In early May, the blazing sun hung in the sky.
The sunlight, obstructed by the trees alongside the sidewalk, sprinkled onto the ground, leaving only specks of light.
Even so, people walking on the streets still felt an unbearable dry heat. This was a summer in Xingcheng; even Africans who came here to spend the summer would peel a layer of skin when they returned home.
At this moment, a mother and son were walking on the sizzling pavement.
The teenage son, Qiao Ze, wore a wooden expression and walked with an odd gait, while his mother, Lu Xiuxiu, glanced repeatedly at her son, her mouth constantly muttering.
"Qiao Ze, when we meet Teacher Yu later, do you know how to address him? This is related to your whole life. Mom is useless, I can only help you with this much. If this doesn't work out, you might really not be able to attend college. What will you do then?"
Unfortunately, Lu Xiuxiu's nagging did not resonate with the boy or elicit any response; his face remained as calm as a still pond.
"Sigh... you..." Lu Xiuxiu wanted to say more but, seeing her child's indifferent expression, she ultimately gave up. Her mouth, however, continued to mutter nonstop.
Fortunately for her, the hotel that carried her last hope was not far ahead.
...
At Xiaoxiang Star Mansion Hotel, in room 716, Li Jiangao was leaning against the headboard, seriously reading a printed paper when suddenly the ringing of the doorbell interrupted his thoughts. With a slight frown, he placed the paper on the bedside table and approached the door.
"Teacher Yu, I am Qiao Ze's parent. Teacher Zhou introduced us to you."
Ah, they're looking for Teacher Yu. With admission season approaching, it's no wonder the admission officers are so busy.
"This parent, I'm not..."
Li Jiangao forced a smile as he opened the door, intending to explain that Teacher Yu had changed rooms with him, but the woman just started rambling.
"Teacher Yu, I know this might be difficult, but please hear me out first! How about we go in and talk..."
She hadn't finished her sentence when the woman, taking charge, grabbed her son by the hand and barged into the room...
"Did you write this paper?"
Li Jian Gao shook his head instinctively, saying, "No, this is the latest paper from Professor Ronier at the University of Illinois."
"Oh! The author is quite clever..." the boy nodded in acknowledgment, commenting, but immediately added, "But the proof of the third lemma is wrong, so all the subsequent proofs are problematic."
Li Jian Gao found this amusing...
Look at what he's saying...
This was a paper published in 'Mathematics Annual,' reviewed by a host of mathematicians. Of course, the paper might have issues, but none of the experts in the field had spotted them. Could this kid have noticed something they hadn't?
Moreover, the paper was about Group Theory, a subject obscure enough that those who know it, know it well.
Those who don't, probably haven't even heard the term.
Not to mention a high school student, even he had suffered immensely from choosing a topic in Group Theory during his Ph.D. studies.
But Li Jian Gao had just been promoted to associate professor and had some manners, so he just scoffed and said, "Heh, where is it wrong? Can you put it simply?"
"The proof is correct under three-dimensional conditions, but it fails when applied to four-dimensional Euclidean space. If you substitute the general formula of the four-dimensional straight line into the calculation, you'll get a unique solution, meaning either the hyperplane ABC must all be zero at once; or the subspace surface will intersect with the defined line at the solution's coordinates.
However, in three-dimensional Euclidean geometry, ABC cannot all be zero at once; in four-dimensional geometry, a surface and a line do not intersect."
Li Jian Gao was stunned for a long while, then rushed over, practically snatching the paper from the child's hands, and began to seriously re-read the proof of Lemma 3. Then, with a peculiar look on his face, he turned to Qiao Ze: "How do you know this part of the equation has a unique solution?"
Qiao Ze pursed his lips, looking at the man before him as though he was still watching a fool, also with a hint of disappointment. He didn't want to answer at first, but considering this was the first person who seemed to understand him, he reluctantly gave an explanation: "Of course, it's estimated.
You can imagine the three-dimensional projection in the coordinate system, then substitute the coordinates of every point as parameters, and proceed with the dimension transformation calculation. Although I didn't calculate the exact results, I'm certain this equation has a solution."
"In any case, the special compact Lie groups the author tried to construct are flawed!"
...