SFS Chapter 62: Just like myself back then?
Chapter 62: Just like myself back then?
However, contrary to his demonic image among students, this professor is truly regarded in the world of academia.
In the global mathematics community, the name "Ilya Cronin" represents absolute authority, awe, and supreme admiration!
He once single-handedly solved a combinatorial mathematics problem that had remained unsolved for half a century, using his almost supernatural mathematical intuition.
That battle directly reshaped the academic landscape of the field.
His pioneering methodology has had a profound impact on graph theory and probabilistic combinatorics.
Today, the mathematical tools he created have become an indispensable foundation for the entire field of modern mathematics.
That is why countless graduate students, knowing that the 13th floor is a monster that devours people, still rush to knock on that heavy wooden door like moths to a flame.
The reason is extremely cruel and realistic:
Although half of Cronin's students suffered mental breakdowns and failed to graduate, the remaining half survived...
They either become tenured professors at the world's top universities, or they go straight into the academic hall of fame, winning the highest academic honors such as the Fields Medal, the Gödel Prize, and the Abel Prize!
Behind that door lies the forefront of modern mathematics!
Therefore, the 13th floor is not only a mass grave where countless geniuses have failed, but also a sacred place that every math fanatic dreams of, a place they would rather die in!
"Click, click."
The crisp sound of keyboard typing filled the office.
"Um?"
Professor Cronin, who was about to open his email to check academic emails, paused slightly, and his brows gradually furrowed into a deep frown.
"Professor! Have...have you checked Twitter?"
A teaching assistant, clutching a laptop, rushed in through the door in a panic, as if being chased by a dog.
"What exactly is going on?"
Cronin frowned slightly, his tone revealing a hint of displeasure at being disturbed.
His social media account, which is usually ignored by no one except his peers and top scholars, is now buzzing with notifications in the lower right corner, with an astonishing "999+" of unread messages!
"It must have been done by netizens."
The teaching assistant turned the computer screen in his hand towards Cronin with a troubled expression.
"At this IMO, a student from China won first place."
They insisted that the student's solution steps were extremely unreasonable, and the high score was suspiciously high, suggesting there must be something fishy going on.
On the screen, Cronin's account comment section was completely flooded with dense, hostile comments, creating an extremely chaotic scene.
"Why are they coming here and causing trouble?"
Cronin sneered, staring at the screen as if it were a fool.
"What? Do these idiots think I'm an IMO exam setter?"
Do you still think I'd care about this kind of childish competition?
"It seems they've also started targeting other well-known mathematicians."
However, given your high profile and authority, the traffic flowing to you is the largest…
Cronin's lips twitched, a sense of absurdity rising within him as if he were being provoked by an ant.
"Really? Since it's not some trivial gossip, but a purely mathematical academic issue..."
Then I'll take pity on them and step in to resolve their doubts.
Cronin's eyes instantly turned cold.
"Go and print out the test questions and the answer sheet of that Xia student for me."
"Yes, Professor! I'll get right on it!"
The teaching assistant ran off in a flash.
As soon as the door closed, Cronin glanced around to make sure no one was there, then swiped the mouse and quietly logged into the backend of his personal blog.
Normally, even if he puts a lot of effort into writing a long blog post, it might not get more than a thousand views in ten days or half a month, and the comments section would be full of the same few familiar colleagues praising each other.
After all, no matter how famous he is in academia, the general public has absolutely no interest in such a boring creature as a "mathematician".
But at this moment, the access data made him raise an eyebrow.
Today's visitors: 15,244
My blog traffic exploded!
Not long after, the teaching assistant returned, panting, with the printed test questions and answer sheets.
Cronin quickly put on his signature stern face, took the book with feigned authority, and casually glanced at the first page.
After only glancing at the questions, a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his cloudy yet piercing eyes!
Immediately afterwards, he flipped through the papers, searching for the name of the person who set the questions in the footer.
"Ha! It really is that old geezer."
Cronin sneered; everything made sense now.
Given that old buddy's notoriously twisted and ruthless ways, he's absolutely capable of doing something as despicable as stuffing such a tricky question into the IMO exam paper.
The sixth question, in particular, was extremely ingenious.
On the surface, all is calm, but beneath the surface, undercurrents are surging.
It intertwines and strangles number theory and algebra in an extremely subtle way.
This is strikingly similar to the core research topic he worked on during his master's studies, which involved countless sleepless nights.
"This problem was solved by a 12-year-old child in the exam room?"
Cronin muttered to himself, his gaze shifting downwards as he intently looked at Su Hao's answer sheet.
"Wow..."
The moment my eyes fell on the paper.
The nonchalant air on the face of this mathematician, who had seen countless geniuses and held the power of life and death in the mathematical world, vanished instantly.
Instead, there was an unprecedented solemnity.
His brows furrowed sharply, and his previously steady breathing abruptly stopped.
There wasn't a single wasted word on the answer sheet.
Prime number theory, harmonic series, and quadratic residues...
These three independent concepts, which seem like gibberish to ordinary students, are perfectly linked together in Su Hao's writing without the slightest awkward logical leap. It's as if water flows naturally, using a kind of violent aesthetic!
It has no logical leaps, yet it is incredibly imaginative!
"Um?!"
The moment he turned to the second page, Ilya Cronin's eyes widened in shock, and he even couldn't help but swear:
"Holy shit! You hit the nail on the head so quickly?!"
He felt like he had been punched hard in the head!
too fast!
This kid's problem-solving approach doesn't seem like something someone would deduce in an exam setting...
It's as if he traveled back from the future and saw the final answer in advance!
While most so-called genius students are still trapped in the illusions set by the questions, trying to find a breakthrough through tedious and useless exhaustive calculations...
This 12-year-old child only needed one glance!
Without even turning a corner in the fog, he precisely pierced the heart of the problem with one stroke!
Then, he didn't even bother to write more, and directly chose the steepest but also the clearest logical path, taking one step to the top and reaching the final conclusion!
"This feeling is just like..."
Cronin stared intently at the paper, a ridiculous thought suddenly flashing through his mind.
Just like myself back then?
No, even more decisive and unreasonable than I was back then!
Cronin stared at the lines of equations that seemed to come alive, and felt a strange, unsettling resonance with this boy he had never met before!