CHAPTER 482: CHAPTER 155 UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT_2

First, he nodded slightly, then shook his head.

Well, it didn’t exactly interrupt his train of thought; it just interrupted his desire to delve further.

To be honest, he didn’t fully understand!

But you can’t blame him; in fact, Zhang Yuanling believed that at least ninety percent of the people at the conference couldn’t understand what Qiao Yu was saying at that moment.

It’s not that everyone’s level or comprehension isn’t enough. The main thing is that today’s content is too special. A brand new theoretical framework, and everyone has only had one evening to come into contact with this framework.

Before thoroughly grasping the framework Qiao Yu personally built, understanding the content of this paper is understandably difficult.

So while listening to the report, Zhang Yuanling constantly recalled some conclusions and theorems from another paper.

For example, the definition of a modal space, the modal density function, the construction of the modal path, the modal convolution formula, and other knowledge points...

He then used these not-so-familiar knowledge points to deduce what Qiao Yu was discussing. These had to go through a very complex transformation process in the brain.

It’s easier when you’re younger, but once you age, the mind isn’t as agile as when you were young.

"If you can’t understand either, I feel relieved. After all, I’ve reviewed his ideas before," Shen Chongxing said jokingly.

It was indeed a joke.

If Zhang Yuanling had known back then that Qiao Yu could bring this axiomatic system to such a level in just over two months, he wouldn’t have doubted anything and would have approved it directly.

But now, he can only say he miscalculated!

"Tian Yanzhen is really lucky, to the point where it’s hard to describe," Zhang Yuanling said nonchalantly.

He knew that Shen Chongxing meant no harm. The two had a good relationship and had privately discussed yesterday that if Shen Chongxing were reviewing Qiao Yu’s project proposal, he certainly would have had doubts too.

You could just say that Zhang Yuanling was pretty unlucky this time.

"Sigh... it’s not just about luck. After all, he’s at Yanbei University," Shen Chongxing sighed and said.

Zhang Yuanling remained silent.

Yes, perhaps only Yuan Zhengxin had the qualification to say that Tian Yanzhen was just lucky, and even Yuan Zhengxin fell slightly short.

The reason is naturally the siphon effect of prestigious schools.

When more than 80% of competition students, examinees, and their parents in society choose Yanbei and Huaqing as their first choices, it’s indeed too difficult for other prestigious schools to compete with these two for the best talents.

Especially talents like Qiao Yu, who already stood out at the age of sixteen.

Although Shuangdan University is also a prestigious school and its School of Mathematics is nationally ranked, it still falls short compared to Yanbei and Huaqing.

Seeing that Zhang Yuanling didn’t speak, Shen Chongxing sighed again and said, "Sigh... yesterday it was two papers; for at least the next thirty years, I think we can look forward to Huaxia’s voice in the world of mathematics."

Zhang Yuanling smiled, but it wasn’t a wholehearted smile.

Just from the second half, it’s obvious this was a compliment, but as old colleagues, he certainly understood the meaning when pieced together:

For at least the next thirty years, there’s no need to consider challenging Yanbei and Huaqing’s status in the Huaxia mathematics world...

Any ambitions can be set aside for now. These things are imaginable.

With this realization, Zhang Yuanling suddenly thought of a possibility and couldn’t help but say, "Old Shen, what do you think about next year’s Fields Medal..."

Shen Chongxing hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said with emotion, "This... probably won’t be possible, right? After all, he’s still too young, only seventeen next year.

But we can look forward to the one in 2030. By then, he’d only be 21. However, I can be sure that a lot of awards next year will certainly consider him."

Zhang Yuanling nodded, indeed... seventeen, such a young age.

This is definitely one of the scenarios the International Mathematical Union jury would need to consider.

If Qiao Yu really won the award at seventeen, how long would he dominate the world of mathematics? Not to mention, every year there are many candidates whose ages hover around 40, and once they pass that, they never have a chance again.

Moreover, the Fields Medal jury has to at least consider leaving some anticipation for the future... If Qiao Yu really wins the award next year, the topic of the youngest Fields Medal winner would probably be completely settled.

This made Zhang Yuanling somewhat emotional; who would have imagined that one day, the reason preventing a mathematician from winning the Fields Medal is because he’s too young?!

After all, it’s an utterly absurd situation.

"So, Professor Zhang, after this conference, I think you could pick some time to chat with Qiao Yu... Besides, the project was withdrawn on his own last time, so it doesn’t really have much to do with you,"

Shen Chongxing looked complexly at the young man on stage who was still eloquently speaking and casually said.

Zhang Yuanling thought for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly before saying, "Let’s first thoroughly understand that paper. It’s never good to approach rashly; there should be common ground."

Shen Chongxing also nodded his understanding of Zhang Yuanling’s concerns; being dignified individuals, they couldn’t just entirely disregard face, right?

...

Further ahead, Yuan Zhengxin wasn’t too concerned about Qiao Yu’s lecture content, since he had long read the paper many times and had discussions with Qiao Yu.

The presentation at the conference followed the paper, and he was clear on Qiao Yu’s thought process at each step.

Instead of spending time there, it was better to give some pointers to his students.

"You said yesterday that Qiao Yu already explained the thought process of this paper to you?"