CHAPTER 288: CHAPTER 118: INSPIRATION AS WONDERFUL AS A VOLCANO_6

But when it came to reading papers on the Geometric Langlands Conjecture, he didn’t think about resting at all...

This change in attitude is a bit too quick and drastic, isn’t it?

But then again, Tian Yan Zhen proactively started finding excuses for Qiao Yu...

Maybe he was attracted by the quality of the papers? He’s a math genius, after all, which is quite normal.

...

After telling his fib, Qiao Yu returned to his room, didn’t rest, but instead, following Tian Yan Zhen’s instructions, checked the list of experts attending the seminar on the official website, and then continued to work on the papers.

After all, fooling a mentor is a skillful task.

Moreover, whether it was really fooling or not often depends on the result.

For instance, even if he gave a reason that seemed far-fetched, if he could actually use these ideas to build the model, it wouldn’t be fooling, but that he genuinely thought so at the time.

The same logic applies to blowing bullshit.

If you publicly say you want to achieve a goal that others think is impossible, and if you don’t achieve it, that’s blowing bullshit; if you achieve it, then it’s stating a fact, or truly impressive.

Back in the day, before a certain Mr. Ma succeeded, he once said, "In the future, shopping will be done online, and most goods will be sold through the internet." It sounded unreliable at the time, but he eventually succeeded.

To the extent that later, when he publicly said he doesn’t like money and has no interest in it, others found it hard to refute him.

Because there really aren’t many people who can match him in wealth, instead, he’s usually the one throwing money at people...

So as long as you’re impressive enough, you can talk nonsense however you like, and people will believe you.

The same applies to mathematics, as long as you’re impressive enough, if the articles you write have no flaws for others to find, they have to admit you’re right.

Of course, some effort as a price has to be paid, but luckily this is exactly the point Qiao Yu is most interested in, so working hard is no harm.

...

In the first few days after returning to Yanbei, Qiao Yu spent his time studiously working through papers.

Besides making a solemn phone call to Qiao Xi on Tomb-Sweeping Festival, entrusting him with his condolences while visiting their grandparents’ graves, he had almost no contact with anyone else.

Oh, and actually, Senior Brother Chen came to visit him once.

He did manage to uncover some rumors circulating among the overseas students, but after hearing them, Qiao Yu tossed them aside, thanked Senior Brother Chen, and told him he didn’t need to inquire anymore.

After all, Chen Zhuoyang has also been quite busy lately, preparing for his thesis defense, with the date already set.

Although the thesis itself isn’t very robust, he still has to ensure nothing major goes wrong during the defense — can’t embarrass the mentor too much. So there’s actually a lot to prepare.

Qiao Yu liked this quietness.

The professors invited this time were all very high level, and naturally, the quality of their past papers was also high. After reading them thoroughly, it deepened his understanding of the entire Langlands Conjecture significantly, to the point where when Qiao Yu looked back on his previous understanding of the theory for solving the Geometric Langlands Conjecture, he vaguely felt he was close to uncovering the crux of the problem...

He seemed to have a proto-type counterexample forming in his mind... a feeling of excitement, ready to emerge.

Using many people’s self-deprecating words, it was as if his brain had grown again, leaving it feeling itchy.

This state persisted until the series of seminars on the Geometric Langlands Conjecture at Huaqing officially kicked off.

The first day’s main lecture was by Professor Everton from Princeton.

Qiao Yu once again enjoyed a special arrangement, sitting in the front row.

Yuan Zhengxin even placed Pan Jingyuan right next to Qiao Yu for them to communicate at any time.

Although they frequently communicated on WeChat, having been virtual acquaintances for a long time, mostly with Qiao Yu asking for advice on his part, it was their first time meeting in person.

Especially for Pan Jingyuan, although he knew Qiao Yu was only sixteen, age was just a concept without meeting face-to-face. Seeing the still youthful face made it even more disarming.

It was easy to have the thought, why isn’t this kid sitting obediently in high school class?

After greeting Pan Jingyuan earnestly, Professor Pan asked, "I read your insights from that day. Have you found the counterexample?"

The young man shook his head and honestly replied, "Not yet, but I feel I’m close to touching it."

This answer left Professor Pan feeling a bit more displeased.

Yet, the boy eagerly said, "Professor Pan, would you like to hear me explain my thoughts in detail?"

Pan Jingyuan shook his head and said, "Wait a moment, Professor Everton’s lecture is about to begin."

"Oh, okay!" Qiao Yu nodded obediently and corrected his posture, appearing a bit more formal.

After all, this was not attending a lecture at Yanbei University; he had to uphold Yanbei University’s reputation, and it’s possible the grandmaster would also drop by later. He had to impress the adults.

Not to mention, there were many foreign friends sitting in the front row at this seminar.

Qiao Yu was very clear about the restraint needed in such settings, just like how free one could be in the mentor and grandmaster’s office. A basic truth, yet unfortunately, not many understand.

As he expected, Elder Yuan walked into the venue with a foreign professor, saw Qiao Yu sitting upright, and the grandmaster smiled at him, eyes full of indulgence...

The entire lecture, Qiao Yu listened intently. Perhaps many academic matters genuinely felt more impactful when discussed on stage, or more able to ignite passion; anyway, Qiao Yu found it thoroughly enjoyable, much more interesting than reading papers.

Due to time constraints, Professor Everton seemed to focus on two points.

Firstly, how to combine symmetry in representation theory with geometric structures to gain understanding of the conjecture; secondly, how p-adic Hodge theory offers new perspectives for the Geometric Langlands Conjecture.

And as Professor Everton explained from shallow to deep, Qiao Yu suddenly felt that the barrier in his mind blocking his inspiration was being violently shaken, with inspiration on the verge of bursting forth...

Like the imminent eruption of a magnificent Mont Fuji.