Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 534: 316

"Is it really possible?"

"Can it be done?"

Upon receiving the system’s notification, Zhao Yi was suddenly taken aback. He had just experienced a game lagging and thought of the ’collaboration and competition’ model during Bitcoin mining, which inspired him to explore a new research direction, shared computing performance.

A direction is just that, whether it could be realized was uncertain.

For example, many people dream of flying. They might have pondered when they were young, about how they could fly like a fairy.

Not every spontaneous idea in life could be realized, but the system directly popped up, approving his idea.

This was way more important than rewards.

Based on Zhao Yi’s perception of the system, the release of a task implied that it ’could be completed.’. Regardless of how high the difficulty level was, there was hope.

"Is the concept of shared computing performance feasible?"

"Performance Sharing Theory..."

A theory, not an algorithm.

Zhao Yi immediately realized the reason. His idea was implementable, but only at the theoretical level, given the broad domain of computers.

If specific software is targeted, embedding a specific code program might allow user computing performance sharing. But the same code may not work on other software.

This is just like building a house.

The theory is like providing a method to build a house, but where the house is built can make a huge difference. Soft soil requires reinforced foundations, coastal areas require moisture-proof measures, and earthquake zones require earthquake-proof measures, etc. Houses suitable for each place are different and require different methods, or individual algorithm design.

Of course, no matter how the house is built, the purpose is for living.

Now, he was designing a theory which others could use to develop their own suitable algorithms.

For instance, World of Warcraft.

The game World of Warcraft takes up a lot of space, high frame rate running will always lag a bit, partly due to hardware performance and partly calculation problems.

If two computers play World of Warcraft, they could share computing power. When faced with very difficult calculations, they could split the calculation and share the results, which would greatly enhance game performance.

Definitely, thinking about this theory is challenging.

The first thing to consider is the detection of calculation difficulty. What calculation difficulty would cause the computer to engage in performance sharing?

Software development companies could design this decision, but it must be discussed in the theory and could also be detected by the user’s computer.

Secondly, can you find the optimal sharing path?

If several computers are performing similar calculations, such as playing World of Warcraft concurrently, distributed computation can be adopted. However, distributed computation is compulsory and fair, without considering computer performance. If poor performing computers are assigned tasks and fail to calculate promptly, they might slow down the operation speed of better performing computers.

Data transfer sharing is easy to realize. As long as computers in the same area share relevant calculation results, it would work. But the scenario of ’dropped packets’ needs to be considered in the middle, just like in a project, where the loss of a completed task report might delay the whole project.

And so on.

There are many aspects to consider in the Performance Sharing Theory.

As Zhao Yi thought deeply about it, he started to feel his head ache. He decided to note down his ideas for now and continued gaming leisurely, planning to read some basic professional books about computers.

When he started to research the nitty-gritty of transmission, sharing issues, etc., he realized his level of knowledge was inadequate.

There’s too much to know about computers.

No one could grasp all aspects of computer knowledge; even understanding a common small part or a bottom-level program can be quite challenging. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

The New Year holidays were indeed relaxing.

Zhao Yi occasionally pondered research problems and spent the rest of the time leisurely. When he had spare time, he would read some basic books. His life was mainly relaxed and low-key.

Being low-key was also important.

Zhao Yi was too famous; people recognized him wherever he went.

In Zhengyang city, his hometown, his figure often appeared on TV shows and news reports.

It was not easy for Zhao Yi to lead a quiet life. Even during vacation time, reporters were always waiting at the entrance of his community because he had just won a national award.

Reporters from Zhengyang didn’t get a chance to interview Zhao Yi, but knowing he was coming home for the New Year, they were ready for interviews at any time.

Without going out, there would be no interviews and consequently, no reports.

Quiet life is truly wonderful.

Zhao Yi soon realized how hard it was to keep low-key. Even if he minimized his contact with reporters and stayed within his community every day, news about him would still appear on television.

This time, the attention was not caused by winning an award, but by not winning an award.

The Turing Award!

When Zhao Yi first achieved results, it was in computer ’sieving’.

Many people believed he had reserved the ’Turing Award’ and expected him to be the first winner from the domestic scholars.

However ...

Last year’s Turing Award was not given to Zhao Yi, but was given to Edmond Clark, Allen-Emerson, and Joseph Sifakis, for their development of automated methods to detect design errors in computer hardware and software.

The award was reasonable - three people received the Turing Award for their automated monitoring methods which indeed have proven very useful in error correction, guiding computers towards a more intelligent direction.

Going up against three people, Zhao Yi seemed to be at a disadvantage.

The Turing Award has now announced this year’s winners.

As early as last March, following the announcement of the Turing Award recipients, many believed that this year’s Turing Award would definitely go to Zhao Yi, as he developed an algorithm using the ’sieve method.’ This helped to expand the abnormal signal in the particle collision experiment and revealed a new particle signal suspected of being the Higgs particle.

This is a great achievement in physics, but it could also be considered a computer science success. The most important thing was that everyone saw the role of the ’sieve method.’

Therefore, the ’sieve method’ was sure to help Zhao Yi win the Turing Award.

However...

The recipient of the Turing Award was still not Zhao Yi, but a female professor from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Barbara Liskov.

The Turing Award Committee announced the reason for her award: "For Barbara Liskov’s work in the practice and theory of programming language and system design."

This statement was quite vague.

It’s like when some ’Lifetime Achievement Awards’ are given, it is said to reward a scientist’s ’contribution to a certain field of research in their lifetime.’

But the Turing Award is not a Lifetime Achievement Award; it rewards specific research content.

After the Turing Award Committee announced the winner, public opinion immediately fermented. The first was to question Barbara Liskov’s win, and the second was to question why Zhao Yi did not win.

The spokesperson for the selection committee, when facing an interview said, "Our selection is very fair."

"Professor Liskov’s programming methodology and innovative research have brought about a huge revolution in the programming field, which is of profound significance."

"Zhao Yi is a very outstanding genius, but his ’sieve method’ is just a computer algorithm, and it’s not enough to win the award."

Although this statement allowed some to grudgingly accept the results.

The reason they accepted was probably because Barbara Liskov is a citizen of M country, while Zhao Yi is Chinese.

Everyone hopes that someone from their own country wins an award, especially when the award comes from their own country.

The media in European countries also reported on this. Although many questioned the fairness of the selection, they did not deny Liskov’s contribution.

The same was true in China.

It was very surprising that Zhao Yi did not win the Turing Award. Chinese people didn’t care about Barbara Liskov, they just felt that if Zhao Yi didn’t win, it was certainly unfair. Zhao Yi’s ’sieve method’ had solved many problems, enough to win an international award in the field of computer science.

So why didn’t he win?

Many media outlets pointed to ’nationality’. The Turing Award is considered the ’Nobel of the computer industry’. However, the selection committee consists of members of the M country’s computer association. Almost all past winners have been of European or American nationality, not only no Chinese winners, but even none from entire Asia.

"Perhaps Zhao Yi wasn’t even eligible to compete, let alone win, because he does not have a European or American nationality."

"The Turing Award is very unfair!"

"No wonder every time the winners are Europeans or Americans, there is not even a winner from Asia!"

"To win, you must first be a member of the M Country’s Computer Association. Although this is not explicitly stated in the Turing Award selection process, it is a hidden rule!"

"..."

With the media outcry, Zhao Yi could not remain quiet.

The number of reporters coming forward increased, and some foreign reporters also wanted to interview Zhao Yi, hoping he could comment on the Turing Award selection.

The building’s security could not handle the matter anymore, and the police had to step in to maintain order.

Zhao Yi opted to step out, accepting interviews from reporters beside the central flower bed of the community. He knew he had to express his view on the matter.

A provincial TV station journalist was the first to ask, "Professor Zhao, are you disappointed that you did not win the Turing Award this year?"

"No, I’m not."

Zhao Yi said, "Actually, I’m quite relaxed. I don’t like running around. If I won, I would have to cross the Pacific to receive the award, which is quite exhausting."

Some reporters laughed along.

Zhao Yi’s remark lightened the tense atmosphere. However, a foreign female reporter was not satisfied and sharply asked, "The Turing Award is known as the ’Nobel Prize of Computer Science’ and is the highest honor in the computer field. Winning the Turing Award equates to having your research work recognised at the highest level. Are you sure you’re not disappointed?"

Her tone was even somewhat mocking.

Zhao Yi shrugged indifferently, "The only thing I regret is not getting the $250,000. That’s a lot of money. But it’s okay, I’ve received the Shaw Prize, so I’m not currently short of money."

"Whooosh~~"

The surrounding reporters all laughed.

Zhao Yi’s expression became serious, "Apart from the prize money, winning or not winning doesn’t matter. What’s more important to me is that my research is recognised by the industry, widely applied, and helpful for the development of technology."

"Winning the award is just the icing on the cake."

"Any award is given because the research is recognised, not because the award gives recognition."

"So, to me, the Turing Award is worth just $250,000. If there was a higher prize, I might be more regretful..."