Chapter 200 - Already Proven?!
The atmosphere in the venue was in dead silence.
There was a weird vibe...
Awkwardness?
Ma Changan frowned. He thought that people would agree with him but it was the opposite.
From the audience’s reaction, it seemed that no one agreed with his question.
However, it did not matter, as he planned to defeat this boy himself.
Other professors did not want to make enemies, so they did not speak up.
Even Professor Qiu Chengtong stayed silent.
However...
Sitting to his left, an old professor coughed before he spoke loud and clear, “Um, Ma Changan, how about you sit down. You can ask this question after the report is over. This report is for academic questions.”
Ma Changan was stunned as he did not expect people to refute him.
Wei Siyang turned his face and when he saw the old professor, he was shocked.
It’s actually Academician Guo!
He’s a major player in the field of nonlinear equations!
But...
Isn’t he a professor from Aurora University?
Ma Changan had an unpleasant expression. Even though he respected Professor Guo, he was not afraid of him.
He had to stand his ground.
They were from the same school, so he had to be a little euphemistic.
“Professor Guo, I don’t really agree with what you said. I’m concerned about the state’s research funding. Why can’t I discuss this at an academic conference?”
Professor Ma Changan paused for a second before he continued, “We all know that putting into practice is the only way of testing the truth. Without implementing it, how would we know if a method is useful?”
“... Otherwise, new methods would have no basis behind them. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
“Haha,” Professor Guo nodded his head as he did not want to step down to Professor Ma Changan’s level. He calmly sat back down.
He only wanted to remind Professor Ma Changan. He did not want to start a debate.
Unfortunate...
Lu Zhou stood on stage and looked at Professor Ma Changan oddly. He thought, “You’re not my supervisor, so why is my research progress any of your business?”
You’re talking about a scientific methodology to me?
Do I look like a politician to you?
Lu Zhou was about to speak before another familiar voice came from the crowd.
“Let me say something.”
An old man from the back of the venue slowly stood up. His voice was impatient as he asked, “I don’t know if Ma Changan reads Annual Mathematics?”
When Lu Zhou saw the old man, he was surprised.
This...
Isn’t he Academician Xiang Huanan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences? He was one of the judges from my undergraduate oral defense!
It has been a while.
When Professor Ma Changan heard this question, his heart dropped.
A mathematician not subscribed to Annual Mathematics was like an undergraduate student coming to class without a textbook.
Professor Ma Changan smiled and said, “Academician Xiang, you’re funny. Every mathematics office at Aurora University has a copy of it.”
“Then you haven’t read it?” asked Professor Xiang Huanan. He then said, “Maybe read the latest issue of Annual Mathematics, it might answer your question.”
Ma Changan did not understand and so, he asked, “What do you mean?”
Professor Xiang smiled and calmly said, “In the latest edition of Annual Mathematics, the thesis for the Polignac’s conjecture proof was published. The author is the guy currently standing on the stage. The method he used to solve the Polignac’s conjecture is the so-called “Group Structure Method”.
The venue was dead silent.
Some people were oblivious.
Some people, like academician Guo, had already read the latest issue of Annual Mathematics.
However, they were in the minority.
Most people had a look of astonishment on their faces... They could not believe it!
They could not believe that the young guy that solved the twin prime conjecture at the beginning of the year, had expanded the k=1 form to infinity, and solved the Polignac’s conjecture!
Some people did not know why the Chinese Mathematics Society gave the Shiing-Shen Chern Mathematics Award to such a young person.
Now, it was all clear.
He was definitely worthy of this award!
When Professor Ma Changan heard this news, he froze and he was at lost of words.
He could not believe it.
However, he also knew that Professor Xiang was not lying.
His face turned red, but he did not know what to say. He wanted to sit down, but his legs could not move.
At this moment, he was the laughing stock.
Sitting close by, Professor Guo shook his head.
There was nothing wrong with asking questions at an academic conference. However, for someone to ask a question like Ma Changan, he better be damned sure that his question was backed by evidence. Otherwise, he would lose all credibility.
An academic conference was no place for rhetorical questions.
Not to mention it was in front of so many people.
Even though Professor Hong was his friend, he could not help Professor Ma Changan.
There was no way Professor Hong could support his friend’s 2017 election anymore.
It seemed that Professor Ma Changan would not become an academician after all.
At least not until he accomplishes some big achievement...
Professor Guo could not help but look at the man on stage.
The young man was calm as a cucumber. He did not even mention about publishing his major thesis.
Meanwhile, Professor Ma Changan just stood there as he dug his grave deeper.
The young man on stage had a mature-like mentality!