CHAPTER 400: CHAPTER 138: MATHEMATICS? NOTHING BUT A GAME OF THE CREATOR!_2

Qiao Yu nodded instinctively, then shook his head and said blankly, "Riemann Hypothesis? That... isn’t my next stage task to complete undergraduate studies?"

Tian Yanzhen nodded and smiled, "Yes, undergraduate studies are the foundation, indeed what you need to do next. But this does not conflict with doing research.

In fact, we all recognize that your energy is vibrant enough to support you in conducting targeted research while consolidating your foundation. This is also related to your previous study habits and outcomes.

While solving a problem, you actively read related literature and always gain significantly. This is actually part of basic learning.

For example, you have actually accumulated quite a rich foundation in Algebraic Geometry and Mathematical Analysis. What you lack is other related foundational knowledge."

Qiao Yu looked at Tian Yanzhen blankly.

Although he didn’t mind doing this research, it seemed to overestimate him a bit.

"That... Director Tian, you and Elder Yuan aren’t suggesting that I should solve the Riemann Hypothesis during my undergraduate years, right? Isn’t this a bit too much credit for me?"

Qiao Yu couldn’t help but speak.

Even though he was confident in himself, this was no joking matter.

He used to say he would tackle the Riemann Hypothesis just to coast along, but now he’s not planning to do that anymore, and his supervisor is getting serious!

If it really went that way, not to mention graduating in a year, Qiao Yu doubted if he could even graduate in ten.

"What are you thinking? If the Riemann Hypothesis were so easy to prove, would anyone else need to? Do you really think the $1.5 million US dollar prize from the Clay Research Institute isn’t enticing?"

Tian Yanzhen shook his head and said, "Rest assured, Elder Yuan and I would not assign tasks at your current stage that you absolutely can’t complete. The Riemann Hypothesis is the ultimate goal, but it’s a path forged step by step.

In fact, compared to the grand Riemann Hypothesis, there are many smaller conjectures in the related fields that can support it. For example, Montgomery’s Pair Correlation Conjecture, the Small Prime Gap Conjecture, the Mordell Conjecture, and issues related to Landau.

This also includes the Twin Prime Conjecture, Legendre’s Conjecture, the accumulative properties of the Möbius function values, and so on.

Especially the Twin Prime Conjecture, if you’re interested in primes, you should know Professor Zhang Yuantang’s paper ’Bounded Gaps between Primes’, which proved the existence of infinitely many prime gaps smaller than 70 million. This was a significant breakthrough.

Also, his proof concerning the Landau-Siegel Zero Point Conjecture might give you some references. Moreover, I’ve already contacted Professor Zhang. If you’re interested in the Twin Prime Conjecture, he’s willing to assist you.

Of course, we’re not insisting that you must prove the Twin Prime Conjecture; even pushing this gap forward by one step is an achievement. What we value most is your train of thought."

Qiao Yu nodded instinctively, realizing more deeply the significance of having a good mentor.

Whether it was Tian Yanzhen or Elder Yuan, they always could find the most skilled people to assist wherever he wanted to research and learn.

Tian Yanzhen continued, "However, these are just suggestions from Elder Yuan and me. Ultimately, the decision on which entry point to officially start researching from is yours.

You must know that the Fields Medal values new mathematical thoughts. Coincidentally, we unanimously believe that this is precisely what you’re good at."

"Fields Medal? Isn’t that something I should consider only after I’m twenty?"

Qiao Yu said bewilderedly.

"When most mathematicians worldwide think you’re already qualified to compete for the Fields Medal, you can start considering it. This has nothing to do with your age. The Fields Medal has no lower age limit."

Tian Yanzhen said seriously.

As teacher and student exchanged glances, when Qiao Yu realized that Director Tian was extremely serious today, he understood.

Perhaps his supervisor and his grand mentor both thought he had a pressure-handling personality, achieving more, the greater the pressure?

However, just thinking about it, it indeed seemed quite challenging.

"So you’re saying I can choose one of the above topics as my primary research direction for the next stage?" Qiao Yu asked.

"Yes, if you need to collaborate with someone on research, you can let us know. Elder Yuan and I will do our best to contact the other party for you. Of course, you can also choose your collaborative researchers who you can get in touch with yourself."

Tian Yanzhen added.

Qiao Yu took a deep breath and then nodded, seriously agreeing, "Alright, Director Tian. I understand, and I’ll submit my research plan to you and my grand mentor as soon as possible."

When something is arranged, if you can’t refuse it, you might as well just keep working hard.

Moreover, benefiting from the research results is essentially still oneself. It’s just carrying a bit more burden.

Besides, both Director Tian and his grand mentor were actually quite considerate of him. They assigned tasks based on his previous interests.

It’s like he once told his desk mate, Zhou Shuang, when you’ve worked hard on something but seem to gain nothing, just quickly give it up and leave.

His situation was clearly not like that. He worked hard and gained a lot.

"Right, before the semester starts, work out your topic and plan first. This way, once school begins, you can allocate your attention more comfortably between learning and research.

You should know, whether it’s us or Huaqing, both have excellent undergraduate research programs. Most start by the second year; you’re just moving one year ahead. Alright, go back and rest."