Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The food club was one of the many cultures in Princeton. There were two “cafeterias” on both sides of Prospect Avenue.
Of course, the differences between a club and cafeteria was still very big. Especially those clubs who were run by students as their groups were often non-accepting.
For example, aristocratic children from Boston would not allow rednecks from Texas to join their clubs unless the person had high achievements in a certain field.
As such, one could tell a person’s social class from where they were eating.
The most famous clubs were the Ivy Club and Tiger Shop. Before the court order in 1991, they would not recruit females. They only recruited the “elite”.
Lu Zhou did not think too much of it. He heard that Ivy Club had good food. He only had to pay $5,000 USD per year for as much food as he wanted. There was also an unlimited supply of coffee, so he went to sign up.
After that, he was informed on some dining etiquette rules and was soon accepted into the club.
He thought that he would have to go through an interview like everyone else and fight for his spot.
He actually wanted to practice his interviewing skills.
However, it seemed that society was quite welcoming to those with abilities.
Right now, sat opposite him was one of the senior members of the Ivy Club: David Lawrence. A PhD student in history.
Lawrence was a very common surname in the US. If one were to meet a Caucasian family with the surname Lawrence from Boston, one would not be able to help but wonder if they had ties to the Kennedy.
The reason why Lu Zhou was accepted into this club was due to David Lawrence’s help.
Since Lu Zhou did not care about cultural background or nationalities, he naturally became David’s good friend.
He was Lu Zhou’s first friend since arriving at Princeton.
It had been two days since his meeting with Professor Deligne. He still had not made a decision yet.
After listening to a lecture, Lu Zhou went to the Ivy Club for dinner.
David was also there, so the two sat together with their food.
They started to talk about their plans after graduation. David smiled and asked Lu Zhou, “Are you interested in investment banking? If you are, I can recommend a few good places for you.”
Lu Zhou, “I don’t really have an interest in employment since I prefer to do research.”
David smiled and said, “Oh really? Don’t you think using mathematics to finesse the financial markets is also very exciting? Maybe you could even earn a Nobel Prize.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “I haven’t studied financial mathematics before. If you’re so interested in finance, why don’t you do a finance degree instead of history?”
David tapped the wine glass and said, “I actually didn’t want to come here. My first choice was to study an MBA at Wharton. But my dad stubbornly sent me here because he’s a Princeton alumnus… At first, I also studied mathematics like you, but that stuff was way too hard for me. Therefore, I changed to history.”
Lu Zhou was cutting his steak when he sensed a girl staring at him. He sighed.
This guy’s a good friend, he’s just a bit too handsome.
Even Lu Zhou had to admit that David was beating him in the looks department.
“It seems that every family has their difficulties… But isn’t there an MBA at Princeton?”
“Nope,” answered David. He smiled and shook his head, “Princeton is the only Ivy League school that doesn’t have a business school.”
However, even though there was no business school at Princeton, there were many successful entrepreneurs.
For example, the founder of Amazon was a Princeton graduate.
The reason why top companies liked to recruit from Princeton, was mostly because of its academic resources and background. It was also partly due to Princeton’s rich alumni association.
While the two were chatting, a lady wearing a black dress walked over.
David noticed that she was not walking toward him, so he smiled and said, “It seems that you have a date? I won’t be in the way.”
“No, it’s fine. You can sit here.”
Lu Zhou tried to explain himself.
However, David did not listen.
“Haha, I won’t third wheel you two. I’m done eating anyway, see ya.”
David got up and left with his tray.
“…”
Lu Zhou looked Molina and sighed before he said, “Miss Molina, what now?”
Molina did not waste time. She stared at Lu Zhou and asked, “Fine, I know you chose Professor Deligne… But are you not interested in our research project at all?”
Lu Zhou sighed.
He obviously knew what her research project was about.
She invited him last time.
He had not expected that her supervisor was as crazy as her.
Lu Zhou, “Your research project is completely unrealistic, it’s like building a house on Mars… Let me guess, to prove Riemann’s conjecture, you would have to build a new theoretical framework and use that to solve it.”
Molina said with excitement, “We are doing that right now!”
Lu Zhou, “Did you succeed?”
Molina shook her head and hesitated before she said, “Soon!”
Lu Zhou sighed and said, “So, not yet?”
Lu Zhou knew why her supervisor, Sophie Morel, was so impatient.
The 2018 International Mathematician Conference was in two years. There were only four Fields Medal spots, and two were already confirmed.
One was Peter Schultz, the one that created the most promising mathematical frameworks in today’s algebraic geometry: “PS theory”.
While other people were “solving problems”, Schultz, on the other hand, built a tool. A tool created when solving problems was more important than solving the problem itself. Schultz had already won the Philippine Wind Vane EMS Award (European Mathematical Society Award), and there was no doubt that the Fields Medal was his.
The other was the prover of the Polignac’s conjecture, Lu Zhou. Although Lu Zhou did not create a mathematical framework like the “PS theory”, he solved many important problems.
The Polignac’s conjecture was worthy of a Fields Medal.
Qualifications were not involved in the Fields Medal selection process and only the results mattered. This was why Grigori Perelman was able to win the Fields Medal Award. However, he did not accept it as he did not want fame or money.
Grigori Perelman had refused numerous awards including those from the European Mathematical Society which awarded him the Young Mathematician Award.
There were only two spots left for the Fields Medal. A possible candidate was Fernando Marques, a Brazilian guy. The 2018 mathematics conference was going to be held in Brazil, which made it even more interesting.
Other candidates were people like Geordie Williamson, who had also received the EMS Award, or Maryna Viazovska, the Ukrainian mathematics goddess.
If Sophie Molina could contribute to Riemann’s conjecture, such as updating Kangrui’s “critical line” from 40% to 50%, her chances of winning would greatly increase.
However, Lu Zhou did not understand why Molina was also impatient.
She was a long way from a Fields Medal…
Molina rubbed her hair and stared at Lu Zhou. She said in a certain tone, “My supervisor and I can spend the rest of our lives this problem since I don’t plan on producing results soon anyway.”
Are you that obsessed?
Lu Zhou put down the knife and wiped his hands with the napkin. He then said, “Then… You go ahead. Don’t drag me along. I have other stuff to do.”
Molina raised her eyebrows, “Professor Deligne’s research project?”
Lu Zhou laughed.
Speaking of which, this time Molina actually gave him a little inspiration.
He had been entangled between the two choices that Professor Deligne threw at him. At the same time, Goldbach’s conjecture also gave him two tempting choices. The choice of methods.
Should I use the circle method or sieve method?
Both methods seemed to have reached their last steps, but only a little off.
If this is the case…
Lu Zhou’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He spoke.
“Goldbach’s conjecture.”
This time, he used a certain tone.
Molina was stunned and she nearly laughed out loud.
“Sorry… I’m not doubting your ability, but I just couldn’t hold it in. It seems that I’m right, you are crazy.”
Molina asked, “Do you plan on using the circle method or sieve method?”
Lu Zhou heard this question and smirked.
“Neither.”
