From all-round academic master to chief scientist - Chapter 534 Meeting Professor Searle

Obviously, a conference that awards two awards to the same person in a row is a history for the International Congress of Mathematicians.

Although neither of the two awards is the top award in mathematics such as the Fields Medal, what you need to know is that whether it is the Gauss Medal or the Chen Shengshen Medal, these two awards are only awarded to one person in each session. , and then awarded every four years.

Compared with an award like the Fields Medal, which can be awarded to up to four people in one session, it is obvious that these two awards, which can only be awarded to one person, are more difficult to obtain, let alone awarded at the same time. To one person.

What’s more, Lin Xiao has already won the Fields Medal.

That is to say, the Fields Medal can only be awarded once. Maybe Lin Xiao can win another Fields Medal in the next one.

Just like that, with everyone’s envious eyes and congratulatory applause, Lin Xiao hung two medals around his neck, faced the camera, and then took a group photo with De Duolun.

“Okay, Mr. Lin, congratulations again.”

After taking a group photo, De Duolun also smiled and applauded Lin Xiao.

“I also thank the International Mathematical Union and the committee of this conference for their recognition.” Lin Xiao nodded slightly, then nodded to the audience present, and then stepped off the stage amidst even greater applause.

After returning to his seat, the people next to him also congratulated him.

Lin Xiao also responded one by one, then picked up the two medals around his neck and looked at them, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Who can know whether there are political factors involved in these two medals?

It seems that he lives up to his name, but it is inevitable that people will feel that there is a kind of goodwill in it.

Of course, for this kind of problem, it is better not to think too much than to think too much.

Then he shook his head, took off the medal, and put it in his pocket.

This is France, so there is no need to worry about the theft of medals like at the 2018 conference.

Next, we continued to watch the rest of the award ceremony.

Of course, the International Mathematical Union obviously knew that awarding two consecutive awards to the same person was of sufficient weight, so the next awards were naturally awarded to others.

Lin Xiao obviously never thought that he would be able to get a third one.

So just like that, the opening ceremony ended.

Everyone started to leave, and Lin Xiao was inevitably surrounded by many people who congratulated him.

Among them, he also met old acquaintances from Princeton University.

Pierre Deligne walked up with a smile, and then said to Lin Xiao: “Boy Lin, you are worthy of giving us big news as soon as you come back!”

Lin Xiao helplessly spread his hands: “The conference wants to give me an award, I can’t refuse.”

Deligne laughed, then opened his arms and stepped forward to hug Lin Xiao.

“No matter what, it’s good to be back. Maybe scientists have national boundaries, and maybe science also has national boundaries, but no matter what, friendship definitely has no national boundaries.”

“I think so too.”

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled, stretched out his hand and hugged the other person, and said at the same time.

Everyone present laughed and cheered for this scene.

Then, Lin Xiao took the initiative and invited these old acquaintances to have afternoon tea together and chat at the same time. Everyone present agreed. The afternoon agenda was basically boring anyway, not to mention that most people were not interested. I came here for Lin Xiao’s Riemann Hypothesis report, and I didn’t pay too much attention to other reports.

So just like that, everyone went to a relatively luxurious hotel nearby and started their afternoon tea.

Lin Xiao was also among them, chatting with these famous mathematicians about daily life.

“Speaking of which, where is Professor Pompieri? Didn’t he come this time?”

Deligne was holding a cup of coffee. Just when he was about to drink it, he heard Lin Xiao’s question and said with a smile: “He is ninety years old this year, and his body can’t withstand all these torments, so he didn’t come. But don’t worry, he will definitely look at you on the day you report.”

“That’s right.” Lin Xiao nodded slightly, “Is he in good health?”

“Not bad.” Deligne smiled and said: “Don’t worry too much about him. Speaking of which, those of us who study science generally live quite a long life.”

Lin Xiao smiled, it was indeed the case, and there were indeed many elderly scientists among them.

But take a look at Deligne in front of you.

Pale hair, wrinkles all over his face, and many age spots.

You know, Deligne is eighty-six years old this year, and his body looks quite strong.

But when Deligne hugged him before, he could clearly feel that even the strength of the hug was very weak.

Do people eventually leave this world?

Lin Xiao had such an idea in his mind.

Can’t the power of science and technology realize human immortality?

In the past, scientists once proposed a concept called longevity escape velocity. Its general meaning is that through the development of science, it can be achieved that every year on average, human life span can be extended by one year or more.

In this way, with such technology, human longevity can be achieved.

Even eternal life.

But obviously, it is very difficult to achieve this, because no one can guarantee that their life span can be extended in such a continuous manner.

And most importantly, this technology also breaks the last fairness in the world, that is, both poor and rich people will eventually die within the same age range.

Because once this technology appears, only the rich will be able to master it at the beginning.

The rich will even monopolize this technology forever, turning the poor into real reproductive machines at high prices, providing eternal labor force for the wealthy class.

By then, the advanced society that humans have developed over thousands of years may have evolved into an ancient slave society.

Therefore, this idea only slightly emerged in Lin Xiao’s mind, and then he gave up quickly.

Even if such a technology is really developed, he will definitely not let it leak out. For such a technology that breaks the order, sometimes it is better to be selfish.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?”

At this time, Deligne, who was next to him, saw Lin Xiao thinking and couldn’t help but ask a question.

Lin Xiao came back to his senses, smiled, waved his hands, and said, “It’s nothing.”

Then he glanced to the side again, and then asked Laurent Laforgue over there: “Laurent, I want to ask Professor Serre, how is he doing lately?”

Hearing this question, Laurent Laforgue couldn’t help showing an embarrassed expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Xiao frowned and asked again.

Laurent La Forgue sighed helplessly and replied: “Professor Serre has had serious health problems recently and has been lying in bed for several months.”

“What?” Lin Xiao showed an expression of disbelief.

…

The entrance of a small villa full of traditional Parisian temperament.

Lin Xiao appeared here, then pressed the doorbell and knocked on the door.

This is the home of Jean-Pierre Serre.

As the knock on the door rang, after a while, footsteps came from inside.

“I’m coming.”

A female voice came out, and then the door opened, and a girl in her early twenties appeared inside. She had blond hair and blue eyes. In this darkened country, such beautiful French girls are rare.

The girl saw Lin Xiao outside. When she saw this Chinese, she was a little confused and asked: “Excuse me, are you…”

The last French word hadn’t even ended yet, and then she opened her beautiful eyes wide, covered her mouth, and said in disbelief: “You, you, you…are you Lin Xiao?”

Seeing the girl’s surprised look, Lin Xiao smiled and then said: “If you are talking about Lin Xiao who won the Gauss Award and the Chen Shengshen Award this morning, then it should be me.”

After hearing Lin Xiao’s words, the girl’s face became even more surprised: “It’s really you!”

Then she covered her cheeks, which were probably red from excitement, and ran into the house, shouting at the same time: “Dad, that Lin Xiao is here!”

Seeing the girl running away and the open door, Lin Xiao touched her nose and wondered whether she should go in or wait for their adults to come.

But speaking of it, that girl should be Professor Serge’s great-granddaughter, right?

He looks so old already, only a few years younger than himself.

Today, Lin Xiao already feels like he is old.

Soon, a middle-aged man walked out of the house, Jean-James Serre, the grandson of Jean-Pierre Serre.

The word “Jean” in French names is generally used by the older generation. Young people no longer add this word to their names, and they even make fun of those who are also young and have “Jean” in their names.

Of course, they certainly won’t ridicule those of the older generation with “rang” in their names. Maybe they are a great person?

For example, Jean-James Serre is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. After all, he has the grandfather of such a great mathematician, so it is not surprising that his grandson would follow his grandfather’s path.

And he also inherited his grandfather’s talent well and was quite successful in mathematics, but he did not completely replicate his grandfather’s talent. After all, before Lin Xiao, the youngest Fields Medal winner, It was his grandfather Jean-Pierre Serre.

Of course, after seeing Lin Xiao, Jean-James Sale also showed great enthusiasm.

In any case, Lin Xiao is the greatest genius in mathematics of this era.

Soon, after a simple chat, Lin Xiao expressed his intentions.

“Are you planning to come see my grandpa?”

Lin Xiao nodded.

He needed to explain the misunderstanding to Professor Serre, which was also one of the purposes of his coming to France this time.

“I don’t know if grandpa can see you now. Grandpa is too old. Although he does not suffer from any serious illness, he basically does not have much energy on weekdays.” Jean James Ser stood up and said: ” Let’s go take a look first, just come with me.”

Lin Xiao nodded, and then went upstairs with him.

Soon, he entered one of the bedrooms.

I saw an old man with a thin and tired face leaning on the bed, wearing a pair of reading glasses, and holding a magnifying glass in his hand, looking at a book in his hand.

It looks like a treatise.

If Lin Xiao went up and took a look, he would find that this paper was his proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.

“Grandpa, are you awake?”

When Jean-James Serre saw this scene, he quickly stepped forward and asked.

“Well, I just woke up. That girl Lucia called someone. Are there guests?” Professor Serge put down the paper in his hand and turned his head to look.

Jean-James Serre smiled and gave way to Lin Xiao and said, “Look, who is here.”

Professor Serge was stunned and looked at Lin Xiao standing behind, and then his face showed excitement.

“Lin…is it Lin? Are you here?”

Lin Xiao stepped forward, “Teacher, it’s me.”

At the door, Jean-James Searle sighed slightly when he saw this scene. How long has it been since he saw his grandfather so excited?

I wanted to remind Grandpa to calm down so as not to affect his body, but after seeing the scene in front of him, he finally gave it up, left the bedroom, and closed the door.

On the bed, when Professor Serge saw Lin Xiao approaching, he opened his eyes wide and saw his face clearly. After confirming that it was Lin Xiao, he finally showed a happy smile.

“You still know how to come to see me.”

Lin Xiao smiled and said, “Now that it is safe to go abroad, I will naturally come out.”

Serge sighed, “You must have had a hard time these years, right?”

Lin Xiao was silent for a moment, and then said: “It’s not that hard, not to mention it’s all worth it.”

Serge smiled and said, “It’s indeed worth it. You alone have allowed your country to achieve such a huge rise. I thought that this kind of thing would only happen in ancient times at most, but I didn’t expect that you alone can’t.” It’s done.”

“Maybe it’s… God’s favor.” Lin Xiao said, does his system count as God’s favor?

If the system that was given to him comes from a civilization with an unprecedented level of technological advancement, then is his fate of being chosen to receive this system considered a blessing?

Or is there something somewhere that determines all this?

This question was quickly thrown away by him, and then he looked at Professor Serre again and said, “Teacher, I actually came here to ask you a question.”

“Oh? What’s the problem? Of course, I still said what I said back then. If it’s a math problem, I can’t teach you. At most, I can only provide you with some reference in life.”

Lin Xiao smiled: “It’s not that profound. I just want to ask, are you still blaming me for not replying to you back then?”

Serge was stunned when he heard this question, and then he couldn’t help laughing and said: “Are you talking about my 100th birthday party?”

“Yes.”

Serge shook his head, “I have already forgotten about that matter. After so many years, can I still be angry?”

Hearing such an answer, Lin Xiao’s face showed a smile, “That’s fine… No matter what, it’s my fault for making the teacher angry with the students. In fact, the reason why I didn’t reply back then was because… …”

“Okay, okay, let’s not talk about those things back then. Did you come here just to ask me if I am angry? If you are like this, then I will be really angry.”

Lin Xiao said helplessly: “Okay, then I won’t say anything.”

Serge shook his head, then propped himself up, “Come on, help me and go to the window.”

Lin Xiao nodded, then helped Serge up, left the bed, and went to the window.

As he walked around, he could also see Professor Serge’s extremely thin body through the outline of his clothes as it swayed, as if it were just skin and bones.

That’s life passing by.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help but think about what she had been thinking about in the morning. Is human lifespan limited after all?

I came to the window and looked at the scenery outside. Paris in July is also full of life.

Serge pointed to a rowan tree in the courtyard outside the window and said: “I planted this tree with my own hands the year Josian left, and it is now so lush and leafy.”

“Oh, Josian is my wife, a chemist. Unfortunately, she has been gone for twenty-six years. If she is still here and knows you, she will definitely be very happy.”

Lin Xiao nodded slightly: “Definitely.”

Both of them looked out the window quietly. After a moment, Serge spoke again.

“Lin, what do you think true freedom is?”

“Real freedom?” Lin Xiao looked to the sky: “Until our technology can send us to every corner of the universe, and every one of our ideas and will can be realized due to the development of science and technology, this is I think freedom.”

“Well, it’s very idealistic and in line with you.” Serge nodded slightly, “But we need to pursue the freedom of the moment. The freedom you mentioned is too far away. At least, our generation cannot see it, right? ?”

“Just like that bird.” Serge pointed to the bird on the branch of the lush rowan tree and said: “A few decades ago, there was no such tree here, so the bird could only land in other places. Do you think they are freer now than before?”

“It doesn’t count.” Lin Xiao shook his head: “Because this tree also blocked them.”

“Yes, so no matter how fast science and technology develop, we will actually lose another part of our freedom to a certain extent.”

Serge nodded slightly: “So, your definition of freedom can go one step further.”

“Above all, set your own heart free.”

“Whatever comes to your mind, just try to do it. I will probably go to heaven soon to see my Josian, and you still have a lot of time to be more free.”

Lin Xiao pondered, then nodded: “I understand.”

“Yeah.” Serge nodded.

Lin Xiao added: “But, teacher, you have to keep a good mood. Although heaven is good, the world is worth staying.”

Serge smiled: “I know my physical condition, and I am more satisfied than most people if I can live to die.”

“Of course, as a mathematician, what makes me even more satisfied is that I can also witness the solution of the Riemann Hypothesis.”

He turned to look at Lin Xiao and said with a smile: “So, I am already looking forward to that day in two weeks.”

Lin Xiao also smiled slightly, “I promise I won’t let you down.”

“Um.”

…

Two weeks passed quickly.

The International Congress of Mathematicians also ushered in its last day.

It is also the most important day.

The academic report meeting on the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis officially arrives today.

The Paris government also attaches great importance to this academic report and specially arranged a conference room large enough to allow more people to participate in this academic report of the century.

And major media from all over the world also flocked to the event.

This report will be broadcast live worldwide.

And the number of people paying attention has reached millions, which is unprecedented for a mathematics professional seminar.

This is also the treatment that the Riemann Hypothesis, the most important issue in mathematics today, deserves!