Great Country Academician

After asking for directions from several people in succession, Xu Chuan was a little confused after they all said they had never seen Perelman on this street.

Perelman, does he really live here now?

I heard that he moved once. Could the address he gave in the mailbox be his previous address?

Fortunately, Tao Zhexuan confirmed that he did not live here before. It seems that this reclusive weirdo has lived in seclusion thoroughly.

Shaking his head, Xu Chuan walked forward, grabbed a middle-aged man, continued to consult, and handed over the photo in his hand. After looking at it, the middle-aged man said, "Professor Perelman? "

Hearing that the other party recognized him, Xu Chuan was shocked and said quickly: "Do you know where he lives?"

The middle-aged man in a thin coat looked at the photo in his hand again. After thinking for a while, he suddenly stared at Xu Chuan twice and asked with a hint of suspicion:

"Are you Professor Xu Chuanxu?"

Xu Chuan glanced at him, and after confirming that he did not know the other party, he nodded and said, "I am, who are you?"

I have to say that there are benefits to being handsome.

He took Perelman's scrawled photo and asked for a long time. He didn't know many people, but now he was recognized.

After confirming that the figure in front of him was really Professor Xu, the middle-aged man stretched out his hands excitedly: "Hello, Professor Xu, my name is Kelvin Ive. I am a professor of mathematics at St. Petersburg State University. I didn't expect to be here." See you."

"Hello, Professor Kelvin."

Listening to the self-introduction of the man in front of him, Xu Chuan shook hands with him in surprise. He did not expect to meet a mathematics professor from St. Petersburg University in such a remote suburb.

The mathematical strength of Tsarist Russia is still very strong. The mathematical strength of St. Petersburg State University, converted domestically, is almost at the same level as Shuimu Peking University.

"Professor Xu, Professor Schultz, Professor Tao, are you going to find Perelman?" After briefly greeting the three of them, Kelvin Ive asked with a smile.

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Do you know where he lives on this street?"

Kelvin Ive shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, Professor Xu, I have been working here for two years and I have never seen Perelman, let alone where he lives."

"But I do know that someone should know where he lives. Do you need me to take you to find him?"

Xu Chuan: "Is it far from here?"

Kelvin Ive smiled: "It's not far, just a little ahead of this street."

Just when Xu Chuan was about to ask him to take him there, Zheng Hai, who had been following him like an invisible man, took two steps forward and asked, "What is the name of the place you mentioned? Who is he? Where is he?" "

Kelvin Ive glanced at Zheng Hai, then at Xu Chuan, and said with a smile: "Professor Curtis Paris, Steklov Institute of Mathematics!"

Hearing this name, Xu Chuan suddenly reacted.

Curtis Paris, a master of probability theory and topology in Tsarist Russia, may not be very famous outside, but his strength is still very good.

And he also has a very famous mentor-Andrey Kolmogorov!

Known as the ‘Ke Laoxie’ of mathematics, he is the founder of modern probability theory and a versatile figure in mathematics in the 1990s. He has influenced the development of mathematics in the 21st century.

Its status in modern probability theory is like Grothendieck's status in algebraic geometry.

"I didn't expect Professor Curtis to be here, but when did the Steklov Institute of Mathematics move here?" Xu Chuan asked curiously.

The Steklov Institute of Mathematics is the top mathematics research institution in Tsarist Russia. It was established in the former Red Soviet period by the mathematician and mechanics ‘Steklov’.

This is a research institute with a "red" nature. Almost all the scholars in it are from red countries, including China. In the last century, many people have done research and exchanges there.

Kelvin Ive grinned and said: "This is just a branch, based on the Department of Mathematics of St. Petersburg State University, and the headquarters is still in Cosmo."

As he spoke, he led a few people towards the Steklov Institute of Mathematics.

Not very far away, at the end of this street, a red and white building with a pre-Hong Kong architectural style appeared in front of us.

Just when a group of people were about to go in to look for someone, an old man wearing a windbreaker walked out of the building.

"Professor Curtis."

The first person to recognize him was naturally Kelvin Ive. He walked up quickly and said hello, then introduced: "Professor, Professor Xu Chuan, Professor Tao, and Professor Schultz are here."

Hearing this, Curtis Paris was stunned for a moment, and then looked at the few people standing on the roadside. After confirming that he had seen correctly, he put a smile on his face and greeted them.

"Professor Xu, Professor Tao, Professor Schultz, welcome, welcome to the Steklov Institute of Mathematics, come over here, why didn't you say hello to me in advance?"

The professor thought that these people were coming to see him, so he greeted them warmly.

Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment, knowing that the old gentleman in front of him had misunderstood. However, he did not break the old man's enthusiasm. He smiled and exchanged a few words. It was not until the old man enthusiastically invited him in that he said with some embarrassment. .

"Professor Curtis, do you know where Professor Perelman lives on this street?"

Curtis was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing and understood that these real big names in front of him were all here to see Perelman.

Smiling, he said: "I know this, but I'm not sure whether he is at home today. Do you need me to take you there?"

"If that's okay, I'd be sorry to trouble you."

"It's okay. I just have to go out anyway, so I'll take you there along the way."

Curtis smiled and took off his windbreaker and took the lead towards the distant street.

After walking for nearly fifteen minutes, just when they were about to walk out of this small street, an old apartment appeared in front of several people.

"He lives here, but he doesn't really like outsiders coming to disturb him, especially there are so many of you. I don't know if you will be turned away."

After bringing the person to the door, Curtis said with some disdain.

Although he and Perelman live in the same town, he may not meet each other even once a year.

He also came to visit a long time ago and wanted to exchange mathematics, but except for one chance meeting with someone, almost all subsequent visits were rejected.

Xu Chuan shrugged and said with a smile: "I hope for the sake of mathematics, we can meet him."

As he spoke, he turned his attention to the old apartment in front of him and took a good look at it.

In the small apartment, the white paint on the walls is peeling off piece by piece, and the wooden windows can clearly show the traces of time.

To be honest, he couldn't imagine that a great mathematician who proved the Poincaré conjecture lived in such a small old apartment.

I have to say that even he is actually a little hard to understand.

After all, although he is devoted to academics, he doesn't mind using academics to make himself and his family live a better life.

And Perelman can only be described as an admirable 'ascetic'.

After all, if he needs money, just the various bonuses brought by proving the Poincaré conjecture will be enough for him and his family to live well for the rest of their lives.

Although he was not sure whether Perelman was at home now, Xu Chuan still stepped forward and knocked on the door.

After waiting for a while, the apartment door opened with a creak.

A tall man with a messy beard, wearing old jeans and a dark shirt appeared in front of him.

His eyes swept across the crowd standing at the door, and finally fell on Xu Chuan. With a hesitant expression on his face, he spoke first:

"Are you Xu Chuan?"

Xu Chuan nodded and extended his right hand with a smile: "Nice to meet you, Professor Perelman."

Perelman dipped his hand lightly, shook hands briefly, and said: "I am just a mathematician now, not a professor. Just call me by my name."

"Come in first, standing at the door is not a good place to chat."

With that said, he stepped aside and let the few people standing at the door come in.

The entrance to the small apartment is the living room. The living room is not big and the furniture is very simple. There is no coffee table and only a 7-shaped sofa. It is very small and can only seat three or four people.

This made it so hard for some people to squeeze in and find a place to land.

Perelman didn't care, walked into the room and found two cheap plastic stools, and handed them to Kelvin Ive and Zheng Hai who had not yet sat down.

Zheng Hai didn't take the stool. After scanning a group of messy rooms, he silently walked to the corner of the stairs and turned into an invisible man.

Perelman looked at Zheng Hai and saw that he was standing there without moving and ignored him.

"Want something to drink? But I only have coffee, black tea and water here." Perelman asked casually, not caring about his poverty.

Xu Chuan glanced at Perelman, who had messy hair, and said, "Just a glass of water."

I heard that Perelman's living expenses are less than 50 kilograms per week, which is also his mother's retirement allowance. It can only be said that this great mathematician devoted all his life to mathematics.

On the side, several other people nodded in agreement.

"Me too."

"Just the same as Professor Xu."

Perelman nodded, stood up and walked to the water dispenser. He took a few disposable cups from the side and poured them for several people, including Zheng Hai, who was standing in the corner without any movement. They handed them over unexpectedly. Had a glass.

Judging from this, it's not that he doesn't know how to socialize, he just doesn't want to socialize.

Putting the plastic stool in his hand directly under his butt, Perelman took a sip from the water glass in his hand, looked at Terence Tao and Schultz, and ignored Curtis and Kelvin beside him.

"Why are you here together?"

Terence Tao smiled and said, "This International Congress of Mathematicians is being held in St. Petersburg. We'll stop by to see our old friends. Aren't you welcome?"

Perelman said expressionlessly: "If you come with mathematics, I welcome it. If not, it doesn't mean anything."

Hearing this, Terence Tao couldn't help but shake his head gently.

Although he admired Perelman's research in mathematics, he probably wouldn't be able to do it if he was asked to be like him, with nothing but mathematics.

If you think about it, no one sitting here today can do it except Perelman.

Seeing that Terence Tao did not come with a mathematical problem, Perelman quickly looked away from him.

Ignoring the others, he looked directly at Xu Chuan. After staring at him for a while, he suddenly said: "I have read all your mathematics papers, starting from Wehr-Berry Starting from the conjecture, to the Yang-Mills existence and the mass gap problem, they are all quite exciting. But if I want to evaluate, the most outstanding article is the proof of the existence of the solution of the NS equation."

"It's perfect, so perfect that it's amazing. Use Ricci manifolds to expand fluid topology, construct geometric structures, and transform them from irregular manifolds into regular manifolds. To be honest, I still haven't figured out what you are. How did you come up with this construction method? It shouldn’t exist in this world, as if it came from the void.”

As if talking to himself, or asking how Xu Chuan did it, Perelman murmured, his brown-green eyes looking at Xu Chuan opposite him for a moment.

For Perelman, who solved the Poincaré Conjecture, topology and manifolds can be said to be his natal fields.

When Xu Chuan studied NS equations, the way to expand fluid topology through Ricci manifolds and then construct geometric structures was undoubtedly the way that most attracted his interest.

But as he said himself, he couldn't figure out how the other party came up with this method.

So subtle, so perfect.

It is so perfect that the entire mathematical tool seems to come from the void, or is a gift from God to mankind.

PS: There will be more in the afternoon. Please give me a monthly ticket. Double updates have started to resume. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting for so long.