Food clubs were one of the many campus cultures in Princeton. In layman's terms, they were the "cafeterias" located on both sides of Prospect Avenue.
Of course, this was just a layman's term. These clubs were very different from cafeterias. Especially those run by student groups, they usually had a strong exclusivity.
For example, the aristocratic children of Boston would usually not allow a country bumpkin from Texas to join their club, unless the person was really good, or at least had a corresponding achievement in a certain field.
Because of this, one could roughly guess a person's social class from where they ate.
The most famous clubs were probably the Ivy Club and the Tiger Club. Until the court ruling in 1991, they did not even recruit female members. They only recruited elites.
Lu Zhou did not think too much at the time. He only heard that the food in the Ivy Club was very good. They could eat whatever they wanted with a $5,000 annual membership fee. There was also an unlimited supply of coffee in the afternoon. Therefore, Lu Zhou signed up.
Then, after he was told some things such as dining etiquette, he was inexplicably accepted.
He originally thought that he would have to fight for the right to enter the Princeton society through the traditional and ancient method of debating, just like everyone else.
Actually, this activity was quite interesting as it could train one's eloquence.
But now, it seemed that this society was very tolerant of people with abilities.
At this moment, sitting across from him was one of the senior members of the Ivy Club — a PhD student in history named David Lawrence.
Lawrence was a very common surname in the United States. It was equivalent to China's Zhao Liu Wang Wu. However, in a place like Princeton, especially when this person was from Boston, the surname Lawrence would make people think of a family that was tied to the Kennedy family …
The reason why Lu Zhou could enter this club so smoothly was because of David Lawrence's help.
Lu Zhou did not have any prejudice against people of different nationalities and cultures. Plus, the two of them were unexpectedly compatible, so they naturally became friends.
At the same time, David was the first friend Lu Zhou made after coming to Princeton.
Two days had passed since he became Professor Deligné's graduate student. Lu Zhou was still choosing between the two options.
In the evening, after listening to a lecture, he went to the Ivy Club for dinner.
Coincidentally, David Lawrence was also there, so the two of them sat together and ate.
The two of them happened to talk about their plans after graduation, and David Lawrence smiled and said to him.
"Are you interested in working in an investment bank after graduation? If that's your intention, I can recommend a few good places for you. "
Lu Zhou: "I'm not interested in working. I prefer doing research."
David smiled and said, "Really? But don't you think it's exciting to use mathematics to make waves in the financial market? You might even have a chance to touch the Nobel Prize medal. "
Lu Zhou also smiled and said in a casual tone, "I haven't studied financial mathematics, but since you're so interested in finance, why didn't you major in finance? Why did you major in history?"
David's fingers tapped on the wine glass, and there was a touch of melancholy in his eyes. He sighed and said, "I didn't want to come here. My first choice was actually an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania, but my father stubbornly sent me here because this is his alma mater and my father's father's alma mater … At first, I also studied mathematics like you, but it was too difficult for me, so I had to study history."
Lu Zhou felt the gaze of the girl sitting next to him. He was eating his steak with a knife and fork, and he sighed.
This guy is great, except for one thing. He's a little handsome.
Even with Lu Zhou's strict and picky eyes, he had to admit that David's appearance was comparable to his own.
"It seems that every family has their own problems … But does Princeton not have an MBA program?"
"No." David smiled and shook his head. He said, "Forget about an MBA program, Princeton is the only Ivy League school that doesn't have a business school."
However, the strange thing was that even though there was no business school here, there were many business geniuses.
For example, the founders of Amazon were all born in Princeton.
The reason why Princeton was known as the "headhunting company" in academia was partly because of its academic background and natural attraction, and partly because of the rich alumni association.
Just as the two of them were chatting, a lady in a long black dress walked over.
Noticing that she was obviously not looking at him, David Lawrence seemed to understand something. He smiled and said, "It seems that you have a date? I won't bother you then. "
"No, actually, it's fine if you sit here."
Lu Zhou knew that David obviously misunderstood something, so he tried to explain.
However, David obviously didn't want to listen to him. Instead, he winked at him.
"Haha, I'm not that insensitive, and I'm almost done eating. Have a good meal."
With that, he got up and walked away, taking the tray with him.
"…"
Lu Zhou looked at him and sighed. He then looked at Miss Molina, who was sitting across from him, and said, "Miss Molina, what can I do for you?"
Molina didn't waste any time. She stared into his eyes and spoke straightforwardly.
"Okay, I know you chose Professor Deligné … But are you not interested in our research project at all?"
Lu Zhou heard her words and sighed.
Of course he knew what the research project she was talking about was.
Before she returned to China last time, she invited him.
However, he didn't expect that she wasn't the only one who had gone crazy. Even her mentor was acting abnormally.
Lu Zhou: "Your research project is completely out of touch with reality, it's like building a house in the sky … Let me think, to prove the Riemann conjecture, you have to first establish a new theoretical framework, then use it to solve similar problems."
Molina said excitedly, "We're doing that!"
Lu Zhou: "Did you succeed?"
Molina shook her head and hesitated for a bit before saying, "… Soon!"
Lu Zhou sighed and said, "So not yet?"
In fact, it was not that he could not understand why her mentor Sophie Morrel was so impatient.
The 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians would be held in two years, but there were only four Fields Prize winners, and two of them were already booked.
One of them was Peter Schulz, who created the "PS theory", which was one of the most promising mathematical frameworks in the algebraic geometry world. In contrast, the other candidates' work was more like "solving problems", it was just that the problems were big or small.
For the mathematics world, under the same conditions, the tools created to solve a problem were more important than solving the problem itself. Especially since this person had already won the Fields Vane EMS Award (European Mathematical Society Award, similar to the Lasker Prize in Medicine), coupled with the recognition of the Cole Prize, there was basically no suspense.
The other candidate was the Polignac-Lu theorem's proof, Lu Zhou. Although he did not create a new mathematical framework similar to the "PS theory", he really solved a lot of headaches.
Especially the Polignac-Lu's conjecture, a Fields Prize was well deserved.
The "authoritative" international awards such as the Fields Prize did not look at qualifications, only results. This was why Perelman, the famous "savage" in the mathematics world, was awarded the Poincaré conjecture for his Fields Prize (even though he did not accept it).
Before this, he had already annoyed a lot of people because he refused to accept the prize, especially the European Mathematical Society that awarded him the Young Mathematician Award.
Including the two big names that were already scheduled to win, there were only two places that were in dispute. For example, the Brazilian guy, Fernando Marques, who was poached by Princeton, was also a popular candidate. Also, the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians was going to be held in Brazil, which was even more interesting.
Then there was Geordie Williamson, who also won the Fields Vane EMS Award, and Maryna Viazovska, the "Ukrainian Goddess of Mathematics", who also had the halo of a female mathematician. There were too many godly people.
If Sophie Morel could make some contributions to Riemann's hypothesis, like what Molina said at the airport, she could improve Kang Rui's "critical line theorem" from 40% to 50%. Sophie would have a lot of chips to play with.
However, Lu Zhou did not understand why Molina was so impatient.
For her, the Fields Prize was still something far away …
Molina brushed her hair and stared at Lu Zhou. She said in a firm tone, "My supervisor and I can spend our entire lives solving this problem. I didn't plan on producing results in a few years."
Is she that obsessed?
Lu Zhou put down his knife and fork and wiped his hands with a napkin. He then said, "Then … You guys stay together. Don't drag me along, I have my own things to do."
Molina raised her eyebrows and said, "Professor Deligné's research project?"
Lu Zhou smiled.
Speaking of which, Molina did not give him any inspiration during this meeting. However, she did give him a little bit of inspiration.
Just like how he had been struggling with Professor Deligné's double choice for the past two days, he was also faced with two difficult and tempting choices on Goldbach's conjecture.
Is it the big sieve method or the circle method?
Both methods seemed to have reached the final step, but it was always just a little bit away.
If that's the case …
Lu Zhou's eyes lit up.
He paused for a second before he spoke.
"Goldbach's conjecture."
This time, he used a positive tone.
Molina was stunned for a moment. Then, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Sorry … I'm not doubting your ability, I just couldn't help it. Looks like I'm right, you're also a crazy guy. "
Molina paused for a second before she continued to ask, "Are you going to use the big sieve method? Or the circle method? "
When Lu Zhou heard this question, he smirked.
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