Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 52 Can You Not Be So Impatient?

"what"

Siegel wanted to refuse because he had already called the other party to invite him when he saw the proof paper in the inaugural issue of "Advances in Mathematics" after Fermat's conjecture was proved.

Lin Ran also specifically thanked Siegel in the acknowledgments of his paper:

“I would like to thank Professor Siegel for his support and help during my doctoral studies. I will always miss my time at the University of Göttingen.”

Frankly, after seeing this statement of thanks, Siegel was both moved and speechless. "Have you ever been to Göttingen? You've missed it forever."

Later, it was because of this statement that his colleagues in Göttingen thought that he was the one who let Lin Ran escape.

But after his sincere invitation was rejected by Lin Ran in a gentle yet firm tone on the phone, Siegel did not insist any more.

After all, compared with the big city of New York, a small place like Göttingen is a bit far behind.

But now facing Doylin's coercion, Siegel wanted to refuse.

Before he could think of his words, Doylin pulled out a stack of colorful papers from his pocket:

"Professor, this is a ticket from Göttingen train station to Frankfurt Central Station, and this is a Lufthansa ticket from Frankfurt Airport to New York.

If nothing goes wrong, you will be able to meet Randolph in three days. Remember to tell him that his colleagues in Göttingen are eagerly looking forward to his arrival."

"Yours, mine." Siegel took the train and plane tickets with a bitter face, "No, I'm not ready yet.

Besides, where’s the return ticket?”

Doylin smiled and said, “Professor, when the time comes, please call me and I will book plane tickets for you and Randolph Lin.”

Doylin's subtext is obvious: if you don't bring Randolph back, you don't have to rush back.

Siegel smiled wryly and said, "Okay."

When the paper was sent out, Lin Ran knew that mathematicians working in number theory all over the world were probably talking about him.

Kunihiko Kodaira and his group of Japanese mathematicians stayed in Hong Kong for a week.

Although his lecture lasted only three days, they came to Hong Kong University to communicate with him almost every day. Even if it was just for a short one or two hours after Lin Ran finished his seminar, he never got tired of it.

In addition to academic exchanges, he also met with two shipping tycoons, Xu Aizhou and Tung Chao-Yung, and explained in detail to them how the structuring of container data can be specifically operated at the port.

The two shipping giants chose to join forces in the face of container standards.

Not only did they join forces, they also brought together large and small shipowners in Hong Kong to establish a joint venture company called Hong Kong Shipping, hoping to become the standard setter. Among them was Pao Yue-kong, who would rise to prominence in the 60s.

The honeycomb deck system and the tapered guide column positioning device are easy to understand. With the structural diagram, you can make a model yourself to get a general idea.

The structuring of container data is somewhat complicated, especially when it comes to the optimal structure of large sample data, and they still need Lin Ran to explain it.

To ensure the success of the prototype project, they even recruited a group of mathematics graduates from Hong Kong University to work on it. Lin Ran's training was mainly targeted at these mathematics graduates.

Everyone was very excited. They switched to Professor Lin's seminar. They would never be in the top 50 on the exam, but they didn't expect to be able to listen to Professor Lin's class in this way.

"We'll primarily use paper cards to record data. You can think of it as a card index system similar to a library catalog."

“When using paper ledgers to record data, be sure to follow chronological order.”

Taking practical factors into consideration, it is unlikely that you will ask people to go to IBM to buy 1401 computers or 1620 computers to build database systems.

Even if you bought it, there was no database management system in the modern sense at that time.

So at the beginning we could only use manual recording methods and combine multiple manual recording methods together.

Fortunately, we are only building the container data structure for a single route now, so manual recording is not a big problem.

If it really becomes a standard, there will be enough time to develop databases and database management systems specifically for it.

Even if they start to provide database services based on this database, they can block Oracle's path.

"I thought Professor Lin's class was not difficult?" complained Liang Zhengyuan, who is an undergraduate graduate of the Department of Mathematics at Hong Kong University this year.

"Yeah, I don't think it's difficult either. Isn't it easy to understand? There are so many examples to help everyone understand it more easily.

"The Hong Kong newspapers are so good at making up stories, making Professor Lin's lectures sound like nothing but gods could understand them." Liao Mingji, a classmate from the same school and major who sat next to him, agreed.

They all couldn't understand why they thought Professor Lin was approachable, taught in a leisurely manner, and answered their questions very patiently. However, these Hong Kong newspapers portrayed Lin Ran as a high-and-mighty mathematical god who was detached from the world.

Generally speaking, Professor Lin is too talented and thinks that no difficult problem is a difficult problem in his eyes. Therefore, when he teaches a lot of content that he thinks is easy to understand, the students are like listening to a foreign language. As a genius, he cannot understand the world of ordinary people.

Liang Zhengyuan and Liao Mingji also thought so when they received the company's notice and knew they would come for training. They were even so nervous that they couldn't sleep in the middle of the night the day before. Unexpectedly, the result was nothing like what was advertised in the newspaper.

Lin Ran’s lectures were easy to understand, and Xu Aizhou, who was already in his seventies, listened with great interest.

"Professor Lin, thank you for your help. We will definitely do a good job and make the Hong Kong standard a global standard!" After the training, before Lin Ran got in the car to leave, Xu Aizhou held the other's hand tightly and did not let go.

Xu Aizhou is old but still has a keen eye. After Lin Ran's in-depth and easy-to-understand explanation, he knows very well that if they can make good use of this container data structuring system, it will not be a problem for them to make tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in profit every year from the perspective of company management.

In addition, the honeycomb hull structure can carry 30% more cargo, and the tapered guide column positioning device can avoid cargo damage. Combined, these features will greatly help sea transportation.

If the Hong Kong shipping industry can really get a share of the container standards, it will not only be a matter of money, but also provide unprecedented opportunities for the Hong Kong shipping industry and even Hong Kong's industries.

“The container revolution will bring about a future where sea power outweighs land power.
Starting next year, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will begin developing international standards for containers, establishing uniform dimensions, structures, and markings. This standardization process will enable widespread global use of containers and enable seamless connectivity between ports around the world, led by the United States.

传统散货运输装卸一艘船可能需要3-5天，而集装箱船的装卸时间缩短至8-12小时，效率提升超过80%。机械化装卸设备的普及将进一步减少了人工和时间成本.”

(End of this chapter)