Free Web NovelChapter 136: Chapter 129: Young People Must Experience Failure
The speech at Yanhua University had just ended and the media had just started reporting on it. Most people thought Zhao Yi was still in the capital, but he had already quietly returned to Zhengyang.
He got off the plane.
And went home.
Zhao Yi carried his luggage into the house, made a call to his parents to tell them he was safe, and then shut himself in, planning to finish the research paper on the Collatz Conjecture at one go.
This time, writing the paper was different from before.
After completing the Rubik’s Cube calculator, he summarized the ’Effective and Irrelevant Carry Filtering’, but there were many ’jumps’ in the proof process. He communicated with Professor Liu Hemin and looked up and researched various materials to slowly perfect the proof process.
The current ’Collatz Conjecture’ is a mathematical proof, in simple terms, it’s a proof problem, only infinitely more complicated. But he was clear about all the processes and had experience writing a paper, so it was much simpler in comparison.
Zhao Yi began to work tirelessly.
In the meantime,
There were some discussions in the media, but most of them were ’rumors’. Zhao Yi’s speech was highly professional and those who didn’t understand couldn’t grasp its essence. His speech only attracted attention in the academic world, and the academic circle was just too small.
The news circulating online was related to ’gossip’, namely the media reporting, "Zhao Yi, the creator of the Rubik’s Cube calculator, claims to have proved the Collatz Conjecture!"
Reporting is just a narrative of events.
Most people thought Zhao Yi was just joking. He performed a host of calculations in binary, but the complex ’01’ diagram left people dizzy and there were no heavyweight figures who could affirm that Zhao Yi had indeed proven it.
So, the story was quickly swallowed up by public opinion.
To the general public, it wasn’t much different than gossip about a lesser-known celebrity; few people paid attention to them, and once their news passed, it passed. Not many people cared about it.
Zhao Yi’s speech was very successful.
After the speech, several influential figures in the academic world affirmed the ’Effective and Irrelevant Carry Filtering Method’, stating that the method was an innovation in computer algorithms and would certainly be used in various fields in the future.
The ’Effective and Irrelevant Carry Filtering’ soon got renamed and was simplified to "Zhao’s Filter".
This was the customary naming convention in academia.
When a very meaningful and valuable thing is discovered or created, the surname of the discoverer or creator is directly prefixed to the name of the thing.
For instance, a certain theorem.
A certain planet.
A certain effect.
Zhao Yi invented the ’Effective and Irrelevant Carry Filtering’.
’Effective and Irrelevant Carry Filtering’ is a bit of a tongue twister and not easy to remember, so renaming it as ’Zhao’s Filter’ made it easier to remember.
...
The next morning, the sky was still gray.
Downstairs.
A figure came out from the back gate of the building, glanced up at Zhao Yi’s apartment window, then hid between the gate and the pillar, standing there motionless.
It was a blind spot.
The blind spot was only a few meters from the gate, but since the view was blocked by the gate, no one could see the person there.
Lin Xudong was shivering from the cold, but he remained still, with a serious and earnest expression on his face.
He had been very angry the last time he saw Zhao Yi ’stealing a kiss’ from his daughter. He noticed his daughter didn’t react angrily, but instead had a girl’s shyness, making his heart feel sour.
He was helpless.
What to do next, confront Zhao Yi?
What if Zhao Yi admitted it, or denied it?
Lin Xudong was feeling very suffocated. He planned to hide in the corner, wait for Zhao Yi to come by with the cart, catch him red-handed if there were any excessive actions, and then give him a beating on the spot...
But getting physical wasn’t a good idea. At the very least, he could give him a good scolding!
Warning!
And vent!
"I’m going to freeze to death in this damn weather!" Lin Xudong hugged his arms and continued to stand still, just waiting and waiting at the same spot.
He found it strange.
Normally Zhao Yi would be waiting for his daughter, definitely earlier than her.
What was happening today?
Why hasn’t he arrived yet?
After more than ten minutes, Lin Xiaoqing came out with her bicycle. She looked around, searching but not finding Zhao Yi, murmuring to herself, "Wasn’t he supposed to be back already?"
"Where is he?"
"Did he oversleep?"
She had noticed that the light in Zhao Yi’s study room was on until she went to bed. She glanced again and noticed Zhao Yi’s living room light was on.
Zhao Yi was standing on the balcony, waving to Lin Xiaoqing: "Qingqing, can you help me ask for a leave of absence? I can’t go today because I have something on."
He even pointed to his phone.
"Who are you calling Qingqing!"
Lin Xudong didn’t dare to say it out loud.
"I hate it!"
Though Lin Xiaoqing mumbled her dissatisfaction, a smile appeared on her face. She took out her phone and found that Zhao Yi had replied to her message, "I’m busy right now and didn’t see your message. Can you help me ask for leave? It might be for one day or two days. Just tell the teacher that I will go to school as soon as I’m done with my work."
Lin Xiaoqing smiled sweetly once again.
She had been slightly annoyed when Zhao Yi did not respond to her message but felt much better knowing he was busy.
With that thought, Lin Xiaoqing rode away.
Behind her,
Lin Xudong shivered as he walked out, watching his daughter’s figure receding into the distance, then looking up again at Zhao Yi’s living room, he felt like cursing.
Damnit!
You could have told me earlier that you wouldn’t go to school!
I have been freezing for half the day!
...
At school. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Zhao Yi didn’t come to class, and the teachers didn’t mind.
The current Zhao Yi is known as a ’free student’ in school, without the pressure of the College Entrance Examination. He has brought many honours to the school and even gave lectures at Yanhua University on weekends. It was said that many top professors participated, causing attention at a world-class level.
For such a student, the teachers wouldn’t complain even if he took for a few days, or even until the winter holiday or Spring Festival.
That’s normal!
But the students might have problems with it.
Like Zhao Linlin.
She was always expecting Zhao Yi to bring her a gift, but Zhao Yi, who finally returned, didn’t attend school at all.
"That’s too much!" Zhao Linlin murmured discontentedly, "Did he say what was going on?"
"It seems like he’s writing something?"
Lin Xiaoqing was also not sure about it, "Anyway, he’s very busy. He just finished a lecture, maybe just dealing with some stuff."
Zhao Linlin pouted and spun her eyes, prodding, "Could it be that he didn’t prepare a gift, so he’s embarrassed to face people?"
Lin Xiaoqing disagreed, "With his thick skin!" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Which means Zhao Yi is so thick-skinned that he could come to school without guilt even if he forgot to buy a gift.
Although she spoke with some disdain, both Lin Xiaoqing and Zhao Linlin were somewhat expecting Zhao Yi’s gift.
The two made eye contact.
Zhao Linlin was the first to speak, "He said he would take a two-day leave, and he wouldn’t come tomorrow either. So Xiaoqing, you can go find him tonight and help me bring the gift over, okay?"
"Is that alright?" Lin Xiaoqing hesitated a bit, mainly because the time returning home was late and it was somewhat inconvenient to go to a boy’s house. Her mom would comment about it if she saw, not to mention her eccentric dad.
"Why don’t we go together?"
Sun Liang suddenly leaned over and said, "It’s just right, I can also swing by his place and see what he’s up to."
Zhao Linlin immediately clung to Lin Xiaoqing and said, "Okay! I’ll stay at Xiaoqing’s house tonight."
Lin Xiaoqing just smiled.
Sun Liang said, "Then I’ll stay at Zhao Yi’s place."
...
Zhao Yi was really too focused on his work.
Since he got home, he has been writing papers, using ’Study Coins’ when he was mentally exhausted, and only lying down to sleep a few hours when his body could not keep up.
Awake.
And continue!
It took him several hours to write down the proof process of "Collatz Theorem". The remaining time was spent comparing and translating English, and finally spent time finding literature and modifying the format. It took nearly thirty hours to complete everything.
Next up was manuscript submission.
Zhao Yi still consulted with Professor Liu Hemin. Compared to his cheap master whom he had only met once, he had more exchanges and seemed closer with Professor Liu Hemin.
When Liu Hemin heard that Zhao Yi had completed the proof, he found it somewhat unbelievable. He said with surprise, "I thought you were joking. That’s what everyone says."
"Did you really finish it?"
"If you really finish it, I suggest you choose a journal with a high impact factor. For example, ’Journal of Mathematics’, ’Mathematical Progress’, and so on."
Liu Hemin only said a few words.
He didn’t quite believe that Zhao Yi really had completed the ’Collatz Conjecture’.
In fact, the deeper mathematicians delve into mathematical research, the less they believe that Zhao Yi completed the ’Collatz Conjecture’, because they understand how difficult it is to prove mathematical conjectures.
Liu Hemin knows a little about Zhao Yi and knows that he lacks profound mathematical theoretical knowledge. Lacking even fundamental deep theories, it seems impossible to prove mathematical conjectures.
He does not believe Zhao Yi is lying. Instead he feels that Zhao Yi has ’entered a dead-end’.
That’s common.
Many people, who study math, often have moments of inspiration and believe they’ve solved some difficult problems. However, these are self-presumed solutions, not actual solutions. Perhaps there are certain problems they have not really considered, or they might find a small error during the calculation process, and due to the coincidence, they think the problem is solved.
Similar things have happened many times.
Every year, various academic journals receive ’major statement’ papers. Even world mathematical problems that have lasted for over a hundred years, like the Goldbach Conjecture, have many people writing papers for submission. Some even publicly state that they have solved the conjecture.
They are not lying, they just walked into a dead-end.
Unless someone points out their mistakes, it’s not easy to figure it out on their own. But similar experiences are also important. There are always some things you have to go through in scientific research.
Liu Hemin thinks a failure is also good for Zhao Yi.
He is really too young.
Achieving such high achievements at such a young age might affect his state of mind, such as becoming blindly arrogant. Failure is also a kind of experience that helps move towards maturity.
Zhao Yi does not know that Professor Liu Hemin thought so much.
When he heard the professor suggest submitting to a journal with a high impact factor, he simply chose one of the four major journals in the math field--
"Mathematics Society Magazine".
The reason for choosing "Mathematics Society Magazine" was because he found that the evaluations for the other ’Three Major Mathematics journals’ on the internet were not very good, and the slow review process was the main complaint.
Although he didn’t think anyone could really complete the proof of ’Collatz Theorem’ via binary thinking, it was definitely frustrating if the submission did not receive a reply for a long time. A faster review pace would be nice.
"Mathematics Society Magazine" is also one of the four major journals. Their review process is slightly faster, but the difficulty of having the manuscripts accepted is still very high and most submissions are rejected.
"The proof of the Collatz Theorem should be okay, right?"
Zhao Yi carefully reviewed the manuscript again, then gritted his teeth and submitted it while leaving his contact info.
Then.
Huge fatigue struck!
When all the work was completed, his body could no longer suppress the fatigue. He didn’t even took off his clothes, just lay down on the bed and fell asleep with his eyes closed.
