Chapter 838 I Changed the Academic Rules

When things have developed to this extent, it is necessary to pause the agenda, both from a purely entertaining level and from an academic impact level.

So, Wiles directly found a staff member next to him and said something to him.

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

When most of the audience felt a little baffled, the lights in the main venue, which had been turned off to allow the audience to see the projector clearly, turned on again.

There was some commotion at the scene.

"Professor Jeff."

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

"I would like to ask, when does your reward for these seven questions start to be considered effective?"

Jeff didn't know what happened specifically at this time, but on the one hand he had to follow the arrangements of the venue staff, and on the other hand Andrew Wiles, as the big boss of the Philippine Awards, couldn't ignore the questions he asked.

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

"very good."

Wiles showed a bright smile:

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

As he spoke, he turned and faced the audience:

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

One sentence.

The originally tumultuous scene instantly became silent.

Almost everyone's eyes were either shocked, dull, confused, or doubtful...

to Wiles, who was holding a microphone on stage.

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

"Now, my colleagues are gathering the team to prepare to verify the proof process..."

"coax--"

It was as if some switch had been turned on.

The scene instantly boiled like a frying pan——

Although it is not as popular as the field of Gechai, some people claim to have proved the Poincaré conjecture, which is still not a big deal.

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

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

A famous problem in mathematics was solved by this big man.

Even if it cannot be concluded that the proof must be correct, it at least shows that it is enough to be taken seriously by the serious mathematics community.

That is to say...

Seven math puzzles.

An hour after posting.

Could it be... cracked?

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

He felt that the whole world had become gray.

This is a live broadcast.

For the whole world!

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

In fact, this was not a big deal.

10-15 years is considered a satisfactory term.

Even if you asked Wiles to answer that question on stage, he would definitely give a similar answer.

As long as it can be slightly delayed for a year.

Even half a year.

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

But what a coincidence today.

He didn't even get off the stage...

As soon as the front foot finished speaking, the back foot was slapped in the face.

For a moment, he even hoped that what Wiles said would prove wrong...

In addition to Jeff, another person who was a little broken was the convener of this meeting, Jean-Christophe Yorkz, who is also a big boss of the Philippine Awards.

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

Three of the four planned speakers chose to participate in the review on the spot.

What else is there to do?

Let’s wait until the trial is over.

As for whether it can be restored...

That depends on the review efficiency.

If the review is not until next year, it would be a bit strange to hold the Millennium Mathematics Conference in 2001.

"Or can it be renamed the New Century Mathematics Conference and continue?"

Yorkz looked at Wiles not far away, feeling a little helpless.

However, it's not enough to be angry.

After all, if the final confirmation process is correct, neither the organizers nor the participants of the New Millennium Academic Conference will be at a loss.

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

After all, there will definitely be a millennium in another thousand years.

But it’s not necessarily the case that “when someone announces a bounty first, someone will prove it later.”

…

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 fields include Morse theory and topological quantum field theory, and he is also an expert in the field of differential topology.

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

So, as soon as he got the news, he crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Paris that evening.

At this time, several other reviewers had already entered a state of retreat.

Therefore, as soon as Witten left the terminal and had no time to get on the bus, he was surrounded by the media.

Basically, I asked him when the results would be available.

Witten didn't want to answer at first, but seeing this attitude, it would be difficult to get away without saying something, so he had to say something like, "The review of this type of mathematics paper usually takes months or even years, so I hope everyone can be patient and calm." .

However……

Three days later.

An office at the French Academy of Sciences.

"Did we...miss something?"

Edward Witten looked at the paper in his hand, which was nearly as thick as a book, and asked hesitantly.

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 figure out the problem.

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

Each of the chapters at the beginning seems to have little connection.

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

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

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

But this time, no one dared to take the lead in taking a stand.

Everything went so well.

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

Its name is only mentioned once in one of its inconspicuous places.

"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 for a long time, was a little unsure at this time.

"Speaking of which, whether the paper is finally published should be decided by the editor-in-chief of the journal, right?"

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

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

Could any editor have objections to the review opinions given by their group?

However, that’s how human psychology is.

Although there is essentially no difference, everyone was more or less relieved after using the excuse of "the editor decided".

Just write a review opinion.

It's not like I made the final decision.

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

Sergey Novikov, the oldest, spoke first.

He also emphasized the emphasis on the word "suggestion".

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

Of course, they are all the same as Novikov.

Except Hamilton.

"But, so far."

Due to staying up late for several days, his voice was a little dry:

"Still not found that the editorial team of any journal has received a paper submission with similar content."

"..."

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

"This should be."

At this time, even Edward Witten knocked his head in distress.

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

"Well, I have one more question."

John Morgan’s perspective on thinking about problems is always different from others:

"From now on, any research on topology will probably have 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 treatise, report or news."

"So...how do we quote it?"

The room fell silent again.

Everyone showed dumbfounded expressions.

These two authors caused more trouble outside their papers than they had to overcome to understand their papers...

"perhaps……"

Friedman, who once proved the Poincaré conjecture of four-dimensional space, suddenly said:

"Can we change the citation rules to include open source websites like arXiv?"