Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 961 - 349: This Is What I’ve Been Doing These Past Few Years!

Chapter 961: Chapter 349: This Is What I’ve Been Doing These Past Few Years!

For the task of having him help Qiao Yu clean up the mess again, Zheng Xiweng expected it, but didn’t anticipate it would happen like this.

Because he couldn’t understand why a computer presenting a mathematics problem could stump so many of the world’s top mathematicians.

Even though these mathematicians are quite old now, and their ability to think swiftly and sharply isn’t what it used to be, they have many students to assist them.

Qiao Yu explained to Zheng Xiweng, "The time is too tight. Actually, the problem isn’t that difficult. If they had about two weeks, they would probably find the final solution.

But my report meeting is in seven days. They would’ve taken a day after receiving the invitation from July, and another day on the plane.

Adding the time needed for booking tickets in advance and so on, they only have four days to solve the problem. It is indeed asking a bit much."

Though this explanation is quite fair. Ultimately, no matter what, these mathematicians end up stumped by July.

Zheng Xiweng considered the possibility that artificial intelligence might eventually surpass many professions.

But he never imagined that this could stump mathematicians. After all, the mathematical theory that July is based on was developed by mathematicians.

So even though July gave him some trouble again, he truly is growing more and more wary not to underestimate July.

After all, this thing can generate math problems, meaning July already has the qualifications to look down on him...

Mainly because after spending a long time with Qiao Yu, it’s easy to recall the fear of being dominated by math during high school.

Now when communicating with July, he unconsciously recalls the troubles he faced when he couldn’t understand functions, derivatives, and conic curves...

Recently, it’s become trendy on the internet to play with abstraction. Every time he sees this content, Zheng Xiweng wants to suggest to those abstraction-loving netizens to pick up a math book on functions.

The content in there is truly abstract. You don’t even need to look at the high-level parts, or go into advanced math.

Just understanding composite functions, piecewise functions, extremum, maximum and minimum problems is enough.

For example, exploring why 0.9 recurring equals 1.

...

Perhaps because there’s now another layer of admiration for July, this time Zheng Xiweng cooperated very actively in the work.

He took only a day to follow the list sent by Mr. Tian and invited all the necessary participants.

This truly wasn’t an easy task.

Firstly, these mathematicians are spread around the globe, and considering the tight schedule, it’s best to contact them directly rather than through email, hence time zone considerations.

Secondly, he also had to coordinate with July’s problem-setting evaluation. Thus, some words needed to be phrased delicately, as not to hurt the pride of these mathematicians...

In short, July not only excels at posing complex math problems but also at giving Zheng Xiweng challenging work tasks.

Fortunately, this time Zheng Xiweng truly had no complaints. Mainly, he had a premonition.

Opportunities to prove he is better than July are scarce. In six months to a year when July further grows, he might not have any chance to prove himself...

The day before the report meeting, the temporarily formed committee confirmed the list for attending Qiao Yu’s report meeting, totaling 1,237 people.

Among them, there were 838 mathematicians, while the rest were accompanying students and assistants to the mathematicians.

This number is roughly half of the expected total, but it’s fine.

Since July chose to send invitations through problem-solving, results naturally follow.

Zheng Xiweng, who could see July’s backend decision process, was very emotional.

Within the prescribed time, only 573 mathematicians succeeded in solving the problem to obtain an invitation.

Of course, whether these 500-plus mathematicians independently solved the problem remains questionable.

After all, this is an open-book exam without invigilators.

There is frequent communication among many mathematicians anyway. Although due to the rules, answers might not be directly shared, it’s possible to discuss key steps openly.

Zheng Xiweng also knew that approximately another 700 mathematicians likely came up with wrong answers.

This statistic came from the committee’s side.

Because approximately that many mathematicians directly called the Yanbei International Mathematics Research Center to inquire why, having solved the problem and sent emails to the designated address, they hadn’t received any replies.

Honestly, soothing these mathematicians who got the problem wrong is also quite a headache.

Especially when these mathematicians have a particular brand of confidence, adamantly believing they’re infallible.

Luckily, Zheng Xiweng did not need to take responsibility in such matters.

Over the years, the faculty responsible for handling these issues at the research center have accumulated rich experience.

And human sentiment benefits also become evident at these times.

Those persistently insisting they are correct, even if wrong—it’s the problem that has issues—will often quiet down once they hear names of mathematicians who successfully solved the problem and received invitations...

After all, everyone involved is smart. Holding the title of mathematician, they are surely not dim-witted; what’s feared is some individuals being excessively clever.

All in all, the temporarily decided report meeting was still prepared punctually.

Although the time was a bit tight, everyone was already accustomed to Qiao Yu’s sudden announcement rhythm of major events.