Chapter 162: Edward Witten
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yan Xinjue looked at Lu Zhou and said with excitement, “Unbelievable, how did you find out that they made a wrong calculation?”
He thought that they were going to lose, but at the last second, they pulled through.
“Maybe I’m sensitive to numbers? I don’t know how to describe this feeling. I just felt like something was wrong with the thesis, so I looked over it and found the mistake,” said Lu Zhou. He smiled and continued, “I’m guessing that they were rus.h.i.+ng. If they doubled checked the graph, they wouldn’t have made the mistake… Our acceptance presentation check is the day after tomorrow?”
Yan Xinjue said, “Yeah, it’s the day after tomorrow. I suggest you relax and take a small break.”
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “I’ll relax after the presentation. We can’t lose to the University of Syracuse. I’ll double check our results tomorrow.”
Professor Brunos would definitely try to find a mistake, so Lu Zhou had to be certain that their thesis was perfect.
Lu Zhou did not want to lose on the finish line.
Just as he had packed up his stuff and was about to leave the venue, suddenly someone called his name.
“Lu Zhou!”
When he turned around, he was shocked.
“Luo Wenxuan?”
Luo Wenxuan hugged Lu Zhou and smiled as he said, “What a coincidence, you’re here too. What a small world.”
“Yeah, small world… This is?”
Lu Zhou looked at the old man standing next to Luo Wenxuan. He thought that the old man looked familiar.
Luo Wenxuan smiled and said, “Let me introduce to you, this is my supervisor…”
The old man interrupted Luo Wenxuan and said, “Edward Witten.”
He extended his right arm and smiled.
Edward Witten!
Lu Zhou was shocked when he heard this name.
He knew that Luo Wenxuan was doing mathematical physics, but he did not know that Luo Wenxuan had this big name as a supervisor!
How nutty was this guy?
During the ’80s, knot theory was the craze, and many invariants were invented. One of the more famous ones was the Jones Polynomial.
When the mathematicians were still busy figuring out this new concept, Witten jumped out and told everyone that there were 3-stream types and sometimes different multiplications could construct Jones polynomial invariants…
He made the problem simple, but that was not just it.
He also immediately gave a set of topological methods of shearing flow which shocked the entire world.
The same thing happened in string theory.
Since the 1960s, string theory had been popular in the field of theoretical physics. Everyone dreamed of completing Einstein’s dream, so a lot of different versions of “superstring theory” emerged.
Then in the 1990s, Witten appeared again, offering the legendary M theory. He proved that many different versions of the superstring theory were actually different limits of his “M theory”…
In a sense, this person was like Lu Zhou.
When Lu Zhou defeated the twin prime conjecture, he shocked the academicians of the world.
However, even though Mr. Witten was a physicist, he received a Fields Medal.
After all, modern theoretical physicists were still struggling to test the standard model. Even the three-dimensional world had not been fully understood. A one-dimensional string was a mystery.
He would have to wait for hundreds of years for his theory to be proven. Only then, could he received the n.o.bel prize.
Lu Zhou shook Witten’s hand and said, “Nice to meet you!”
Witten smiled and said, “Nice to meet you too. My friends have told me about your presentation at Princeton. Unfortunately, I missed it.”
The two started to chat, and the conversation quickly got technical.
“You’re interested in mathematical physics?”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Yeah, I am. Theoretical physics is fascinating.”
Witten took out a business card and said, “It seems that we have common interests. If you’re interested in researching at Princeton, you can consider becoming my PhD student.”
Lu Zhou took the business card from the old man and said politely, “I’ll take your offer into consideration.”
Although Lu Zhou still wanted to talk with Witten for a bit, Witten had something to do so he left early.
Luo Wenxuan became more relaxed. He patted Lu Zhou’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go drinking tonight?”
Lu Zhou replied, “I can’t go tonight. I still have some data to process. Maybe some other day? I’ll buy you drinks.”
Alcohol would distract his attention and at the moment, Lu Zhou needed a clear mind.
Luo Wenxuan patted Lu Zhou on the shoulder and said, “Okay then, I’ll wait to drink with you!” He then left.
When Lu Zhou looked back into the venue, he saw that Professor Lu Shenjian and Yan Xinjue were gone.
Those two probably went back to the hotel. He then turned around and walked to the stairs.
Just as he was about to leave the building, suddenly, Lu Zhou noticed that the female presenter was standing at the exit. Her arms were crossed and she had a weird vibe.
Lu Zhou was not good at recognizing a foreigner’s face.
However, this time, he instantly recognized her.
He pretended like he did not see her and quietly walked to the other side of the corridor.
He was scared.
He had already experienced the enthusiasm of foreigners at Princeton and he did not want to try again.
The reason was simple.
For a handsome guy like him, there could only be one reason for a woman waiting for him.
However, he could not escape so easily.
When he turned around, he heard footsteps.
Lu Zhou tried to walk faster, but she was already in front of him and she was blocking his way.
She’s so fast!
He prepared himself mentally as he did not know what to expect.
They were quiet for a while.
Lu Zhou looked at Kerella and asked quietly, “Excuse me, is there anything I can help you?”
With her arms crossed, Kerella stared at Lu Zhou and asked, “Is it fun to embarra.s.s a girl on stage?”
Lu Zhou was stunned for a second. He then stared at her and asked, “I’m only pointing out your mistake. What has it got to do with your gender?”
Is this it?
I thought she was going to do something else.
As Kerella looked at Lu Zhou’s careless att.i.tude, she did not know what to do.
She took a deep breath as she stared at Lu Zhou. She then said, “Your presentation is the day after tomorrow, right? I’m looking forward to it.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Good, I don’t know what you’re looking forward to though. But I think I’ll live up to your expectations.”