Chapter 1038 International Congress of Mathematicians

It was not until this moment that Chang Haonan realized that he had accidentally revealed a classic.

Fortunately, it was only 2002, and a certain four-character company had just emerged from the quagmire of the Internet bubble and barely stood firm, and this sentence had not yet become an Internet meme along with the emoticons of a certain CCTV host.

With his current status, it would not give people a sense of disobedience.

However, perhaps because his tone and demeanor were too natural when answering, and there was no deliberateness at all, Academician Wu on the opposite side took it seriously, and for a moment he couldn't think of what to say next--

He originally thought that Chang Haonan had obtained such status and honor at such a young age, and was worried that the latter would not be able to grasp it.

And just now, he came here specially with the idea of ​​giving a little reminder before the award ceremony.

As a result, he found that it seemed to be completely different from his expectations...

So that his worries immediately jumped 180 degrees and came to another level:

"Uh... Professor Chang, the times have changed... There is no need to overemphasize indifference to fame and fortune... Personal values ​​and social values ​​are not mutually exclusive..."

Chang Haonan just mentioned it casually when he thought of the world famous paintings before his rebirth. Now he was quite frightened by being praised by Academician Wu as "indifferent to fame and fortune".

However, before he could reply, several other people came over from not far away and cut off the topic in time.

"Wen Jun."

Although Chang Haonan's vision was blocked, he heard that the other party could call Academician Wu in this way, which obviously meant that he must be a big shot in the mathematics world.

And he must be at the level of an old predecessor.

At the same time, Wu Wenjun also turned sideways and looked at the people walking behind him.

He also gave up the seat in front of Chang Haonan.

As the latter had just speculated, the man was thin and slightly hunched, even much older than Wu Wenjun.

He looked at least ninety years old.

"When you go on stage later..."

The leader seemed to want to tell him something, but he noticed Chang Haonan standing next to him when he was halfway through.

So his voice stopped abruptly.

But his slightly turbid eyes revealed more curiosity, indicating that he did not recognize the person in front of him.

Of course, this is also normal.

The reason why Chang Haonan collaborated with Perelman to publish that paper was mainly because he accidentally discovered a new key to solving the Poincare conjecture in the process of studying manifold learning algorithms.

It was not intentional.

Therefore, after that wave of earth-shattering events, he quickly returned to the research direction of applied research.

Apart from a few limited-scale reports, he had not appeared in the mathematics community for a long time and with high intensity.

And for the same reason, Chang Haonan was also a little confused at this time.

He did recognize many photos of famous mathematicians before he came.

But as we all know, the appearance of an octogenarian is not very recognizable in many cases.

And the degree of aging may reach a new level every year.

If you are not very familiar with him, it is normal not to recognize him...

Fortunately, Wu Wenjun stepped forward at this time, bent down and shook the other party's hand, and then gestured in the direction of Chang Haonan:

"Teacher, this is Professor Chang Haonan."

This sentence is apparently introducing Chang Haonan.

But in fact, it is also hinting at the identity of the old man.

So, Chang Haonan hurriedly saluted the other party slightly:

"Old senior Chen, it is an honor to meet you here."

But considering that the other party's arms were supported, he did not step forward to shake hands.

Chen Shengshen, the mentor of Wu Wenjun and Qiu Chengtong, has a pioneering historical position in the field of differential geometry.

He is also one of the absolute bigwigs in the Chinese mathematics community.

In fact, the reason why Huaxia is determined to actively strive for the right to host the International Congress of Mathematicians is largely due to the suggestions of Chen and Qiu.

The event was successfully held in 2002, thanks to the strong support of this senior.

However, Chen Shengshen was already 91 years old and in poor health.

Therefore, Chang Haonan thought that he would not come in person.

Chen Shengshen did not answer immediately, but stared at Chang Haonan's face for a long time.

Then he slowly said:

"This conference can be held in Beijing, thanks to your achievement at that time, Professor Chang..."

Chang Haonan hurriedly shook his head:

"This is really too much praise..."

"You and Mr. Qiu have been working hard for this matter for many years, and the entire Chinese mathematics community has seen it. Just because I am lucky and have produced some results before the final results are announced, it can't all be attributed to me."

While speaking, Chen Shengshen, with the help of everyone, sat down in a seat next to him:

"Qiu and I did contribute a little...but the value of this conference to Chinese mathematics research is mostly presented by you."

"To put it more directly, after Mr. Chen and Mr. Su, it was you who first brought the Chinese mathematics community back to...even to the top position."

This sentence made everyone around stunned for a moment.

Then he focused his attention on Chang Haonan.

Chen Su in Chen Shengshen's mouth naturally did not include himself, but referred to Chen Jiangong and Su Buqing, two mathematicians active in the 1930s and 1940s.

After that, although there were many Chinese names shining in the world of mathematics, including himself, they were all Chinese after all, and their achievements did not belong to China.

"Actually, after you just proved the Poincaré conjecture, Cheng Tong mentioned to me that he wanted to invite you to teach at Princeton University."

After a slight pause, Chen Shengshen continued:

"But I had already returned to China and knew a little bit about your situation, so I stopped him..."

"I really have no plans to teach abroad..."

Chang Haonan made no secret of this.

In fact, although he has many projects on hand in recent years, he is not really busy.

The reason why he disappeared at the speed of light after proving the Poincaré conjecture was largely because he wanted to reduce his presence in the mathematical world——

Theoretical research is different from engineering research. Sometimes you need to be alone.

…

The discussion within the small circle did not last long.

As the time drew closer to the opening, Wu Wenjun, as the chairman of the conference, needed to prepare for his speech on stage and left the audience first.

Soon after, a group of foreign mathematics experts who came from their residences also entered the venue one after another.

Although not many people can immediately recognize Chang Haonan, Chen Shengshen and Qiu Chengtong are quite well-known after all.

And as long as you get close, it's not difficult to deduce the identity of the former.

So in the next short period of time, Chang Haonan got to know many people casually...

To be precise, many great gods——

Gerd Faltings, Pierre Deligne, Charles Feifman...

They are all pioneering senior figures in their respective fields.

Maxim Kontsevich, Andrew Wiles, Richard Hamilton, Edward Witten...

These were first discovered on arXiv, or were later called over to review the paper.

And Laurent Laforge, Vladimir Vvotsky, Wendelin Werner and, of course, Perelman...

Together with Chang Haonan, he is a popular candidate for this year’s Philippine Awards——

Although the specific candidates for the Philippine Prize and the nominees are strictly confidential before the awards are presented, it is not difficult for the already small top mathematics circle to guess a general range.

It’s just a matter of who the final winner is and how many.

Basically, everyone agrees that Chang Haonan and Perelman will definitely win the award.

But not in this session, there is actually some controversy.

After all, when the Philippine Award is awarded, in addition to achievements, the age of the recipient will also be considered from a human level.

In principle, the winner cannot be older than 40 years old.

Therefore, the selection committee sometimes prefers to award mathematicians aged 36-39.

Therefore, many people still have expectations for themselves, thinking that this year will follow the usual practice and give priority to those nominees who "if they miss it, it will be too late."

Of course, Perelman also happens to be 36 years old this year.

But since it is said to be in principle, it means that the principle can be broken.

Such as Wiles.

Not only did he win the award at the age of 45, he even squeezed out an extra spot that year.

The Poincaré Conjecture was clearly worthy of the committee breaking its principles again.

Then it would be normal for Perelman to win the next award in 2006.

As for Chang Haonan...

In terms of years of age, he is only 26 years old.

Fortunately, regardless of how they are in private, top mathematicians are at least respectable in appearance.

Even if it is a Philippine Award, there will not be a public fight for it.

So the atmosphere is quite harmonious.

And among this revolving crowd of people, there is one person who is more special.

Steven Strogatz.

Compared with the previous big guys, he is indeed a little bit behind in popularity.

In fact, Chang Haonan didn't even have any impression of this name at all.

But the other party's explanation quickly eliminated his confusion:

"I am a professor from Cornell University. I am very grateful to you and Professor Perelman for their contributions to the arXiv open source community..."

"To this end, our school is going to award a special achievement award to you two. I wonder if you are interested in receiving it?"