Chapter 14: A badge alone is not enough

"Professor, thank you," Lin Ran said.

Horkheimer said: "We are all collections of atonal music."

Seeing that Lin Ran didn't react to this sentence, he shook his head and smiled: "Okay, it seems that Larry Meyer didn't pass on much of Theodor Adorno's thoughts to you."

In Horkheimer's impression, Larry Meyer was a loyal supporter of Theodor Adorno, who was an important driving force for the history of Western contemporary thought toward post-modernism and post-Marxism, and his philosophical work *Negative Dialectics* laid the theoretical foundation for the critical theory trend of the past hundred years.

And the "atonal collection" mentioned by Horkheimer originated from the concept of atonal dialectical imagination in Adorno's *Negative Dialectics*.

When they were at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt, they didn't like to call themselves a collective in private, but liked to say that we are all collections of atonal music.

Lin Ran was nervous for a moment, "Damn it, sure enough, relying on the badge alone is not enough. I still have to figure out the philosophical propositions and historical context of the Frankfurt School later, otherwise, it's really hard to mix with just the badge."

Furthermore, he thought, what if the big shots of the Frankfurt School had other names for this badge at their founding ceremony?

Except for the insiders, it's really hard to know the truth about these historical contexts.

However, although Lin Ran's answer failed to satisfy Horkheimer, it made him slightly suspicious, but he still didn't exclude giving this young Chinese student a chance and a little advice from a senior.

"Relax, even if you didn't have the Fabian Society badge, I wouldn't sit idly by and watch you be taken away by Rudolph.

I've heard of Arthur Rudolph. He's not a good guy. He worked for NAZI before and didn't have less blood on his hands.

There are quite a few people in Washington who want to put him to death. It's only because he's in a place like the Redstone Base that is far from human habitation, plus he's working for NASA, that he can barely survive."

Lin Ran had a sudden realization: Horkheimer was Jewish, and it was clear that among the scientists recruited from Nazi Germany, this group of Jewish academic elites must have heard rumors about those who had committed many evil deeds.

Therefore, Horkheimer did not give the other party any face at all.

Horkheimer continued: "However, although Arthur Rudolph worked for NAZI Germany, the blood he stained the most was not Jewish, but Irish."

At this point, Horkheimer didn't say anything more, and Lin Ran could guess roughly.

In America, the Irish are the second largest ethnic group, and they are very united and very successful in politics. There are many big shots in Washington who are Irish.

America's 08 Vice President, Joe, is a famous Irish political big shot.

"However, you don't have to worry. NASA doesn't want to find whoever they want to find.

Arthur Rudolph roughly wants to recruit you directly as a NASA engineer through Operation Paperclip.

But with me as your guarantor, he cannot ignore your personal wishes and recruit you to join NASA through Operation Paperclip."

Lin Ran asked curiously: "Professor, what does Operation Paperclip refer to?"

Horkheimer patted his head: "Oh, I forgot you don't know this plan. This is a plan that NASA passed to recruit German scientists after the end of World War II, allowing NASA to directly and forcibly recruit German scientists.

This plan has continued to this day, but today, its goal has become the scientists of the Cold War opponent country.

Arthur Rudolph roughly wants to position your identity as a scientist from Huaguo.

But with me as your guarantor, where you came from is not so important."

Lin Ran was still hanging. Although the other party didn't explicitly say he didn't believe he came from Europe, that was the meaning.

Lin Ran didn't poke this layer of window paper, but thanked him again: "Understood, Professor, thank you.

If you hadn't been there today, I don't know what would have happened to me."

Subsequently, he roughly talked about the ins and outs with Haines before, and what kind of role the equation he solved could play for NASA.

Horkheimer frowned, "Okay, I see.

Randolph, why don't we do it today. I will help you arrange it now. This afternoon, in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, you will give an academic conference on Fermat's Last Theorem. You should prepare as soon as possible."

"Okay."

This is the benefit of choosing Fermat's Last Theorem as a stepping stone. If you say the Twin Prime Conjecture or the Poincaré Conjecture, you still need to explain it to a philosophy professor like Horkheimer before he knows the gold content.

And Fermat's Last Theorem, which originated from the famous conjecture of the 17th century, because it is linked to Fermat, there is no need to explain it at all. The other party naturally knows the gold content.

Ralph Fox, chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University, focuses on the field of differential topology.

Compared to his achievements in academia, his interesting stories in the field of Go are even more talked about.

However, it is not because he is powerful that he is talked about, but because he is bad.

When he was at Princeton, he played Go with Stephen Smale, and Stephen Smale wanted to give him a handicap.

"What?" Ralph Fox was shocked. Of course, he knew Horkheimer, a famous professor in the Department of Philosophy and the leader of the Frankfurt School.

The other party ran to tell him that there was a Chinese student in their school who proved Fermat's Last Theorem.

If it weren't for the person speaking being Horkheimer, he would have thought this was an April Fool's joke that came four months early.

"I can't be sure, so I came to ask you to help him organize an internal academic conference at Columbia University this afternoon.

If his proof is true, then we need to give him a professor position as soon as possible, and then prepare to hold an academic conference for the whole of America."

"Sorry, I don't know much about the direction of Fermat's Last Theorem. Many professors are on vacation now and haven't returned from Europe.

Let me think, who should I find to attend this academic conference.

Oh, my God, Professor Horkheimer, you really gave me an unexpected surprise. I didn't expect the beginning of 1960 to be so sudden.

Okay, I roughly know, let's just be in the classroom on the southwest side of the 2nd floor of the Mathematics Building.

Sorry, this is really sudden, I need to let the professors prepare."

Ralph Fox planned to find Lipman Bers and Paul Cohen first.

Although none of the three of them were doing Fermat's Last Theorem or related directions, they could make a rough judgment.

Whether the other party's proof is reliable.

They could still do this.

If it is reliable, then hurry up and call all the professors on vacation back.

Compared to Fermat's Last Theorem, what is a vacation? ===== CHAPTER 15 =====