Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 938: Chapter 476 Who Would Refuse a Million Dollar Bonus?_4

"It seems that for this batch of students, my requirements should be stricter,"

Meng Bin made the decision very seriously.

At the same time.

Li Renzhe, who was walking out of the school, felt a chill breeze and couldn’t help but shrink his neck, a foreboding feeling arising within him.

"Right, Old Fan is back, and by coincidence, Wen Qian is off today... No, I must hurry back!" Li Renzhe suddenly widened his eyes and quickly ran out of the school gates.

...

Half a month later.

The international news about the NP problem heated up again because Princeton Institute for Advanced Study announced that it had confirmed Zhao Yi’s proof of the NP problem.

At the same time.

"Annals of Mathematics" published its latest issue, featuring Zhao Yi’s proof of the NP problem, which spanned thirty-seven pages. Relative to the Millennium Prize Problems, thirty-seven pages wasn’t considered much—in fact, it was rather brief.

This proof was much more detailed than the report Fan Lei presented on behalf of Zhao Yi at the International Mathematical Union Congress.

Many mathematicians began studying the proof in "Annals of Mathematics" to understand or verify Zhao Yi’s solution to the NP problem, with even more people paying attention to the Clay Research Institute.

The Clay Research Institute, officially known as the Clay Mathematics Institute, is one of the world’s most prestigious institutions for mathematical research, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, M Country. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

The Clay Mathematics Institute is best known for announcing the Millennium Prize Problems on May 24, 2000.

There are a total of seven Millennium Prize Problems, considered to be "important classic questions that have resisted solution for many years."

The Clay Mathematics Institute declared that the first person to solve any of these problems would receive one million dollars, totaling seven million dollars for all seven problems.

The NP problem is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, and the person who solves it could win the one million dollar prize awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute. Moreover, because of the Institute’s authoritative standing, many were focused on its judgment of Zhao Yi’s proof.

That was very important.

Although the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study had verified Zhao Yi’s proof process, indicating to some extent that the process was correct and that the NP problem had been resolved, the Clay Mathematics Institute still had more authority regarding the Millennium Prize Problems.

The Clay Mathematics Institute held the awards for the Millennium Prize Problems and would undoubtedly issue a statement on this matter.

As the whole world watched and waited, the Clay Mathematics Institute also felt the pressure. In fact, they were constantly studying Zhao Yi’s proof process but were repeatedly scrutinizing several logical aspects. They had to ensure the proof was absolutely correct.

Because, reputation!

The Clay Mathematics Institute had significant influence in the international mathematical community, but it still fell short of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study because it was relatively new. During the past decade, there had been two embarrassing situations.

One was Wiles’ proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.

The Clay Mathematics Institute was the first M Country mathematical organization to affirm Wiles’ proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, doing so more quickly than the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.

At the time, no one said much, but after Zhao Yi pointed out the logical error in Wiles’ proof, the matter was brought back into focus. Many mathematicians began to think that perhaps the Institute hadn’t thoroughly evaluated Wiles’ proof process and had simply trusted the results from the Newton Institute. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

If they didn’t rigorously vet a proof and merely based their judgment on another institution’s results, what was the purpose of the Clay Research Institute’s existence?

Moreover, there was an incident two years prior.

The Millennium Prize Problems were the realm of the Clay Research Institute, recognized as the most authoritative. The first of these problems to be solved was the Poincaré Conjecture.

The entire world had accepted the solution to the Poincaré Conjecture, but the Clay Research Institute was slow in announcing the results. Three years ago, they finally confirmed that the Poincaré Conjecture had been proven, but then they encountered a ’mathematical madman’—

Perelman!

Perelman was a mathematician with a strong personality. After proving the Poincaré Conjecture, he faced some controversy over the proof process and, maybe due to the impact of public opinion or his desire not to get involved in matters outside of mathematics, he announced his withdrawal from the mathematical community.

He refused the Fields Medal!

Three years prior, he also rejected the one million dollar prize from the Clay Research Institute!

Others’ opinions of Perelman were interesting. They said he was an ’ideal scientist,’ asserting that "an ideal scientist cares for nothing but science. Perelman wanted to live in such an ideal realm. Although he couldn’t achieve it, he aspired to it."

However, the Clay Research Institute did not wish to encounter another ’mathematical madman.’ Normal people had a hard time understanding why someone would reject a million-dollar prize. For the awarding institute, having a winner refuse the prize was quite embarrassing, especially since they had taken a long time to confirm the proof of the Poincaré Conjecture.

Thus, some in the mathematical community speculated that the Clay Research Group was "intentionally delaying" or "unwilling to grant the award."

Now, they faced a similar issue.

The NP problem had been solved.

If the Clay Research Group wanted to salvage its reputation, it needed to reach a conclusion quickly. Regardless of whether the proof was correct or not, they had to give a statement, else they could be accused of ’intentional delay’ or even suspected of ’embezzling the prize money.’

That would be a major issue!

Institute Director Carlson was also worried about another matter. He went to his office and asked Hilbert, who was working, "Do you think this time, our prize money can be awarded?"

Hilbert shrugged, "If you want to hold a grand award ceremony, that’s impossible. Zhao Yi will at most send someone to accept the award on his behalf."

"What if we announce the results and directly transfer the prize money into Zhao Yi’s account, could it be awarded then?"

"Carlson, I recommend you act quickly, or there could be unforeseen circumstances. Who knows?"

Tian Gang, who was passing by, spoke indifferently, "There’s only one Perelman. Zhao Yi is different. Keep in mind, he’s just a guy in his twenties. How could he refuse a million-dollar prize? The whole world knows he doesn’t have mental issues!"

Carlson felt that what Tian Gang said made sense. After all, who in their right mind would refuse a million dollars?