HPDBC Chapter 116 You Little Rascal
Chapter 116 You Little Rascal
Cronin gasped, then asked, feigning composure:
"That being said... but looking at the entire field of mathematics, there must be one or two topics that make you itchy to try and tackle them, right?"
He was just too curious.
What kind of behemoth will this monstrous young man, who has just slain a dragon, target next?
If it clashes with his own research direction, he absolutely needs to give some pointers and advice as soon as possible to prevent the kid from going astray.
Su Hao rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, and said:
"If you really want to ask... I'm actually quite interested in the Riemann Hypothesis."
"Um……"
Cronin let out a low groan from his nose. His brow furrowed slightly.
He was frantically muttering to himself:
"Holy crap, did I misjudge it?"
"Is this kid actually a hidden honor fanatic, with ambitions far greater than he appears?"
The Riemann Hypothesis!
That was truly a "mathematician's meat grinder" and a "graveyard for geniuses"!
For over a century, countless brilliant and talented figures have fallen before it, their remains never seen again!
Conversely, if any human being is able to prove it completely, they will be crowned king!
To become the greatest mathematician of the 21st century and even in the history of humankind, and to obtain unparalleled glory!
Cronin stroked his chin, finding it indeed an extremely tempting ultimate goal that perfectly aligned with the ambitions of such a peerless genius.
"What's the reason?" Cronin leaned forward, staring intently at him.
Su Hao hesitated for a moment, seemingly finding it difficult to say what was about to come:
"Actually... I have always been extremely fascinated by the distribution patterns of prime numbers."
"When I had nothing to do before... I also tried to derive Goldbach's Conjecture myself."
At this point, Su Hao sighed, his face full of regret:
"But in the end, I despairingly discovered that with the mathematical tools currently available to humankind, whether it is the circle method or the sieve method, there are insurmountable barriers in analytic number theory."
Current tools simply cannot derive the final solution.
Upon hearing this, Cronin's deep eyes widened suddenly, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets!
She almost sprayed the remaining cocoa in her mouth all over Su Hao's face!
He was internally screaming and slamming the table:
"What did you say?!"
What indecent things are you spouting?!
Is this something you can say so casually?!
[2+2=4, 3+3=6, 3+5=8...]
That is, "any even number greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers".
The formulation of Goldbach's Conjecture is extremely simple and easy to understand; even a primary school student with basic addition and subtraction skills can comprehend it...
However, it is the most difficult peak to conquer in the history of modern mathematics, and even in the entire field of analytic number theory!
"Are you crazy?! Trying to prove that conjecture is practically equivalent to completely overturning the foundations of modern number theory and rewriting it entirely!"
Cronin's voice was trembling.
This is definitely not a joke meant to be exaggerated.
To prove Goldbach's Conjecture, one would inevitably need to create something entirely new with their bare hands...
To create a completely new mathematical system that can overturn the existing axiomatic framework and force all higher mathematics textbooks worldwide to be completely rewritten!
"So..." Su Hao blinked.
"ah!!!"
Cronin was as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a heavy hammer, and he suddenly woke up from a dream, and couldn't help but let out an extremely uncharacteristic exclamation.
He was so excited that he jumped up from his chair, his finger trembling as he pointed at Su Hao.
"You arrogant little bastard who doesn't even respect the heroes of the world!!!"
Is your subtext now that you think the Riemann Hypothesis, that meat grinder, is actually easier to deal with than Goldbach's Conjecture?
Are you fucking planning to use the Riemann Hypothesis, which countless geniuses revere as a god, as a stepping stone?!
Drawing inspiration and clues from this, could we ultimately use it to launch a counter-offensive against Goldbach's Conjecture?!
As is well known, there is a profound intrinsic connection between the Riemann Hypothesis and the distribution of prime numbers.
Therefore, if the Riemann Hypothesis can be successfully solved, it will undoubtedly provide crucial heuristic clues on the path to proving the Goldbach Conjecture, and may even unlock entirely new mathematical tools.
but! !
That's the Riemann Hypothesis!!!
That supreme throne that had caused countless top mathematical giants in history to fall and die with their eyes wide open in disbelief, was, in this young man's eyes, actually...
Was it merely used as a "stepping stone" for leveling up and farming basic materials during the transition period?!
This is like a novice swordsman in a beginner village who thinks the ultimate demon king is too difficult to defeat.
So I decided to first kill that hidden ancient dragon next door that no one in the entire server can defeat, just to use its dragon scales to make a handy weapon?!
Is there any justice in this world?!
Is there no law left?!
Seeing the way Cronin looked at him as if he were a monster, Su Hao's face flushed red, and he quickly waved his hands to explain:
"Well... that's not what I meant. It's mainly because the Riemann Hypothesis has a wider audience, which makes it easier for me to find a starting point..."
As he said, countless mathematical predecessors charged forward like a suicide squad. Although they all died, they left behind an extremely large data foundation and wreckage.
There are tens of thousands of papers that directly discuss the Riemann Hypothesis!
Su Hao firmly believed that within this massive pile of corpses, there must be a hidden ultimate breakthrough point that could tear through the fog of mystery, without him having to rack his brains from scratch!
"Besides this, what else? Tell me the truth!" Cronin pressed, panting heavily.
"And another thing..." Su Hao scratched his cheek, "I have a vague intuition that this problem... has a solution."
"intuition!"
Cronin gasped, his scalp tingling.
That's an academic sense that only the ultimate geniuses, personally favored by the gods, can possess!
It's an "aiming cheat" that's more unreasonable than any rigorous formula!
Cronin took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Listen, child.
Exploring uncharted territory in the field of mathematics relies most heavily on this kind of flash of inspiration.
But you must know that excessive reliance on intuition is itself a dangerous form of obsession; it could lead you into an abyss of no return!
Su Hao nodded, not refuting, but instead changed the subject:
"I heard that you, Professor, are currently leading a team tackling a Millennium Prize problem?"
"What?" Cronin looked at Su Hao, a sly and meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"Trying to extract information from me?"
"Hehe, I am a little curious." Su Hao nodded honestly.
"Easy!" Cronin slammed his hand on the table.
"If you nod your head now and promise to come to Princeton to study for my direct PhD, I'll immediately reveal all my cards to you!"
We will share all of our project's most crucial derivation progress without reservation!
I could easily give you a heads-up: we're incredibly close to the final answer; your arrival is like reaping the rewards!
This is a temptation that could make any math genius in the world kneel down and call him "Dad"!
however.
Su Hao pouted in disappointment and shook his head without hesitation.
"Let's forget about it then. It's no fun if we know the answer beforehand."
Instantly, the air fell silent.
Click!
Cronin felt as if his heart had shattered into pieces.
Cronin, a titan of the Princeton mathematics department, whose students are eager to become his disciples!
For the first time in my life, I was completely and ruthlessly turned away when I tried to recruit students!
The old man was completely dumbfounded!