A strange combination existed at Princeton.
Which was Paul Krugman and Professor Albert László Barabási.
The reason why this pairing was strange was not because of what happened between the two people, but because the area they were researching was difficult for ordinary people to understand. Even Principal Eisgruber couldn’t give a fair valuation.
The story of the two people meeting each other was full of coincidences.
At first, they exchanged business cards at the dinner party after an academic conference. After that, the two people’s opinions unexpectedly coincided with the proposition of where the future of mankind would go. This resulted in the quantitative analysis of this proposition using mathematical models.
It just so happened that one of them was an economist who was passionate about natural sciences, whereas the other was a physicist who was passionate about sociology. They were able to complement each other in their respective fields of expertise.
When they were in St. Petersburg, they, unfortunately, failed to recruit Lu Zhou into the team to study the mathematical model for predicting the future. However, even without the help of the world’s best mathematician, the two still did not give up, and they continued to work hard in this area.
However, they had made no significant progress…
In the cafe near the teaching building.
As usual, the two sat across from each other. They enjoyed their afternoon tea and chatted about recent events, as well as complex academic problems.
“When it comes to high-speed interstellar travel, the theory of relativity determines that there is a phenomenon of time expansion in different coordinate systems. If there are a pair of twin brothers, and one day, the older brother boards a spacecraft for long-distance space travel while the younger brother stays on Earth, when the older brother returns to Earth, he will find that he is now the younger brother… Does that make sense?”
After listening to Professor Krugman’s speech, Albert nodded. He said, “Yes… But what does this mean for economics?”
“It doesn’t mean anything, but if we replace the twin brothers with two businessmen, the results will be completely different. You know, in business, time is an important cost. What if the profit of the space trip is lower than the regular interest rate of the bank?”
“There is a formula for this.” Krugman scribbled a line of calculations on a sticky note. He pushed it in front of Professor Albert and said, “This is where everything begins.”
[PE*·qE·pα/pα*≥(C+pE·qE)·(1+r)2n.]
Albert took a closer look at the formula on the sticky note. He involuntarily raised his eyebrows.
“Very strange formula…”
“It is strange, but it contains a very important theory: my first theorem of interstellar trade.” Krugman smiled and continued, “When trading goods between planets, the calculation of interest should use the time of the planetary inertia system instead of the time on the spaceship. Set the interest rate of the bank on Earth as r, and if and only if this inequality is established, then this trip won’t be a loss.”
Albert: “A very interesting idea… Speaking of which, if there is a first theorem, is there a second theorem?”
“Of course, due to the existence of trade competition, planets with the same inertial coordinate system will gradually tend to the same interest rate. This is the second theorem… However, they are all invalidated now.” The old man chuckled and said, “These theories are all based on the absolute correctness of the theory of relativity. Which means we cannot exceed the speed of light.
“Even though the theory of relativity is still correct now, we have found a shortcut to the stars… At least a theoretical shortcut. When the time does not expand and the flight time is shortened, we don’t have to think about the time dilation during the journey.
“In fact, what I really want to say is… Haven’t you noticed? Hyperspace theory affects not only physics but also economics.”
Professor Albert fell into deep thought.
After a long time, he sighed.
“You’re right. Scientific progress has brought great uncertainty to mathematical models. No matter how perfect and rigorous the calculation is, it is difficult to predict this leap in physics theory. Even if our mathematics model successfully predicts what might happen in the next hundred years, if another person like ‘Professor Lu’ exists, our model will be wrong.”
Krugman nodded.
“This is what I’m worried about. The study of the overall changes in civilization weakens the role of the individual, but when the role of the individual cannot be ignored, our assumptions become wrong.”
Suddenly, a young man walked into the cafe.
He was wearing a gray suit and he looked a little unusual, as if he had just seen or heard something weird. The man walked straight to the side of the two professors and spoke.
“Professor…”
“Good afternoon, Dr. Milson,” Professor Krugman smiled and looked up at his assistant as he said, “What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“You asked me to collect information about the Tau Ceti Star System Colonization Fund…”
“Is there any news?”
“Yes.” The assistant nodded and hesitated for a while before speaking, “That fund… It seems like Xiao Tong is in charge of managing it.”
“Xiao Tong?”
Krugman froze.
It took a while before he came back to his senses. He sat up in his chair and looked at his assistant in disbelief. He asked, “Wait, you mean… that Xiao Tong?”
The assistant smiled bitterly.
“Yes… This is already public.”
Krugman spoke after a long silence.
“I see… Okay then.”
The assistant nodded, turned around, and walked away.
Krugman leaned back in his chair as he squeezed his eyebrows.
He wanted to find a way to get in touch with the manager of this fund and maybe have a cup of tea or something, perhaps exchange academic problems.
But now…
He really did not expect that this person was actually his student.
“I can’t believe it…” Albert, who was sitting across from him, opened his mouth and looked at Professor Krugman with a dumbfounded look. He said, “It turns out that… your student is managing this fund.”
This is 10 billion yuan!
This isn’t just a graduation thesis!
It wasn’t that they doubted Xiao Tong’s abilities, but why would a normal person give so much money to a PhD student who hadn’t even graduated?
“It sounds ridiculous…” Professor Krugman had a complicated expression on his face. He said, “However… It does seem like something Lu Zhou would do.”
In fact, Xiao Tong was quite talented.
The only thing she lacked was real experience.
In his opinion, it would be better for her to start as an assistant. It would be too risky to start with such a difficult job immediately…
However, if Lu Zhou didn’t care about losing hundreds of millions, this wouldn’t matter.
I guess having a filthy rich brother is one of her advantages…
“She’s unlike other students I have taught. She is one of the few who can achieve a balance between theory and applied economics. She wants to learn both of them and do everything.”
Albert took a sip of coffee and asked curiously, “Is she talented?”
“Not just talented.” Krugman shook his head and said, “She’s also hardworking.”
Also, her stepping point was higher than most people.
She was the sister of a Nobel Prize winner. Even if Lu Zhou did nothing, she still could use his prestige in the academic world and his relationships with Princeton professors.
It was like a recommendation letter from a celebrity.
Her surname itself was a very, very powerful letter of recommendation. It was the kind that was widely recognized in the academic community.
Therefore, under such circumstances, even if she didn’t work hard, she would still survive. Not to mention she was just as hardworking as her brother…
“The economic model of the future is a very promising area. Compared to other fields, we have done very little research in this field. And now, it’s in an era of rapid development. It is difficult for old theories to adapt to new ones… This is just like the ‘Interstellar Trade Theory’ I mentioned earlier.”
After a pause, Professor Krugman continued, “I know that the topic of her recent thesis happens to be related to the Star System Colonization Fund. Whether it’s applied economics or theoretical economics, this is a good opportunity for her.”
Professor Albert: “Opportunity?”
Krugman nodded.
“An opportunity to combine theory and application and find a certain balance.
“The entire economic circle is using the Tau Ceti Star System Colonization Fund as an example for studying the future social and economic activities of human civilization. She is the manager of this example. I believe that with her insight, she should be able to discover something interesting… After all, she is the closest person to the truth; even I won’t be able to gather as much information as her.
“If… And I’m saying if she can summarize the laws and discover something different about human social and economic activities after the discovery of hyperspace theory…”
Professor Krugman looked at how surprised Professor Albert was as he continued in a serious tone, “Then perhaps she has a chance to win the Nobel Prize in this lifetime…”
