Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 206 - 104 Mathematics is Not That Simple... But It’s Not Hard Either!_5

Why is the Fields Medal awarded only to mathematicians under forty? Because everyone knows that people are at their most energetic and mentally active before forty. After forty, even if one’s health is still good, mental prowess begins to decline significantly.

So, if there are no significant achievements before forty, it becomes very difficult after forty.

This is even more the case after sixty, as one gradually steps into old age. What remains after time has settled is only experience. At this stage of doing research, not only does mental power lag behind, but energy is lacking as well. The hope might only rest on disciples who can inherit one’s legacy.

An outstanding student naturally excites admiration from the greats.

Zhang Shuwen certainly understands this mentality because he feels the same way, which is why he chose to return and explain things face to face.

"Yes, the talent is astounding! I kept thinking about what kind of talent it takes to understand Schulz’s paper in one night without much prior exposure to the relevant background knowledge, and he’s only fifteen."

The old man decisively said, "There couldn’t be such a person. You’ve been deceived. I understand my student, and he has quite a bit of experience in this kind of deception."

Zhang Shuwen also sighed at this legacy of the sect...

In any case, the old man before him and Professor Tian across the table ended up having terrible relationships with their own mentors. The most sigh-inducing part is that these two were the highest-achieving students of their respective mentors. If viewed as a faction, in this transmission process, the best students falling out with their mentors almost became a tradition...

But he still shook his head and confidently stated, "I can tell whether I’ve been deceived. I believe if you went, you would come to the same conclusion. And even if it were deception, the other party is just a fifteen-year-old child. You have to know, his mathematical derivation process is extremely rigorous.

Moreover, after I pointed out some errors and provided a simple explanation, he was able to quickly grasp what I meant and immediately made corrections and simplifications to his original derivation process. If you want to say this is deception... then I can only say this kid’s talent is even greater!"

The old man was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What was the issue? Tell me about it, and how did that child manage to correct it immediately?"

Zhang Shuwen nodded.

This is also why he didn’t directly reply to messages on WeChat, because he knew that when he truthfully affirmed Qiao Yu’s talent, this was bound to happen.

So he wrote down Qiao Yu’s conjectures and demonstration process.

"...Here he didn’t use the Riemann-Roch theorem, but instead introduced a constant to force the result. I simply told him about the contents of the Riemann-Roch theorem, and he made the following modifications..."

"Was this modified on the spot?"

"Yes, on the spot, my explanation didn’t last more than three minutes."

The old man closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and calmly said, "Then there is probably only one possibility. His understanding of Schulz’s theory is not on the level of techniques, but he has grasped some essential truths of mathematics. He has understood it, although not entirely, or rather not fully comprehended."

This sentence sounded mysterious, but Zhang Shuwen understood it because the essence of mathematics is indeed this mysterious.

However, Zhang Shuwen was not sure, so he just nodded and replied, "Maybe, we can’t see what goes on in that kid’s mind, but regardless of whether he understands or not, it is enough to prove his mathematical talent. At the very least, I can confirm that this kid’s talent is at least not inferior to Schulz’s."

The old man nodded in recognition, took a deep breath, opened his eyes wide with fighting spirit, and said loudly and firmly, "Shuwen, how can Tian Yanzhen be qualified to teach such a student? How could he teach well? He doesn’t deserve to teach, right?"

Zhang Shuwen took a deep breath...

Goodness, how should he reply to that?

But he could also understand the old man, who had supervised seventy or eighty PhD students throughout his life, and fell out with his highest-achieving student, but until now, he hasn’t trained any student who surpassed that person in achievements.

He wouldn’t be content with this for his entire life.

Of course, spending a lifetime like this might be acceptable, but the world of mathematics ultimately speaks of strength.

If the student of his most estranged disciple won the Fields Medal in the future and became the new leading figure in the world of mathematics, how would history evaluate the merits and demerits of the two when everything is concluded?

Ordinary people wouldn’t think about these things because they wouldn’t have the right, but this old man does have the right to think about it.

As for whether someone deserves to teach, well, the student already belongs to them, so you can’t just forcefully take him away, right?

So Zhang Shuwen chose to remain silent, realizing this is a family affair of that particular lineage. In the end, Qiao Yu could still be considered the junior disciple of the old man before him, and he naturally wouldn’t make any comments.

"Didn’t you ask for that child’s contact information?" the old man pressed on.

Great, this question can be answered, but does he really intend to snatch the student?

However, Zhang Shuwen could only shake his head and reply, "No, it wasn’t convenient. But I gave Tian Yanzhen my private email and promised him that if Qiao Yu has any questions regarding Number Theory in the future, he could contact me anytime."

"Ah, you’re confused! When will you have to wait for that? By the way, where did he find this child?"

Zhang Shuwen thought about it; it shouldn’t be a secret, so he replied, "Discovered through the CMO. When I returned, I checked, and he was the first on the CMO list this year, one of the only two with perfect scores."