The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Things have developed to this point, and it is necessary to suspend the agenda both for fun and for academic impact.

So Wiles went straight to a staff member nearby and said something to him.

Then, the latter quickly came on stage and stopped Arthur Jeff's question-and-answer session.

Just when most of the audience were feeling somewhat puzzled, the lights in the main venue, which had been turned off to allow the audience to see the projector clearly, suddenly lit up again.

There was some commotion at the scene.

"Professor Jeff."

Wiles walked straight to the front of the stage and took a microphone from the staff next to him:

"I would like to ask, from what specific time does your reward for these seven questions become effective?"

Jeff didn't know what exactly had happened at this time, but on the one hand he had to obey the arrangements of the venue staff, and on the other hand, as Andrew Wiles was a big shot in the Fields Awards, the questions he asked could not be ignored.

"Legally speaking, the agreement signed by Mr. Langton Clay, the sponsor of our institute, officially came into effect at the opening of this Millennium Mathematics Conference."

"very good."

Wiles smiled brightly:

"Well, I have something I need to announce to you all."

He turned and faced the audience:

"Just now, about an hour and a half ago, someone announced that he had successfully proved the Poincare conjecture."

In a word.

The originally noisy scene suddenly became quiet.

Almost everyone looked at him in shock, dazed, confused, or suspicious...

Towards Wiles, who was on the stage holding the microphone.

Perhaps to dispel everyone's doubts, he then added:

"Right now, my colleagues are gathering the team to prepare for the verification of the proof process..."

"coax--"

It was as if a switch was turned on.

The scene instantly became boiling like a frying pan——

Although it is not as rampant as the field of the Poincare conjecture where amateur scientists are rampant, it is still not a big deal if someone claims to have proved the Poincare conjecture.

But being able to enter the formal verification stage is another matter.

What's more, the person on the stage is Wiles.

A famous and difficult problem in the mathematics world was solved by this great man.

Even if we cannot conclude that the proof is definitely correct, it at least shows that it is serious enough to be taken seriously by the serious mathematical community.

That is to say...

Seven difficult math problems.

An hour after the release.

It could be... cracked?

Arthur Jeff, who was standing behind Wiles, swayed slightly.

He felt that the whole world had become dark.

This is a live broadcast.

For the whole world!

I just vowed that if I were optimistic, the first problem would be solved in 10-15 years...

Actually, this is no big deal.

10-15 years is a standard estimate.

Even if you asked Wiles to answer the question himself, he would definitely give a similar answer.

If only I could slow down a little for a year.

Even half a year.

No one would really make a fuss out of what he said.

But today it was such a coincidence.

He didn't even leave the stage...

As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped in the face.

For a moment, he even hoped that the proof Wiles mentioned was wrong...

In addition to Jeff, another person who was a little bit overwhelmed was the convener of this meeting, Jean-Christophe Yorkes, who is also a big shot in the Fields Awards.

Because the meeting was in the afternoon, it was suspended immediately.

Of the four planned presenters, three chose to participate in the review on the spot.

What's the point of opening this?

Let’s talk about it after the trial.

As for whether it can be recovered...

That depends on the review efficiency.

If the review is delayed until next year, it would be a bit strange to hold the Millennium Mathematics Conference in 2001.

"Or maybe we can change the name to the New Century Mathematics Conference and continue?"

Yorks looked at Wiles not far away and felt helpless.

However, I'm not angry enough.

After all, if the proof process is finally confirmed to be correct, then both the organizers and participants of the New Millennium Academic Conference will benefit.

It can even be said that it is earned with blood.

After all, the millennium will definitely come again in another thousand years.

But it is not necessarily the case that “someone will prove it right after the reward is announced”.

……

On the other hand, as Wiles had guessed before, the number of Fields Medal winners on the review team was finally fixed at five.

"A mathematician with a background in theoretical physics is needed."

This request was tailor-made for Edward Witten.

What's more, his research areas include Morse theory and topological quantum field theory, and he is also an expert in differential topology.

For Witten, who was in his prime, there was obviously no reason to miss such an opportunity to witness history in person.

So, as soon as he received the news, he crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Paris in the evening of the same day.

At this time, several other reviewers had already entered seclusion.

Therefore, as soon as Witten left the terminal, he was surrounded by nosy media before he even had time to get on the bus.

Basically, they ask him when the results will be available.

Witten didn't want to answer at first, but seeing the situation, he might be hard to get out of the situation if he didn't say something, so he had to say some polite words like "the review of this kind of mathematical paper usually takes months or even years, and I hope everyone will be patient."

however……

Three days later.

Inside an office at the French Academy of Sciences.

"Did we... miss something?"

Edward Witten asked hesitantly, looking at the paper in his hand, which was almost as thick as a book.

The paper has now been turned to the last page.

Or strictly speaking, it has been turned to the last page more than once.

But no one could find the problem.

The entire proof process is like a puzzle designed in advance.

At the beginning, there seems to be no connection between each chapter.

But at the end of the article, the answer to the Poincare conjecture was clearly spelled out.

Logically speaking, the results can be announced at this point.

It's impossible for a room full of mathematicians to be wrong.

But this time, no one dared to take the lead in expressing their opinion.

Everything went so well.

Chang Haonan and Perelman developed a new set of tools based on topology.

Its name is only mentioned once, in an obscure location.

"Structural Topology".

This shouldn't be something that can be understood in three days.

But everyone present felt that they understood.

Even Hamilton, who had been mentally prepared for this, felt a little unsure at this moment.

"Speaking of which, whether or not a paper is ultimately published should be decided by the editor-in-chief of the journal, right?"

In the end, it was John Morgan who proposed first.

In fact, this suggestion is just to break the deadlock -

Is there any editor who would object to the review opinions given by this group of people?

However, that's how human psychology works.

Although there is no essential difference, everyone is more or less relieved after the excuse of "editor-in-chief's decision" was given.

Just writing a review.

It's not my final decision.

"Then I think... there is nothing wrong with this paper. I suggest... just publish it!"

The oldest, Sergei Novikov, spoke first.

He even put special emphasis on the word "suggestion".

After the first person stepped forward, others also gave their own "suggestions".

Of course, it's all the same as Novikov.

Except Hamilton.

“But, so far.”

His voice was a little dry due to staying up late for several days in a row:

"I still haven't found any journal editorial team that has received a paper submission with similar content."

"..."

"So, we can only assume that these two authors do not intend to formally submit the paper, but are really preparing to publish all their results on arXiv?"

"This should be."

This time, even Edward Witten knocked his head in distress.

These two authors were simply the only outliers he had ever seen in his life.

"Well, I have another question."

John Morgan's perspective on issues is always different from others:

"From now on, any research on topology will probably be hard to avoid this paper."

"But it has not been published in any journal in accordance with strict academic requirements, and it is obviously not a paper, report or news."

"So…how do we quote it?"

The room fell silent again.

Everyone showed a helpless expression.

These two authors have caused more trouble outside of their papers than is necessary to understand their papers...

"perhaps……"

Friedman, who had proved the Poincare conjecture in four-dimensional space, suddenly said:

“Can we modify the citation rules to include open source websites like arXiv?”