Free Web NovelChapter 458: Chapter 277: Geniuses and Ordinary People are Different_3
Terence Tao arrived two days early, and he was greeted with exceptional hospitality--
By Zhao Yi in person.
Zhao Yi toured the university with Terence Tao, discussing the Goldbach Conjecture, digital compression technology, and other topics along the way.
By evening, he escorted Terence Tao back to the hotel, and during dinner, they discussed potential ideas to solve the Twin Prime Conjecture.
And so on. frёeωebɳovel.com
Even though the day was filled with enriching exchanges, Zhao Yi felt the need to distance himself from Terence Tao.
Could this guy talk about anything besides academics?
Exhausting!
Terence Tao’s mathematical proficiency was indeed impressive. Whether it was knowledge in specific areas of expertise or a general understanding of some theory in applied math, Zhao Yi felt it was simply unattainable. In terms of knowledge accumulation, he was still somewhat behind the world’s top mathematicians.
On the day of the presentation, Yanhua University’s graduate building was locked down at 9 a.m. Only those with a work pass or an invitation could enter.
The large conference room was filled to the brim early.
Besides those who were invited and self-invited renowned scholars, many students also attended, accompanying their tutors.
Such a large number of attendees became an inconvenience. The capacity of the conference room was limited, and it was unlikely that people would be happy listening to a report in the aisles. After a smaller meeting was held, a decision was made to actively exclude some attendees.
It was unavoidable.
The presentation was scheduled for both the morning and the afternoon. The morning session was for one hour, the afternoon for three hours, during which Zhao Yi was to explain the two methods to prove the Goldbach Conjecture.
The schedule was fashioned like this because of the difficulty level of each method. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Although the blunt, straightforward proof took more time, as long as someone comprehended the main focus of the examination formula and applied limit transition analysis to it, it was the same as solving a complex math problem.
Explaining this method is actually quite simple.
Proving the pairings of prime numbers in the broader sense covered all even numbers. This was relatively difficult, which required additional time for inquiries. Even with three hours, it might not be sufficient.
Zhao Yi stood in a small room inside the conference room, preparing as he glanced at the attendees, checked the time, and took a deep breath.
He was a tad nervous.
His anxiety came from the achievement of the Goldbach Conjecture.
If it wasn’t for the actual presentation, he wouldn’t have felt much. However, as he saw the mathematicians and scholars all gathered in the conference room at Yanhua University, he fully understood the significant impact of his resolution on the Goldbach Conjecture.
Nevertheless...
He successfully proved it with two methods, which meant there was nothing more to it.
In the morning, he was just explaining the simplest and most direct method. There was genuinely no pressure. And after explaining one method, would the other method still give him any pressure?
So, there was nothing to worry about.
Zhao Yi took a deep breath, trying to keep his spirits up.
"It’s about time." Hu Zhibin, who was standing next to him, reminded him.
In terms of presentation, Hu Zhibin seemed like Zhao Yi’s assistant. He was responsible for a variety of tasks, including helping Zhao Yi prepare PowerPoint presentations, arranging documents needed for the presentation, and introducing important guests to him.
Zhao Yi adjusted his suit and stepped into the conference room with a confident smile.
The room fell silent all at once.
Those who hadn’t met Zhao Yi watched in astonishment as a young face stepped onto the stage.
So young!
Even though they knew that Zhao Yi wasn’t yet twenty, meeting him in person was an entirely different experience. Most people in the field of mathematics didn’t start their research until at least the age of twenty-five. Zhao Yi, with a hint of youthful innocence still at twenty, was unimaginably young.
When Zhao Yi stepped onto the stage, his earlier jitteriness completely vanished. He began his speech, "Thank you for coming to Yanhua University, to listen to my proof of the Goldbach Conjecture."
"My first method of proof is quite simple, beginning with an explanation of reasoning, followed by discussion and analysis. I’ll leave some time at the end for questions."
After finishing his introduction, he gave a slight bow to the audience, opened the PowerPoint slides that he had prepared, and began to delineate the proof in detail.
The method used was direct, defining N as a natural number and making symmetric numbers around N as the center. He then multiplied all the symmetric numbers together and analyzed the maximum factor of the resulting complex series.
The focus of this proof method was the analysis of the series.
A presentation was different from teaching a class. The audience consisted of experts and scholars in the mathematical field, so unlike with students who know little, there was no need for extensive explanations.
He skipped over the simple parts on the PowerPoint, focusing only on the core points of proof for detailed explanation.
Consequently, the progress of the explanation was very swift.
Most people in the audience had read the published paper. Even if they hadn’t fully understood it, the overall procedure of proof was clear. They wanted to hear about the most crucial part—
The limit transition analysis.
Zhao Yi broke down the complex series with the method of limit transition analysis. He gave the series a transformation, and dissected the conversation, finally drawing a conclusion that the maximum factor is greater than or equal to N.
After Zhao Yi had thoroughly explained the key points, the audience realized that just as he had said at the beginning, the process of proof was not complicated once the key points were understood. This was also why many people could easily understand the proof.
Zhao Yi spent about forty minutes explaining the proof, and then it was time for questions.
An hour was a tight schedule, but, in reality, not many people questioned the process of proof.
Most people were reflecting...
The process was not too complicated, and the knowledge involved was not extensive, as if it was the solution to a very difficult problem.
But...
"Why didn’t I think of that?" The result of thinking soon became apparent.
It still came down to the key points!
What Zhao Yi explained didn’t seem complicated, but that was because he had already found the solution. Actually contemplating these things would be like finding the right path in a highly complicated maze.
That was not easy!
Getting to the end by following a known path was easy, but without knowing the right route, most people would get lost. Any small mistake could trap them in the maze.
This would take too much time.
If their luck was bad, or if they didn’t have any other means, even with decades or centuries of research, they would hardly be able to find their way out. Needless to say, the majority of people do not have such perseverance.
"Was Zhao Yi just lucky?" Many pondered.
Of course not.
If Zhao Yi had only completed the Goldbach Conjecture, this method of proof would definitely have been attributed to luck. But before he proved the conjecture, he had already been recognized as a master of number theory by people all over the world.
So...it was not surprising.
The thinking process of a genius is different from that of ordinary people.
Ordinary people should not try to understand geniuses, or they’ll only face brutal blows.
