with the acceptance of papers pre-posted on preprint websites.

For newcomers to academia, famous journals that still follow double-blind reviews might reject papers already published on preprint websites without hesitation, but for these big figures, it’s a different story.

The proof of an important proposition often gets pre-posted to undergo peer review.

In the situation back then, Tian Yanzhen was the first to publish the results, but Simon Donaldson thought there were many problems with the proof process. He then published a new paper addressing the same issue and insisted that Tian Yanzhen’s paper underwent substantial revisions after its prepublication, citing their process.

It was many years ago, and the exact situation back then is perhaps known only to the parties involved; few outsiders have a full view.

But in that international debate, Simon Donaldson’s team had an absolute advantage.

After all, he is a true Fields Medal recipient, of higher rank, and with greater reputation in the international mathematics community, followed by many. Even Tian Yanzhen’s mentor supported the opposing side.

Tian Yanzhen nodded and continued, "So we’ve aged and need successors. Over the years, you’ve trained many young talents, I’ve noticed. Many are impressive and have achieved quite a bit. But it remains a fact that Huaxia’s voice in the international mathematics community is not loud enough."

Zhang Shuwen remained silent because it was indeed a fact.

Since the establishment of the Fields Medal, only one mathematician from Huaxia has received it. However, his main academic experience was in Hong Kong and abroad, and he is ethnically Chinese but not a Chinese national. Although it’s only a one-word difference, it indeed holds much regret. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

In any industry, strength commands respect, and without notable achievements, one naturally lacks voice and influence.

Tian Yanzhen sighed and continued, "Currently, the main direction of mathematical research in Huaxia is still scientifically applied development, collaborating with technological innovation and industrial application. Applied mathematics naturally receives more support. Academic funding is limited, so projects in pure theoretical research will naturally be cut.

I’m not complaining. After all, this is never something one or two people can decide; it’s the limitation of our era. But in terms of theory, we were already trailing, and with less funding and lack of pursuit for international cooperation, what do you think should be done? Not to mention pure theoretical mathematical research requires more than just talent; it needs a broad vision."

Zhang Shuwen shook his head and said, "Mr. Tian, I study Number Theory, and you study geometric analysis. Although I’m grateful for the help your doctoral thesis provided me back then, you should know I don’t want to engage in any ideological disputes."

Tian Yanzhen nodded and said, "I’m not asking you to get involved in any contention. You should be familiar with Qiao Yu’s talent. I only wanted to say that although he is my student, first and foremost, he’s a child nurtured here in Huaxia.

If he remains obscure in the future, so be it. But if he indeed achieves something and encounters some unfavorable situations in the international mathematics community, I hope everyone can lend a hand. Our voice is already not strong, and if we delay the child’s future due to these issues, it wouldn’t mean much."

Zhang Shuwen smiled and said, "Mr. Tian, if you don’t have the confidence to cultivate a child with such talent, you might as well not be his teacher. Besides, I think he might be more interested in Number Theory in the future, perhaps you should hand him over to me."

Tian Yanzhen also laughed, "Haha, being a teacher is just a title. You also know that his understanding of Mathematics is not yet deep, and this boy has a broad range of interests. When he came to school on the eighth day of the first lunar month, I let him use my literature account, intending for him to download Robert’s paper to gain some understanding before the lecture.

But that night, the boy downloaded five papers by Schulz to start researching. After reading, he even formulated a problem for himself about complete space theory. Yesterday, after I scolded him, only then did he obediently study Robert’s paper in the afternoon.