Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 154 Fortune or Misfortune (6k)

Shu Xingbei was not the only one to receive the letter.

"Qi Keng, this is a letter from Director Hua. Please sign for it."

Lu Qikeng struggled to his feet and took the letter from the messenger.

Although Hua Luogeng and Su Buqing were transferred away from the Institute of Mathematics at this time, and Wu Wenjun was the director of the Institute, the staff here still referred to Hua Luogeng as Director Hua.

"Qi Keng personally wrote"

China is about to hold entrance examinations to recruit top science and engineering talents to engage in cutting-edge scientific research. It is recommended that you seriously consider preparing for the exams.

salute.

华罗庚

May 17th"

Lu Qikeng is disabled in both legs and was given away by his parents to be adopted when he was young, but he is quite talented and became self-taught.

He never attended school as a child, but successfully entered high school by studying on his own through borrowed books, and later entered Sun Yat-sen University.

In 1950, Hua Luogeng was returning to China from America. He transited through Hong Kong and made a brief stop in Guangzhou. During this time, he was invited to give an academic lecture at Sun Yat-sen University. Lu Qikeng attended the lecture and wrote to Hua Luogeng, later becoming his first student in China.

The reason Hua Luogeng thought of Lu Qikeng was because the latter was exceptionally talented, especially skilled at self-learning.

This talent extends beyond simply learning high school material on one's own—that's nothing special for a genius—it also includes learning quantum mechanics on one's own.

In 59, students asked Lu Qikeng how multiple complex variables are generated and what their applications are.

Because he teaches functions of several complex variables.

Lu Qikeng couldn't answer what practical applications it had, which led the students to believe that it wasn't a real, scientific theory, because true theories come from practice and can, in turn, guide practice. The students called it pseudoscience.

This put Lu Qikeng under a lot of pressure. Back at the Institute of Mathematics, he heard Zhang Zongsui say that several complex variables were being applied to the proof of the dispersion relation in quantum field theory.

This delighted Lu Qikeng, as his theory now had a practical application, but he had absolutely no idea what quantum field theory was.

So Lu Qikeng asked Dai Yuanben for help, requesting him to teach them, who were working on multiple complex variables, the basics of quantum field theory.

Based on his knowledge of quantum mechanics from Dai Yuanben and his own self-study, Lu Qikeng completed the paper "Connections between Gauge Fields and Principal Fiber Bundles" in the 70s. He was the first to clearly give the correspondence between gauge fields and fiber bundle connections, and made some pioneering work in quantum mechanics.

Big shots are often just that simple and unpretentious.

After reading Hua Luogeng's letter, Lu Qikeng fell into deep thought. Clearly, with Chen Xingshen's student Wu Wenjun becoming the director of the Institute of Mathematics, the lives of Hua Luogeng's students were generally not going well.

This pressure is invisible.

Hua Luogeng's letter gave him a completely new option.

Soon, newspapers across the country published news that the Chinese Academy of Sciences was conducting joint admissions through examinations. Anyone under the age of 30 could participate in the exams, and the best candidates would be selected.

At this time, there is still the college entrance examination. Compared with the college entrance examination, the merit-based admission in this notice has caught the attention of many people.

"Boju, get ready to take this exam," Jiang Lifu said as he walked to his son's side.

Jiang Boju, who was back in Guangzhou for summer vacation, asked in astonishment, "Why?"

He graduated from the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at Yenching University at the age of twenty and stayed on to teach.

Jiang Boju was conducting research on Nielsen numbers at Yenching University. As a researcher, he couldn't understand his father's words at all.

“There’s no reason why, I just think this is an opportunity,” Jiang Lifu said stiffly.

Jiang Boju shouted, "This is no opportunity at all!"

Is there any place in the whole country better than Yenching University?

Jiang Lifu said, "I started teaching at Nankai University, then went to Southwest Associated University, then served as the director of the Institute of Mathematics of the Academia Sinica in Nanjing, and now I have returned to Guangzhou."

Nothing is static.

Your desire to stay in Yenching is commendable, but compared to pursuing academic research, the joint training program with the Chinese Academy of Sciences might be a better choice.

Jiang Lifu had experienced too much. Although no one wrote to him or told him what the joint training program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was all about.

But he could glean different information from just the phrase "selection based on merit".

He gleaned three words from the announcement: safe haven.

It was precisely because of this judgment that he hoped his eldest son would participate in this joint examination.

As for whether the other person could pass the exam, he never worried about that.

It would be strange if someone could graduate from the Department of Mathematics at Yenching University at the age of 20, having received their own education and training, and failed the exam.

"You're in Yanjing, so you should know that the director of the Institute of Mathematics has changed one after another."

"From Hua Luogeng to Su Buqing and now to Wu Wenjun," Jiang Lifu said.

Jiang Boju thought for a moment and said, "It seems that's true."

Jiang Lifu asked, "Aren't you curious where they went?"

Jiang Boju shook his head: "Yes, Director Hua used to come to Yenching University from time to time for academic exchanges, including when he graduated from the Department of Mathematics at Yenching University, he would come to see some students."

It seems like it's been a long time since I've heard anything about him.

When I last visited the Institute of Mathematics, not only was Director Hua missing, but some researchers I knew before were also gone.

He then realized something was wrong and broke out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Lifu then asked, "Didn't you ask them where they went?"

Jiang Boju said, "I asked, but they didn't know either."

Jiang Lifu asked, "Is there anything else unusual about the Institute of Mathematics?"

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Boju said, "The busiest place there right now is the computing center."

It is said that he is invincible in the world.

When I went there, there was a very long queue.

I heard from the staff there that this happens every day; many people line up hoping the computing center will calculate what they need, some trying to cut in line, others just to get the results.

In Guangzhou, information transmission is supposed to be slower.

If Jiang Boju hadn't told him, Jiang Lifu would have had no idea that a computing center even existed.

This made him realize that things were changing.

"Computing center?"

"That's right, it's the place that helps solve equations. They say they calculate quickly and well, with much higher accuracy than they can do it themselves."

I don't know how they did it.

"They guessed that it used the most advanced computer imported from Soviet Russia," Jiang Boju explained.

Jiang Lifu did not dwell on the issue any further, but continued, "Even Hua Luogeng and Su Buqing could not guarantee that they would work at the Chinese Academy of Sciences forever. What makes you think you can stay at Yenching University forever?"

When you have the ability to make a choice, it's better to make your own choice than to wait for a passive arrangement.

You can think about it carefully; so many changes have occurred around mathematicians.

Instead of waiting for change to happen to you, seize the opportunities you can find.

Jiang Lifu spoke earnestly and patiently.

Jiang Boju fell into deep thought after listening, because that was indeed the truth.

Change is the norm.

The exam was divided into two sessions, with the test papers prepared by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The preliminary exam was held in the capital cities of each province.

After registering, you will take the exam in the provincial capital of your province.

This is entirely out-of-pocket.

I had to cover my own travel expenses.

There is one final exam that requires a trip to Yanjing.

This round covers round-trip travel expenses. The letter I'm sending you includes not only your final exam admission ticket but also a train ticket.

It's just the outbound journey.

Because if you pass the exam, the state will take care of your entire future.

The exam was very difficult, significantly more difficult than the college entrance examination.

When Jiang Boju walked out of the examination hall, he saw that many simply dressed young people already had tears in their eyes.

From his perspective, these complex calculus problems require a massive amount of computation to be completed in just two hours.

Some of the cleverly designed test questions allowed him, someone who had attended Hua Luogeng's lectures many times, to clearly perceive Professor Hua Luogeng's style.

It wasn't just Hua Luogeng; the other party was a number theorist, and also had the style of Su Buqing.

In short, he could sense that this test was not simple.

"Dad, you're right. I reckon we'll be able to see Hua Luogeng and Su Buqing after the exam."

The sequence problems inside were extremely complex, and it was very difficult to find the pattern. After I finally solved them, I found that they were a variation of the exercises that Director Hua Luogeng had talked about in a lecture.

There was also a differential geometry problem that required proving a conclusion I had never thought of before, with so many steps it was dizzying.

I remember Professor Su Buqing mentioning this conclusion before, but at the time it was just a lemma; now we're asked to prove it.

After listening, Jiang Lifu said, "Although I have a grudge against Hua Luogeng, there is no doubt that he was a master of mathematics, as was Su Buqing."

I believe that you will have a better future than if you studied with them.

Furthermore, the Institute of Mathematics will certainly provide access to more Western academic journals than Yenching University.

After saying that, Jiang Lifu had a mysterious smile on his face: "Speaking of which, I have something good for you, as a gift to congratulate you on passing the exam in advance."

Jiang Lifu's words piqued Jiang Boju's curiosity: "What? A Panda brand radio? You bought it?"
I couldn't even get one in Yanjing.

Jiang Lifu shook his head: "No, it's the inaugural issue of 'New Perspectives on Mathematics,' and it even has Professor Lin Ran's autograph."

This was indeed an unprecedented surprise for Jiang Boju.

As a master-level figure in the contemporary Chinese mathematics community and the most dazzling star in the mathematics world, Lin Ran is undoubtedly an idol in the hearts of countless Chinese mathematicians.

This naturally includes Jiang Boju.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Boju nearly jumped for joy, his excitement overflowing: "Dad, let me see!"

Taking the magazine from Jiang Lifu and turning to the title page, Jiang Boju saw a passage:

To Boju:

I wish you continued success in making your contributions to mathematics and making constant progress on your mathematical journey.

The signature "Randolph Lin" was in English, so the name left was Lin Ran's English name.

In modern terms, this is a signature.

Jiang Boju stroked it for a moment, then flipped through the contents. It was indeed the inaugural issue, because it contained Lin Ran's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. He had also seen this journal in the Yenching University Library.

"Dad, where did you get this? Did you sign it especially for me?" Jiang Boju looked like he loved it dearly.

However, he never suspected that it was a fake.

Because there's absolutely no need for it.

Jiang Lifu explained, "Last year, Chen Xingshen got it from Lin Ran at the New York Mathematics Christmas Party, and it took a full six months to send it to me."

He said this was a special gift he got for you, to congratulate you on graduating from university.

At the Christmas party, Lin Ran and Chen Xingshen didn't talk much, but Lin Ran readily agreed to Chen Xingshen's request, since in his memory Jiang Boju was an academician in the field of mathematics in China.

Through this request, Chen Xingshen confirmed that Lin Ran indeed had no objections to him.

The other party was simply too busy to have a detailed conversation with him.

After all, to simultaneously conduct mathematical research, manage a behemoth like NASA, and also find time to do some artificial intelligence work, just thinking about it makes Chen Xingshen realize how enormous the workload must be.

Jiang Boju said, "Thank you, Dad. I will definitely prepare well for the exam and live up to your expectations."

Jiang Boju will definitely pass the preliminary test without any problem.

He returned to Yanjing with a copy of "New Advances in Mathematics" personally signed by Lin Ran, which his father had given him.

Many times it's just a coincidence that they were taken away; otherwise, if they had stayed at Jiang Lifu's house, who knows what trouble might have followed.

After all, Lin Ran is ostensibly a Chinese mathematical master, but to put it bluntly, he's a high-ranking official occupying the White House of human morality, an evil scientist who acts as an accomplice to evil.

However, things didn't go as Jiang Boju expected. After going through layers of tests, only 30 people were finally selected.

The total score was 200 points. The highest score among them was 120 points, and the lowest score was only 40 points.

A score of 40 is enough to pass the assessment.

This shows just how abnormal this exam is.

The exam was reinstated in the 1980s.

However, by that time, it had become an exam somewhat like a special program for gifted children, targeting students under the age of 15 in China. The exam content was still only physics and mathematics, and those who passed the exam would receive undergraduate, master's, and doctoral training at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After graduating with a doctorate, there will be a two-way selection process by Area 51. If you don't go to Area 51, there will be other options.

This exam is also known as the exam with the lowest acceptance rate in China.

In September 1963, deep in the mountains of Panzhihua, the base was surrounded by rolling hills, the air filled with the fragrance of trees, occasionally punctuated by the low rumble of machinery in the distance.

Everything here is shrouded in mystery, and no one outside knows of its existence.

Upon arriving here, Shu Xingbei's first reaction was that it was mysterious.

No wonder it's the place where he faked his death to escape, a place that can help him resolve all his worries about his original identity.

It was no easy task to build such a large base from the ground up here.

The Chinese scientists present here are almost all well-known figures.

Those who have studied abroad and returned to China are all familiar with each other.

He had studied in England and knew Huang Kun and Xie Xide, who had also returned from studying in England.

President Qian and Hua Luogeng are well-known figures who frequently appear in the news.

All these phenomena demonstrate how remarkable this place is.

However, he did not immediately start working with Raspberry Pi, nor did he assign him to radar-related research. Instead, his task was to familiarize himself with the "MIT Radiation Lab Series" books and teach a group of new recruits who were about to arrive at Area 51.

The classroom was located on the edge of the base. It was a simple but practical little room with white lime-painted walls. Several rows of wooden desks were placed inside, a blackboard occupied an entire wall, and fluorescent lights overhead emitted a steady glow.

Shu Xingbei has gray hair, a tall and straight figure, and gentle eyes, which hold many years of vicissitudes and stories.

"Hello everyone, I am your mentor, Mu Tianlang. I will be responsible for your training from now on."

The fact that you are all here shows that you are all geniuses. I have seen many geniuses and taught many geniuses.

I can tell you very bluntly that even among geniuses, there are geniuses among geniuses and geniuses among idiots.

So don't think too highly of yourselves and think that you're so great for getting to this point through all the selection processes.

It's not too late for you to feel this kind of pride after you've proven yourselves to be geniuses among geniuses.

But by then, you probably won't have time to be proud.

Reality will deliver an even heavier blow.

Because at that time you will officially enter the workforce and use what you have learned to solve real-world problems.

Real-world difficulties are far greater than exams; one problem after another will teach you that pride is the most useless emotion.

In other words, American newspapers are not available in China.

Otherwise, Shu Xingbei would definitely have to cite Lin Ran's deeds to prove it, "If you can be as arrogant as Lin Ran, calling all NASA engineers trash and the other side has no way to refute you, then you can be as proud as you want."

From the moment they arrived in Panzhihua, Lu Qikeng and Jiang Boju were in a state of confusion, wondering who they were and where they were.

For them, this place was too remote and too special.

The textbook on the table, labeled "Principles of Signal Processing," only added to their confusion.

Wasn't it supposed to be a joint training program? We're mathematicians, how come we're receiving training in communications engineering?

The only good thing was that Hua Luogeng and Su Buqing were both at the base, which gave them some comfort.

The missing mathematicians did indeed appear in Area 51.

However, they all looked exhausted and walked hurriedly, appearing to be extremely busy.

Based on the fact that the Chinese Academy of Sciences had just established a computing center, they assumed that Hua Luogeng and Su Buqing were in charge of the computing center's work.

Mathematicians have become calculators; the sheer volume of work is completely understandable.

"Okay, since everyone here is an adult, our teaching method will mainly focus on self-study."

During the day, we study on our own, and in the evenings, we ask questions and have discussions. Everyone is free to ask questions. I will answer what I know, and for what I don't know, there are countless experts at the base who can answer your questions.

We relied entirely on self-study, and we had a round of exams every month.

Each volume covers one week's worth of material, meaning it would take roughly a year to complete all of this.

Shu Xingbei also needs to relearn this Chinese version of the "MIT Radiation Lab Series".

However, he had a foundation, so his progress was much faster than that of the students.

One month later, in the joint training classroom of Area 51.

The evening discussion sessions were usually initiated by Shu Xingbei. He opened his book, cleared his throat, and asked, "What is the role of waveguides in microwave transmission? Who can answer that?"

The classroom fell silent for a moment. Lu Qikeng was the first to raise his hand, speaking confidently: "Waveguides can guide electromagnetic waves, reducing energy loss in high-frequency transmission and are more efficient than traditional wires."

Shu Xingbei nodded slightly and said expressionlessly, "That's right, but not comprehensive enough. Does anyone want to add anything?"

Jiang Boju adjusted his glasses and answered with slight nervousness, "Waveguides confine electromagnetic waves through a metallic structure, supporting the propagation of specific modes. This is crucial for radar systems because it ensures signal accuracy."

Shu Xingbei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of barely perceptible approval: "Not bad. Now, let's look at the mathematical principles behind it."

He turned around and wrote the formula on the blackboard.

The students immediately lowered their heads and began taking notes.

Area 51 is a very boring place; there's nothing to do except study.

Those who can come here all have a talent for science. With talent, they can get into the zone faster. With Shu Xingbei's guidance, the atmosphere in the training class is very good.

As the course progressed, the atmosphere in the classroom became increasingly tense and enthusiastic. As Shu Xingbei explained, his gaze frequently swept over each student, as if assessing their comprehension.

A student interjected with a question: "Teacher, if the waveguide dimensions change, will it affect the stability of the mode?"

Shu Xingbei put down his pen, fixed his gaze on him, and said in a deep voice, "Good question. Changes in size directly affect the cutoff frequency. Go back and derive the formula, and give me the answer tomorrow."

The audience was completely silent; no one thought it was a bad thing.

This is quite different from university classrooms in later generations.

Jiang Boju remained silent, his brows furrowed, his pen never stopping, as if he were struggling with complex concepts.

Shu Xingbei noticed his concentration and went over to ask, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

Jiang Boju looked up: "I'm thinking about how to solve the boundary conditions. Could we use the method of separation of variables?"

Shu Xingbei patted him on the shoulder, her tone softening: "I think your approach is correct, you can give it a try."

The discussion wasn't exactly lively, but every student who answered had something meaningful to say.

On a rare day off, Bi Dexian came to Shu Xingbei's dormitory to chat with him:

"Sirius, how are you feeling?"

Shu Xingbei smiled wryly and said, "Apart from the name, which I'm not used to, I've adapted to everything else very quickly."

The books you've compiled are amazing! This is the first time I've ever seen such a complete applied physics textbook.

It's much better than the textbooks I encountered in England back then.

It can be widely adopted throughout the country.

Although it's a bit difficult, the students can grit their teeth and overcome it.

Shu Xingbei previously taught at Zhejiang University, and now he teaches even more outstanding students, so he subconsciously felt that this set of books was only slightly difficult.

“I did suggest it, but the higher-ups said there’s no rush,” Bi Dexian said. “I think you’re quite comfortable teaching.”

"Of course, these are all top-notch talents."

"If I don't teach well, I'll be letting down the country!" Shu Xingbei laughed. After coming here, he felt refreshed and full of energy again.

Although my body isn't young anymore, my mindset is much younger.

"Tianlang, don't forget that you'll have to hand over this teaching job sooner or later."

I'm really short-staffed here.

"You need to get into radar development work as soon as possible," Bi Dexian reminded him.

"Of course, I can't wait!"

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(End of this chapter)