Hilbert once said that if he was lucky enough to wake up in 500 years, the first thing he would ask after waking up would be if Riemann's conjecture was solved.
Regardless of whether or not Lu Zhou was in the mood for an interview, the entire mathematics community was in an uproar because of the report that just ended.
Riemann's conjecture was solved!
Jesus, two of the 7000 Millennium Prize Problems were solved by him!
Especially one that was so important …
If the Polignac's conjecture, Goldbach's conjecture, and the quasi Riemann's conjecture pushed Professor Lu to the throne of mathematics, then the Navier – Stokes equations Millennium Prize Problems gave him a halo that radiated to the physics community.
The proof of Riemann's conjecture was equivalent to pushing him from the ground to the sky, giving him the status of a god!
This analogy might not be appropriate, but it was not an exaggeration at all.
Although the mathematics community had not yet given a positive answer to the proof that Lu Zhou presented at the 60-minute report, judging from the not-so-sharp questions from the big names and Lu Zhou's smooth answers, this was almost expected.
Even if there were some flaws in the final thesis, it could be modified before it was officially published. When Wiles opened the bottle of champagne at the report, he spent more than a year modifying his own thesis. Finally, Fermat's conjecture became Fermat's last theorem.
Even though the mathematics community was often very realistic when a proof was considered a failure, in the face of a major proposition like this, the mathematics community often showed unusual patience.
After all, they had waited for a century and a half.
It didn't matter if they waited for a few more days, months, or even a year …
Of course, if it was just Riemann's conjecture, it would not have made people so excited.
After all, the thesis was released yesterday, and the excitement was over. Even if they wanted to be excited, they should wait until the mathematics community, especially the Clay Institute, gave a "review opinion" on the completeness of the proof.
What really set off a level 12 hurricane in the mathematics world was Lu Zhou's last sentence at the end of the report.
If everything went according to plan, his next topic would be to try to unify algebra and geometry!
It would be an exaggeration to say that the entire mathematics community was in an uproar because of this. However, within minutes of this announcement, at least half of the mathematics community was in an uproar!
Princeton University's Facebook group.
The heated discussion almost occupied the entire interface, and the popularity of the topic even overshadowed the upcoming Ivy League Canoe Race and Football Game in the fall.
[Unified algebra and geometry? Wait, can you give me some time to figure out what they're talking about? We're only halfway through algebraic geometry, and you're telling me that algebra and geometry are going to be unified?]
[I feel like we are witnessing history ever since we published our first paper in Mathematics Chronicle …]
[The key is, how is this possible? The Firestone Library's works on algebra, geometry, and other sub-disciplines can fill more than 20 bookshelves. This doesn't even include the latest results that haven't been included in the books yet. Now you're telling me that these 20 bookshelves can be explained by a single book? This is crazy!]
[I think … You might have misunderstood what he meant. Unifying algebra and geometry doesn't mean that the two disciplines and their branches are combined into one. If he really did it, the greatest possibility was definitely not to make all the books on the bookshelves become one, but to open up a new bookshelf next to them, and then put a brand-new book on it.
[Please don't say anymore, I will finish my graduation thesis this year …]
For the mathematics community, unifying algebra and geometry was undoubtedly more shocking than the Riemann's conjecture itself. However, for those who paid attention to the progress of this matter, the Riemann's conjecture itself was more of a hot topic.
Not only did the video of the report circulate in major universities, but when the high-definition video of the report was uploaded to YouTube, it received millions of views and tens of thousands of comments.
However, judging from the most likes in the comments section, it seemed like the general public was more interested in the million-dollar prize money than the mathematical value of the Riemann's conjecture.
Especially since Lu Zhou had already received a million-dollar prize money from the Clay Institute for solving the Navier – Stokes equation. Many people were envious of this million-dollar prize money.
I didn't expect mathematics to be this profitable!
However, this money wasn't something that everyone could earn …
In addition to the discussions on the Internet, many media outlets around the world, including CTV, BBC, and Columbia Television, also reported on this news.
In particular, CTV had even produced a special documentary in the form of an interview on Central TV Department 1. An expert from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences told Academician Huanan about the century-long march to the pinnacle of the human mind that had lasted for a century and a half!
The popularity of the Riemann's conjecture continued to grow after the report ended.
In addition to the discussions of unrelated people and reports from major media outlets, there were also some top experts in the field who made objective comments.
On the night after the report, it was 8: 00 pm Moscow time.
Professor Akshay, who had won the 2018 Fields Prize, updated his personal blog with an academic comment on this report. It was an objective summary of the entire report …
[So far, big names in mathematics, including Professor Deligné and Professor Faltings, are optimistic about Professor Lu Zhou's proof. I have exchanged opinions with many famous professors such as Schulz and Tao Zhexuan, and we all agree that there are no major problems with Professor Lu's proof.
[However, this is only the opinion of some people. There are still many scholars who are researching this problem that have yet to express their opinions. On one hand, this is out of caution. The more important a conjecture is, the more cautious we must be. If we make a mistake, the foundation of number theory will be shaken. On the other hand, there are still many people who do not fully understand his thesis. We must give them some time to decide whether to accept the result or not.
[I can't say that Professor Lu is 100% right, but there is at least a 70% to 80% chance that he is right.
[But to be honest, compared to the Riemann's conjecture itself, I am more concerned about the equation he used to solve the complex plane problem. Maybe it's an illusion, but I think that step is very interesting. It has a lot to do with a research I did a few years ago … I recommend my colleagues who study non-singular complex projective algebraic clusters to do in-depth research. Maybe Riemann's conjecture will become the key to solving the Hodge's conjecture or similar problems …]
Compared to the rumors, Professor Akshay's comments were undoubtedly much more objective. It was reposted by many people on the Internet.
To a certain extent, this extremely popular blog post also played a certain role in suppressing the bizarre rumors.
Regardless of what the academic community thought of this proof, Lu Zhou's mathematical skills in the proof alone, as well as the wonderful report itself, were enough to go down in history …
…
The next day.
Just like yesterday, the lecture hall was also filled with people.
The closing ceremony of the ICM conference was about to begin.
Even though a lot of people left after the last report yesterday, there were still a lot of people who stayed.
Tao Zhexuan sat in the middle of the venue and looked around. He didn't see the person he wanted to see, so he lowered his voice and spoke to Professor Fefferman, who was sitting next to him.
"Where's Lu Zhou?"
Fefferman shook his head and said, "I didn't see him, but I heard from Deligné that he went to the airport early in the morning."
Professor Tao paused for a second and said, "Why is he in such a hurry? He's not even going to the closing ceremony? "
He originally wanted to ask him a few questions about his thesis.
Fefferman had a subtle expression on his face as he vaguely answered the question.
"After all … A very important student of his is lying in a hospital bed. Apparently, he helped her arrange a hospital transfer from St. Petersburg to Beijing."
The expression on Professor Tao's face became a little strange when he heard the words "very important student".
The closing ceremony continued for a while.
He had been silent for a long time. He suddenly spoke.
"… Actually, sometimes I ask myself if I should have written that recommendation letter back then."
Upon hearing this, Fefferman sighed softly.
Tao Zhexuan knew Lu Zhou would say this, so he spoke.
"Don't ever try to guess the logic behind fate. If you think that without that recommendation letter, she wouldn't have become Lu Zhou's student, then she wouldn't be where she is today, then you're even more stupid than Professor Kesret, who regretted giving her the Fields Medal —"
Tao Zhexuan sighed and spoke.
"You misunderstood."
Fefferman: "… Oh yeah?"
Tao Zhexuan: "I just think that without that recommendation letter, she wouldn't have had so many interactions with him in her life, and he wouldn't have been involved in this matter. At this moment of celebration, he should have been drinking with us at the dinner party last night, but didn't you notice? He didn't even show up at the restaurant, Professor Holden was the one who raised a glass for us.
"I'm not complaining about interrupting our dinner party, this kind of thing doesn't matter. Really, I'm just a bit sad about the cause and effect of fate. This kind of sad thing could have happened a day later, but it just had to happen here. Let him lose an important person at the peak of his life … even at the pinnacle of history … "
He suddenly fell silent. After about a minute, he softly said with a somewhat complicated and regretful tone.
"… I'm afraid this won't feel good."
Hearing the regret in his voice, Fefferman looked at him in surprise. He looked around and lowered his voice.
"You … have already seen through it?"
Tao Zhexuan silently nodded.
"… I can see it a little."
On the stage.
The closing ceremony had reached its final stage.
Professor Sen Chongwen, who was standing in front of the stage, gave up the microphone, and Professor Holden walked on stage with a smile on his face.
According to tradition, before the closing ballet, Russian opera, and classical music performances, the Secretary-General of the International Mathematical Union would announce the location of the next conference.
This was the finale of the Fields Award Ceremony.
Although the venue was voted on the second day of the conference, the organizing committee deliberately waited until the end of the conference to announce it.
Other than a few people who were indifferent to this, most of the people in the venue held their breath. They nervously looked at the figure on stage and prayed, waiting for Professor Holden to speak.
Especially Academician Wang Shicheng.
She was as restless as if she were about to have a baby.
Qin Yue was the same.
Even though he was a scholar who taught overseas, he had the same blood in his body. Who didn't want their hometown to become better?
Professor Holden smiled and cleared his throat. He then announced in a loud voice.
"After the voting, our representatives have unanimously agreed.
"The venue of the next International Congress of Mathematicians is —
"Jinling, China!"
Instantly, the entire venue erupted.
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