Free Web NovelChapter 1376: Chapter 1375
After acquiring top-notch computer skills, Lin Fan, who initially couldn’t even understand the questions, now finds this calculus problem to be extremely simple, much like a college student looking at a kindergarten math problem.
A three-year-old child might ponder over what one plus one equals, while a college student can blurt out the answer effortlessly.
Now, the situation is that these teachers and students from Imperial College London, whether it’s Stephen, famed as a learning prodigy, or Professor Charlotte, eligible for the Fields Medal, are equivalent to kindergarteners in front of Lin Fan.
The kindergarten genius Stephen posed a question that stumped his classmates, and when the college student Lin Fan passed by, he took a look and thought, isn’t this just first-grade multiplication?
It’s said that the average human IQ is 100, a dog’s IQ is 40, and a genius’s IQ is 160, so geniuses looking at us is like us looking at dogs.
Now, Lin Fan looks at this group of geniuses from a top university as an ordinary person would look at dogs.
Afraid of hurting their self-esteem, Lin Fan hesitated to directly tell Charlotte that the problem was simple, so he casually said something like, "great principles are simple."
This left Charlotte utterly baffled, feeling that Lin Fan had an unfathomable aura of mystery about him.
Who exactly is this young person?
What, what, what? What’s happening?
Everyone was even more perplexed. Why was Professor Charlotte praising Lin Fan out of nowhere? This didn’t match their expectations. Could it be that Lin Fan actually solved this calculus problem?
Unable to rein in her curiosity, the Huaxia female exchange student walked over, took the answer from Charlotte, and took a look.
"Whoa! He really solved it, and solved it well!"
The Huaxia female exchange student immediately exclaimed in delight, a bright smile on her face. She was genuinely happy. At this moment, both she and Lin Fan represented Huaxia, and Lin Fan solving this problem meant they didn’t lose face for Huaxia. They won!
He really solved it?
The students from Imperial College London all scrambled to look at the answer.
And they all dropped to their knees.
"Oh my god, it’s really solved!"
"Professor Charlotte was right, the solution is really good!"
"So strong! Even Professor Charlotte hadn’t solved it yet, still one step away, and he not only solved it but did it so beautifully!"
"Oh my god, this feels like a dream, I can’t believe it!"
"What’s most astounding is that this problem was posed by Stephen the prodigy, so it’s impossible for him to have known the answer in advance, meaning he really solved it on his own!"
"What are you talking about? Such a perfect solution, even Stephen the prodigy himself might not be able to do it!"
Hearing these comments, those white students from the noble school couldn’t help but take a look at the answer, but each was utterly bewildered and embarrassed; they couldn’t even understand it.
Lin Fan didn’t pay attention to the others’ reactions, just looked at Stephen and said, "Well, I solved your problem, right?"
Stephen finally snapped out of his astonishment, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and for a moment didn’t know what expression to show: "Uh... Yes, it’s solved."
Lin Fan said, "What did you say earlier again?"
Stephen said, "If you can solve it, I’ll admit defeat."
Lin Fan said, "That’s right, that’s what you said. But I think it shouldn’t count."
Stephen looked up at Lin Fan, "It doesn’t count?"
Lin Fan said, "Yes, you gave me such a simple problem. Even if I win, it’s an unfair victory."
What?
Everyone broke into a cold sweat.
Lin Fan’s words were too much! Such a simple problem! What would they do with that statement when they couldn’t even solve it? For Lin Fan, it was "so simple."
Lin Fan smiled and said, "How about this, I’ll give you a question as well. If you can solve it, you win."
Saying so, Lin Fan took a paper from the female exchange student and wrote down a question on it.
"I hear you are a computer genius, so I’ll give you a computer-related problem," said Lin Fan, handing the written problem to Stephen.
Stephen, curious, took the question, wanting to see what problem Lin Fan had given him.
Upon inspection, Stephen broke into a cold sweat again and smiled bitterly, "Are you joking with me, classmate? You must be joking, right?"
Lin Fan said, "Do I look like I’m joking?"
What kind of question did Lin Fan give to get such a reaction from Stephen the prodigy? Everyone was curious.
Professor Charlotte glanced over and laughed, "Young genius, you’re putting Stephen in a tough spot. Find the fastest matrix multiplication algorithm? This problem is one of the top ten unsolved problems in the computer field!"
What?
The students from Imperial College present were stunned.
The fastest matrix multiplication algorithm is indeed a mystery in the computer field. In computer science, computer graphics, pattern recognition, and such all require matrix multiplication algorithms. But the current algorithms are imperfect; many computer scientists have devoted their entire lives to finding better and faster algorithms, but to no avail.
Lin Fan presenting this problem to Stephen was just trickery!
"What’s most embarrassing is that Stephen the prodigy’s research direction is the matrix multiplication algorithm. In other words, this is a problem he has not been able to break through yet."
Hearing the word matrix, the white students from the noble school scratched their heads.
"What is a matrix? I’ve only heard the word in The Matrix movie. Is it related to robot motherboards?"
Lin Fan remarked, "Top ten unsolved problems? No way, I don’t think this problem is that hard?"
"Not that hard"!
The students from Imperial College sweated nervously.
Was Lin Fan serious?
Stephen felt his throat dry up and gulped, "Not that hard? Do you mean you have an answer?"
Lin Fan said, "Of course. Why would I present a question I wouldn’t have the answer to? That would be a hassle for myself. Forget it, since you all seem to find it difficult, I’ll just share the answer."
With that, Lin Fan pulled out a blank sheet and began solving it.
Everyone quieted down, staring straight at Lin Fan as he filled the page with his pen. Soon, the page was full.
Lin Fan stopped and said, "Although the problem isn’t hard, writing down the entire answer in detail could equate to a tens-of-thousands-word paper. So I’ve simplified it a bit to highlight the key thought process. As long as you understand that this is the current world’s fastest matrix algorithm, that’s enough."
Saying this, he handed the answer over to Stephen.
Stephen almost took the answer tremblingly. Just reading a few lines, his hands began to shake uncontrollably.
Halfway through, Stephen suddenly dropped to his knees, his knees no longer under his control.
"Oh my god, I must be dreaming, this is a beautiful dream, isn’t it?" Stephen’s voice trembled as he expressed a life-questioning awe.
