readsfreenovel Chapter 8 Naked Greed
Chapter 8 Naked Greed
"Hmm? Professor Zhou, what's wrong? What's making you so surprised?"
"What is this? Why is the answer to a geometry problem so long?"
The first one to approach with a teacup was Professor Zheng, who had been speaking in a bureaucratic tone earlier.
He adjusted his reading glasses, squinted, and flipped through the answer sheet.
Just three seconds later.
His originally rosy and oily complexion froze as if all the blood had been drained from it.
"What nonsense is this student spouting on question 4...?"
Viviani's theorem does not hold in spherical geometry, so should a curvature correction term be introduced?
What does this all mean?
"What?! What's going on?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged professor in charge of setting the questions strode over aggressively, clearly offended and displeased.
He glanced at it, his brow furrowed.
"No! Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss over a mere high school competition question?"
Since the question does not explicitly state the curvature of the space, common sense dictates that it is obviously a Euclidean plane!
Does this even need asking?! It's completely unnecessary!
The middle-aged professor slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily.
Upon hearing the word "obviously," Zhou Mingyuan's cold gaze swept over, his eyes filled with mockery.
"It's utterly pathetic."
In the purest realm of mathematics, there is never a word more malevolent than "obviously"!
Until the 19th century, all of humanity's top geometers arrogantly and "naturally" believed that Euclid's parallel postulate was a universal truth.
It was precisely because of madmen like Riemann and Lobachevsky that this corrupt "taken-for-granted" order was shattered without mercy...
The great modern non-Euclidean geometry system was born from ruins, and humanity gained the mathematical tools to deduce relativity!
"Ha! All these so-called child prodigies these days are just like this, all talk and no action!"
Professor Zheng waved his hand with a look of disgust, as if he had seen something dirty.
"He probably picked up a few obscure academic terms online and then used them to pretend to be a great professor on this exam paper!"
This is just attention-seeking! It's utterly nonsensical!
Swish!
Swish!
A rapid scratching sound came from the side, as if the pen tip was about to pierce the paper.
Zhou Mingyuan completely ignored their mockery, seemingly lost in a trance.
With his left hand firmly pressing down on the answer sheet and his right hand holding a pen, he began to verify the arrogant correction formula on the draft paper next to him at an extremely terrifying speed.
His breathing became heavier and heavier.
If, if this corrective formula really holds true...
So, the Viviani theorem, this ironclad law that has stood for hundreds of years, will be rewritten in this decaying room today!
This is not uncommon in the history of mathematics; truth often emerges from the most unexpected corners.
Of course, reason told him that what a student could easily deduce in the exam room was often flawed.
The student most likely made a fatal notation error during the derivation process, leading to this seemingly perfect conclusion.
But even a flawed, defective product can possess such a terrifying field of vision...
If we can seize this opportunity and use all our resources to protect him and allow him to continue his research, it would be an immeasurable blessing for the entire academic community worldwide!
His pen flew across the paper as he continued to verify the calculations.
The core of the formula is based on the Gauss-Bonnet theorem.
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
In a manifold space with Gaussian curvature K, the difference between the sum of the interior angles of a geodesic triangle and pi is exactly equal to the integral of the curvature over that region…
Sizzle—!
Zhou Mingyuan's pen tip ripped through the thick draft paper because he used too much force!
His hand froze in mid-air, then he abruptly grabbed another A4 sheet of paper and began the second round of calculations almost frantically.
The spherical angle of a triangle on a sphere exceeds the angle of Roche's hyperbolic plane!
If we forcibly substitute Viviani's theorem from the grand perspective of integral geometry...
Using the concept of distance from point P to the geodesic line as the center, a precise metric perturbation is generated... and this perturbation...
"This...how is this possible..."
Zhou Mingyuan muttered to himself uncontrollably, his breathing was rapid like that of a drowning man, fine beads of cold sweat seeped from the tip of his nose, and the tip of his pen trembled incessantly on the paper.
"What's wrong, Professor Zhou?" Someone finally noticed that something was off.
perfect!
A perfect fit!
The logical chain of the formula fits perfectly!
Like gears turned by the Creator himself!
On a sphere with positive curvature, the sum of the distances is greater than the height;
On a hyperboloid with negative curvature, the sum of distances is strictly less than the height.
The extremely subtle error that arises between them is directly proportional to the curvature and area of the geodesic triangle!
This kid isn't showing off.
He really did it; with just a few lines of formula, he casually toppled and rebuilt a skyscraper!
Zhou Mingyuan slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes sweeping across the entire room.
"This formula... is correct."
"...Huh?" All the professors in the room were stunned.
"100% correct! Flawless!"
I just verified the results using two methods. In spherical geometry and hyperbolic geometry, the derived results and the corrected formula on the answer sheet are exactly the same!
boom--!
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in the conference room.
The old men around them, who had been mocking and ridiculing, visibly transformed their expressions of disdain and disgust into extreme shock and disbelief within seconds!
Although they are no longer on the front line of scientific research, they still have basic academic judgment to have reached this position.
When Professor Zhou uttered the words "perfectly accurate," they understood better than anyone else what it meant.
The middle-aged professor, who had just been slamming his fist on the table, now had his eyes practically popping out of their sockets, his mouth agape as if someone had suddenly grabbed his neck.
"Then...how should this question be graded?"
Someone broke the suffocating silence, their voice hoarse.
"Should we just get all the answers right for this question?"
If we handle this special case of multiple standard answers, even if it's reviewed by higher authorities, no one will raise any objections.
Another judge stammered in agreement.
"But... if this generalized Viviani theorem formula is truly correct, and genuinely groundbreaking..."
Professor Zheng's breathing began to become heavy.
"This is definitely enough to publish in a top-tier core journal! No! It could even be published in the Annals of Mathematics!"
Gudong.
Someone swallowed hard.
greedy.
Naked, disgusting greed!
Like ghouls that have smelled blood, their faces swelled rapidly, revealing an ugly light that could not be concealed!
"Everyone... Viviani's theorem for curvature correction in non-Euclidean manifolds!"
Listen to that! Tsk tsk tsk! Listen to that, you guys!
Professor Zheng slapped his thigh suddenly, his face flushed with excitement.
"A paper title like this sounds like it carries a heavy historical weight!"
If this were compiled and published under our name, it would absolutely cause a major earthquake in the international academic community!
"Who can argue with that! For the first time in 360 years, humanity has achieved a generalized unification of this theorem at the level of Riemannian geometry!"
If this could be added to the application materials for the academician selection at the end of the year...
Tsk tsk tsk!
The judges' expressions began to become incredibly subtle.
In the suffocating silence, no one mentioned the grading of the papers again.
Everyone was like a vulture that had smelled blood, their eyes darting around with ulterior motives, rapidly calculating the best way to divide the spoils.
After a brief exchange of glances.
"Um... cough cough, Professor Zhou."
Professor Zheng rubbed his fat hands together and put on an extremely obsequious smile.
"You see, you are an authority in this field."
"You derived the formula very quickly just now. Could you please explain and reconstruct the specific steps of verifying the formula to us in more detail?"
"Yes, yes, yes! This student's proof process seems to have omitted too many crucial steps; it's too hasty!"
It seems that the massive derivation process still desperately needs the help of us senior researchers to "polish" and "complete" it; otherwise, this half-finished product will not be recognized by the academic community!
Another professor chimed in with a grand and dignified tone.
I think we should do this!
According to the rules, we should call this student over through the organizing committee so that we can all work together on a "joint project" to tackle the problem. This will benefit everyone!
We'll provide the resources and connections, and then we'll put our names on the paper as the corresponding author and list him as the first author!
Wouldn't this be a huge plus for him in the future, whether he's recommended for admission to higher education or even applying for full scholarships abroad?
Win-win! This is a perfect win-win! Hahaha!
"Joint research project...help with polishing...first author...bonus points..."
The painful past that Zhou Mingyuan had sealed away deep in his memory, festering and foul-smelling, was like a vicious curse, instantly ignited by these few sanctimonious words!
Stolen inspiration.
The thesis that was raped.
The humiliating memories of the past transformed into a sky full of interwoven lightning bolts, striking Zhou Mingyuan's brain fiercely!
Xiao Zhou, your idea is very insightful.
How about we expand on this idea and do a joint research project, then publish a paper?
Fifteen years ago, his then-respected doctoral supervisor, Professor Wang Pan, offered his advice with the same kind and gentle face as the group of people before him.
He was naively overjoyed, like an idiot, thinking that his academic inspiration, which he had worked on day and night, had finally received the highest recognition in the industry!
"Teacher, is this really feasible?" Young Zhou Mingyuan's eyes lit up.
Of course! But it must be difficult for a student like you to handle such a huge project. You also won't be able to get access to various literature and computing resources.
I will allocate all available resources to assist you in every aspect.
Don't worry, once you finish writing it, you, Zhou Mingyuan, will definitely be listed as the first author!
That nightmare, ostensibly about "joint research" and "mentoring newcomers," but in reality about "exploiting their very marrow," began in such a grand and dignified manner.
However, six months later.
When his paper, which he had spent countless sleepless nights and lost a lot of hair to complete, was finally published in an international core journal, the order of the names in the layout felt like a sharp knife piercing his heart.
He was devastated to discover that he, the sole author and the core proposer, had been forcibly relegated to the position of second author.
Wang Pan, of course, rightfully and legitimately claimed sole authorship of the work!
Moreover, the core idea he painstakingly came up with was shamelessly embellished as his mentor's "accidental inspiration" and "original achievement" at the academic conference!
[Teacher! What happened?! You didn't promise me this!]
Young man, don't get so hot-tempered, let's be honest with each other.
Ask yourself honestly, have you truly made a contribution worthy of being a first-author author on a top-tier international journal?
Wang Pan sat in a large leather chair, looking down at everyone with a cold laugh.
You simply offered a naive, even immature, initial idea.
Every step of the rigorous arguments and extensive derivations that followed—wasn't guided by me?
Without me, your ridiculous ideas are nothing but a pile of waste paper!
Giving you a second author title is already more than enough!
As human beings, we must know how to be grateful!
That night, snow fell heavily.
Zhou Mingyuan stood alone on the Yangtze River Bridge.
The biting cold wind cut his cheeks like a knife. He stared intently at the bottomless, dark river below, which seemed capable of swallowing everything, for most of the night!
At that moment, he swore a blood-stained oath in his heart:
Even if I had to sell my soul to the devil, I would never again allow anyone to ride roughshod over me like this!
But right now, fifteen years later!
Right in front of him!
The same despicable acts, the same cannibalistic faces, are about to be repeated brazenly in front of a genius boy they haven't even met yet!
A deep-seated rage, suppressed for fifteen years, instantly pierced through the defenses of reason!
"Damn it. I knew this would happen. I shouldn't have come."
A chilling, menacing voice suddenly rang out as the group of old men were enthusiastically dividing their spoils.
The voice wasn't loud, but everyone present, including the teaching assistant in the corner, heard it clearly!
"What...what did you say, Professor Zhou?"
Professor Zheng's smile froze on his face, thinking he had misheard.
Such vulgar language, which should absolutely not be used in a high-level academic review meeting where manners and class are extremely important, startled several professors who were still immersed in their dreams of promotion and wealth, causing them to shudder.
Clang!
Zhou Mingyuan suddenly stood up, the explosive force of his body producing a sharp sound as the chair legs violently scraped against the ground.
He then kicked the chair away hard, sending it crashing into the wall!
Zhou Mingyuan's eyes were bloodshot, like a lion in a complete rage. He looked down at the few sanctimonious professors in front of him and started cursing them without any restraint!
"I think you bunch of lazy, good-for-nothing old bastards have completely lost all sense of shame as scholars!!!"
The roar echoed in the room, carrying a resolute determination to destroy everything!
"A joint project?! Polishing?! Pshaw!"
That's all I wanted to say for today!
"Who the hell dares to lay a finger on this answer sheet? Who dares to steal even a single punctuation mark from this child's creativity...?"
Zhou Mingyuan's eyes were like those of a man-eating beast as he surveyed the entire room.
"I, Zhou Mingyuan, swear on my position as a tenured professor in the Department of Mathematics at Stanford University, and on all my connections in the Mathematical Society of the United States!"
I will absolutely ensure that he, his entire research group, and all his students will be recognized throughout their lives, and in the entire international academic community...
Utterly disgraced and ruined, he will die without a burial place!
The air in the entire arena froze instantly amidst this soul-shaking roar.
All the professors... were completely dumbfounded.
The greed on their faces hadn't even completely faded yet; their pupils trembled violently as they stared intently at Zhou Mingyuan, whose chest was heaving wildly, as if he were a madman crawling out of hell.
Under this absolute suppression, as if they were under a spell that had frozen them in place.
Thud—rolling around.
A young teaching assistant, already terrified by the spectacle, let his pen slip from his hand, fall to the ground, and roll along the gap all the way to the center of the marking room.
The crisp sound of the impact was exceptionally loud in the deathly silent room, where the air seemed to have frozen.
In the shadowy corner, a young teaching assistant, utterly disillusioned with academia, stared intently at Zhou Mingyuan, who stood like a war god. His eyes were red, and he muttered something in a low voice:
"Holy crap..."