From small town academic to chief scientist

It is an interesting thing for Peter Sarnak to encourage a genius to do something that he cannot do himself.

Peter Sarnak felt that he was already over 70 years old. Even if this genius regretted looking for him in the future, according to the custom of their Bactria country, he would have to burn paper to him.

Peter Sarnak gave himself a thumbs up for his wit.

A genius like you, Zhou Yi, wouldn't you be deceived by me?

Labor and capital are the greatest geniuses in the world!

However, Zhou Yi began to think about Peter Sarnak's words on the way back.

It feels very feasible!

The so-called 3N+1 conjecture means that for every positive integer,

If it is an even number, divide it by 2. If it is an odd number, multiply it by 3 and add 1, that is, it becomes an arbitrary positive integer. This calculation procedure is performed. After finite steps, the final result must be The smallest positive integer 1; so it is called the 3N+1 conjecture.

To give a simple example, if we take a positive integer N=6, according to the description of the 3N+1 conjecture, we have,

6/2=3, 3*3+1=10,

10/2=5, 5*3+1=16, 16/2=8, 8/2=4, 4/2=2, 2/2=1;

Another example is N = 9. According to the above,

9×3+1=28, 28÷2=14, 14÷2=7, 7×3+1=22, 22÷2=11, 11×3+1=34, 34÷2=17, 17× 3+1=52, 52÷2=26, 26÷2=13, 13×3+1=40, 40÷2=20, 20÷2=10, 10÷2=5, 5×3+1= 16, 16÷2=8, 8÷2=4, 4÷2=2, 2÷2=1.

At first glance, this seems very simple.

Do you think it’s okay for me to have sex with you?

High school students called me experts after reading it. Isn't this the pattern-finding question I usually do?

However, the proof process of such a simple mathematical problem has puzzled mathematicians for 90 years.

In July 2021, Bakuage Co., Ltd., a Japanese company headquartered in Shibuya, Higashi, announced that it would provide a reward of 120 million yuan to anyone who solves the 3N+1 conjecture. The reward is valid from July 7, 2021 to July 6, 2031.

Converted into a magnesium knife, it is 1.1 million, and the national currency of Daxia is close to 8 million.

This conjecture is very famous in Japan and Chou, as famous as Goldbach's conjecture in Daxia.

As Zhou Yi walked, he read at the corner of his mouth:

"The shortest way to communicate between two truths in the real number field is often through the complex number field. This is a feasible method, and finally something has been gained."

Zhou Yi, who returned to his residence, was still reading:

"When Wiles proved Fermat's last theorem, he did so by proving the Taniyama-Shimura-Weil conjecture of semi-stable elliptic curves, thereby completely proving Fermat's last theorem. Can I also prove the equivalent function of 3N+1 first? Equation to prove the 3N+1 conjecture,

It can also be extended to the complex number field, which is tantamount to expanding my mathematical knowledge again. "

Zhou Yi was writing and drawing in his room and thinking,

For several days, Zhou Yi retreated in his room, but a moment of mathematical inspiration was not enough to support Zhou Yi to completely perfect the complex analysis method.

On this day, Zhou Yi was caught from the room by Tan Mingming and said:

"Junior brother, it has been five days and you are still in seclusion. Your two mentors have heard about it. If I hadn't explained it to them, they would have called you."

Zhou Yi said in a daze:

"Damn, it's still a bit bad. I'm about to go out and seek new inspiration. Senior brother, do you have anything to do with me?"

Tan Mingming said:

"Do you know about the Ramanujan Award?"

Zhouyi said:

"Of course I know. How could I not know?"

"You may be the winner of the Ramanu Gold Award this year, and I am going to invite you to Asan."

Tan Mingming said with an envious look.

As a monster junior brother, he won awards at a speed that didn't even stop for a moment.

The ICCM Gold Medal in Mathematics in August, the Veblen Geometry Prize, the highest award in the field of geometry some time ago, and now the Ramanu Gold Medal.

Every time he wins an award, he breaks the age record for the youngest winner.

No surprise this year, there are three awards.

"Ah San, is it too far?"

Zhou Yi said doubtfully.

Now Zhou Yi is in the Chou Kingdom. Going back once is equivalent to returning to the country once.

Tan Mingming said:

"Aren't you encountering a bottleneck? You might as well go out and look for inspiration. Do you know Wu Baozhu from South Vietnam? He seems to be going too, and he still has 15,000 magnesium gold."

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Ng Bo Chu, of course I know, South Vietnam's first Fields Medal winner is famous for proving the basic lemma of the Langlands Program."

"Well, my notice is in place. If you go, I will go with you. If you don't go, I will tell Professor Fellman. Anyway, we don't need to spend money to go out."

Tan Mingming said.

Zhou Yi thought about it and regarded it as a trip. Moreover, the gold content of this award is very high, and there is also 15,000 magnesium gold.

Over the years, only six people with Daxia nationality have won this award.

Xu Chengyang, Liu Yifeng, Zhang Wei, Yun Zhiwei and others from the golden generation of Beijing University have won it, Professor Tian Shi from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has won it, and a certain professor from Beijing University has also won it.

Zhou Yi cannot fall behind! The seventh person was won by Zhou Yi!

"Brother, let's go together. Anyway, it's a public trip. It's okay to go see something. It should only last four or five days."

Zhou Yi said.

"Okay, pack up. Every move we make when we go out will represent the school and the mathematics community of our motherland."

The "Ramanujan Award" was established in 2005 to commemorate Asan's genius mathematician Ramanujan. It is said that this genius mathematician was a time traveler.

Because Ramanujan did not receive any formal education at the beginning, but he was extremely talented in mathematics and used to derive formulas intuitively without any proof, and his theories were often proved to be correct afterwards.

To some people, Ramanujan is a god-like being.

In a sense, before being discovered by Hardy, Ramanujan was a civilian scholar.

How he came up with those mathematical formulas has always been a mystery. There is also a legend that Ramanujan was a devout Asan believer and he believed that these functions were revelations given to him by the goddess Namakkal.

According to historical research, before his death, Ramanujan wrote a letter to his mentor, the British mathematician G. H. Hardy.

He claims to have imagined these functions in his dreams and has a strong intuition about their properties.

But no one could understand the function he proposed at the time. It was not until decades later that U.S. researchers proved that the mathematical function proposed by Ramanujan was correct and could be used to explain the behavior of black holes.

Only then did Ah San’s genius appear in the public eye.

The mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan only lived 32 years old due to poverty and illness, so Ramanujan was only awarded to young people under the age of 32.

Early the next morning, Zhou Yi and Tan Mingming boarded a plane to Asan Western Cape Province.

"Junior brother, do you think our country will give birth to a great mathematician like this?"

Tan Mingming expressed emotion, and then looked at Zhou Yi with hope.

In the direction of mathematics, Daxia still has a long way to go in the international arena, except for its golden generation and a very small number of mathematics professors.

Zhouyi said:

"There should be. Maybe our country will have a local Fields Medal winner next time. I think Sun Song and Chen Gao from the University of Science and Technology of China have a promising future."

Tan Mingming sighed:

"You are our best hope. We have basically booked it. We can finally have a local Fields Medal. Small countries like South Vietnam have it. I am really jealous.

A country like Japan has produced several Fields Medal winners, and we Chinese are all holding our breath in our hearts. "

Zhou Yi said silently, even if Tan Mingming was unhappy, it was still a fact. It was too late to start.

In addition, mite green has delayed the development of mathematics for hundreds of years, and it is no longer a problem of these three or four generations.

Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, although Daxia's mathematics level was at a stagnant state, it had its outstanding achievements.

"Even the Chen Award, which is named after a Chinese, Mr. Chen is also a Chinese national. Teacher Qiu wanted to join, but..."

Tan Mingming looked at Zhou Yi, sighed repeatedly, and complained crazily,

"Before Wu Baozhu won the Philippine Prize, among native Asian mathematicians, only Japan was the only one to win the Philippine Prize."

Zhou Yi was too lazy to listen to the complaints of Tan Mingming, an older and angry young man. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought about his complex analysis method.

I hope I can gain something from my exchange with Wu Baozhu.

The plane flew for a long time before finally arriving at Asan.

As soon as they arrived here, Tan Mingming and others went straight to the hotel where the organizer was hosting them.

The environment here, if it wasn't for the prize, Zhou Yi and Tan Mingming might not want to come here in their lifetime.

Fortunately, the standard of the hotel is relatively high, and the gap between rich and poor is indeed visible to the naked eye.

This situation can also be seen with the naked eye in Chou Country. To ordinary people, the moon abroad is not round at all.

It may not even be possible for you to win a major prize in mathematics.

"Junior brother, the time is tomorrow morning. We are here at just the right time. Do you need to meet other mathematicians?"

Tan Mingming asked.

"Meet Wu Baozhu? Will he meet us? Will the old guy who has been famous for a long time pay attention to newcomers like us?"

Zhou Yi asked with a trace of doubt.

"I think so. Let me ask you."

Tan Mingming contacted immediately.

Not long after, Tan Mingming said,

"Oh my god, he's in the room next to ours, 406."

Zhouyi is in 404 and Tan Mingming is in 405.

Not long after, the three of them met, and Zhou Yi and the others started chatting.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou Yi. I have heard your name, Mr. Zhou Yi, for a long time. It's better to meet after hearing for a long time."

Wu Baozhu said very politely,

Regarding the culture of Daxia, he has read many translated books.

The Kingdom of Great Xia had a profound cultural influence on many countries in Asia.

Zhou Yi also said very politely:

"Hello, Professor Wu, I have heard Professor Wu's story a long time ago,"

After a while, the three people began to communicate.

When talking about the Langlands Programme, Wu Baozhu's eyes were obviously shining and he was very enthusiastic.

This young genius is stronger than the Daxia native Yun Zhiwei with whom he collaborated, and his thoughts collided at this moment.

"Perhaps some of the ideas in the algebraic geometry of your teacher Deligne are a desirable direction. I originally proved that the basic lemma in the automorphic form of the Langlands program was also an introduction to algebraic geometry. Speaking of which, I also He can be regarded as his late descendant."

Wu Baozhu said very enthusiastically.

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Thank you Professor Wu."

"Haha, I also got some ideas from your thoughts. We all want to help each other, so there is nothing we can't thank you for."

Wu Baozhu smiled.

After talking for a while, Zhou Yi returned to the room, and Tan Mingming also returned to the room. He understood most of the content, but Tan Mingming did not know the dilemma Zhou Yi was facing now.

So Tan Mingming asked:

"Junior brother, what can I say? Did you gain anything?"

Zhou Yi nodded seriously and said:

"I have learned something, but it is not about the 3n+1 conjecture. It has inspired me to prove some of the twin prime conjectures."

Tan Mingming:? ? ? .

"Then you want to change direction again?"

Previously, Zhou Yi released news to prove the ABC conjecture, and the result finally proved Bill Zhou Yi's theorem. Is it possible to change the idea now?

Does inspiration come so quickly?

Zhou Yi shook his head and said:

"It's just a thread of thought. It's not sure whether it will work or not. Let's rest. We will leave after the awards are handed out tomorrow. There is no need to stay. I want to go back and talk to those Princeton professors."

"Okay! I really don't like this place. I don't know who will give us the awards tomorrow. Their highest officer?"

Tan Mingming had a doubtful tone.

Zhouyi complained:

"Whatever, the value of the prize is very high in developing countries. As for the rest, forget it. We'll leave after we get it."

Who really likes this messy country?

The next day, Zhou Yi, Tan Mingming and Wu Baozhu went to the auditorium where the awards were presented.

The meeting was very grand. Many senior officials from Asan attended. It was very grand!

A diplomat who looked like Asan was solemnly reciting the glorious history of Ramanujan.

"The great god of mathematics, Ramanujan, is the greatest mathematician in the hearts of the people of our country.

He relied on mystical intuition and left behind more than 3,000 formulas.

Ramanujan's manuscript in his last year was discovered by mathematicians only 56 years later. The famous modular function was exactly what physicists prayed for at that time.

In the previously discovered superstring theory, many physicists are surprised that superstrings exist in 10-dimensional space-time. However, none of these physicists can explain why, and no one can calculate the ten-dimensional space-time functions that are the most demanding in the world. .

But Ramanujan summation can be done, and black hole mathematics is completely established by Ramanujan mathematics. "

Just listening to the history of this big man is indeed an outstanding and great mathematician, but the way he blew it made even Zhou Yi feel embarrassed.

When can I be praised like this?

But after thinking about it, I realized that this was Ah San’s characteristic, and I felt relieved.

As for whether what the official said was right or wrong, Zhou Yi didn't know. He still knew too little about physics.

Tan Mingming on the side said:

"Ramanujan really discovered these mathematical formulas intuitively. If he was not a time traveler, I think he was a great genius."

Zhou Yi: "Intuition alone is indeed very powerful. It would be great to have his manuscript."

Zhou Yi feels that there are too many geniuses in this world, which are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. For example, if Ramanujan is mentioned, ordinary people will only think that he is bragging.

Another example is Professor Edward Witten from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He had an undergraduate degree in history. After studying for a few years, he went to study physics. At that time, no one accepted him as an apprentice. If he were not a second-generation student, I am afraid no one would be willing to accept him as an apprentice. only.

And then you thought it was over?

He directly won the Fields Medal as a physicist.

This puts countless mathematicians to shame.

Is this the end?

Witten used the Calabi-Yau manifold proved by Qiu Chengtong as the basic concept in string theory and established M theory.

Once it is proven that there is a string that plucks the universe, Edward Witten will be the Pope of string theory.

It can be said that Edward Witten is the strongest liberal arts student in history.

Not long after, it was finally time to award the awards.

"The following mathematician who won the 2022 Ramanujan Prize is the young genius Zhou Yi from Daxia!"

Zhou Yi slowly walked onto the stage and said to this unknown senior official:

"Thank you for your recognition, thank you IMU for its recognition."

Not long after, Asan's senior officials personally presented the award to Zhou Yi, and in the presence of countless media, they took photos like crazy.

There are reporters from science newspapers established by the Daxia Mathematical Association, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units.

The age of 19 has once again set a new minimum age for this award.

Countless mathematicians looked at Zhouyi as if they had seen Ramanujan.

But this young man's achievements are temporarily not as good as Ramanujan's.

PS: Please give me monthly votes. Authors who don’t ask for monthly votes are not good authors. I have been busy attending the weddings of my classmates and relatives these days, so I squeezed in time to type. I will update it after a while.

Some people say they cannot understand the modern version of Goldbach's conjecture.

The textual description is as follows:

I. Every even number not less than 6 is the sum of two odd prime numbers;

II. Every odd number not less than 9 is the sum of three odd prime numbers.

If you put it this way, you'll understand. I just changed it to mathematical language description to appear more professional, so as not to be criticized by others for being low and unprofessional.

I wish you all a happy National Day, no red bombs, woo woo woo, various weddings that make the author who is not already wealthy even worse. Hey, he's just a follower.