Chapter 56

"Nixon himself? Of course not,"

John Morgan shook his head repeatedly:

"If it's his own fundraising dinner, you can't see those exciting parts.

And for his own fundraising dinner, if I take you to participate, you have to prepare at least 200,000 dollars for fundraising.

It's expensive and boring.

The host of this campaign dinner is Robert Finch, Nixon's assistant and also the manager of his presidential campaign this time.

He is a senior member of the Elephant Party and has failed to run for Congress twice in a row before.

Fundraising dinners of this type hosted by him don't have a way for ordinary people to participate the first time without an acquaintance's introduction, no matter how much money you donate. I'll take you to see it tonight."

Lin Ran couldn't help but feel a hint of expectation in his heart—"impart," right?

Inside Room 313 on the south side of the 3rd floor of the Columbia University Administration Building.

Siegel and Horkheimer were sitting on brown leather single sofas in the Bauhaus style, and the sunlight shone through the classic iron-framed square sofas of New York onto the round teak coffee table between the two.

The sunlight hit the latest issue of *Inventiones Mathematicae* magazine brought by Siegel, lighting up the name Randolph Lin.

"Ma Kesi, you guy are too bad; you've caused me to be unable to stay at the University of Göttingen.

You didn't tell me earlier that Randolph had proven the Fermat conjecture; I am now considered by my colleagues at the University of Göttingen to be a traitor who no longer considers Göttingen because I retired."

In front of Deuring, Siegel was the accused party; now in front of Horkheimer, it was Siegel's turn to play the accused party.

"Sorry, but science itself has no borders. No matter where Randolph is, he is your student and a graduate of the University of Göttingen, isn't he?

The achievements he made cannot bypass the fact that the University of Göttingen cultivated him," Horkheimer argued:

"Just as philosophers should not serve specific disciplinary development, they should do what they do: guard the negative dimension of thought.

Mathematicians work for all of humanity, not for a specific university; mathematicians are not quantifiable achievements."

("Treating thought as a quantifiable 'achievement' is precisely the sign of the self-destruction of Enlightenment rationality." — Ma Kesi Horkheimer, *Dialectic of Enlightenment*)

Siegel was about to get anxious: "You guy..."

It was one thing for him to be accused by Deuring, but what was even more annoying was that Siegel found that he clearly had the truth on his side but couldn't win an argument against the other party.

In terms of debate, it seems that mathematicians really can't do anything about philosophers.

"No, this is deception!" Siegel really couldn't bear it.

Horkheimer raised an eyebrow: "How is it deception?

Is Randolph a mathematical genius? Is he qualified enough to get a PhD in mathematics from your University of Göttingen?"

At the time, when Horkheimer brought Lin Ran to Göttingen, he said he was guaranteeing it with his reputation; Lin Ran was absolutely qualified.

It was reputation, it was an old friend, and they were both German Jews, so Siegel reluctantly agreed.

Siegel was speechless; he really couldn't say the word "no." If Lin Ran wasn't qualified, then no one would be able to graduate with a PhD in mathematics from the University of Göttingen in the future.

"No, the deception I'm talking about is that you didn't explain the cause and effect of the matter to me clearly.

Einstein proposed a unified theory in physics, and Randolph proposed a unified theory in the field of mathematics.

Even compared to Einstein, his biggest advantage is that he is young. He is the mathematician most likely to approach Gao Si after Gao Si, and it is possible to realize the unified theory."

After Siegel took a deep breath, he continued: "You didn't explain to me clearly at all that Randolph's talent is far from being described as just a genius.

There are countless geniuses in the mathematical community, but he is the unique one. In the field of number theory, I can even conclude that he is already Gao Si.

Mathematics has no borders, and mathematical achievements are constantly flowing, but mathematicians do. If Randolph were in Göttingen, Göttingen might be able to reshape the brilliance of Gao Si back then."

After finishing, Siegel sighed again, comforting himself. Falling out with Horkheimer wouldn't help him bring Randolph back to Göttingen:

"Sigh, Ma Kesi, I don't blame you. Indeed, you are right. At least Randolph is a graduate of the University of Göttingen; no one can change that.

Göttingen produced Gao Si, Riemann, and Hilbert, and now it has Randolph; this is not bad either.

But when he comes back later, you must help me persuade him to teach at Göttingen."

This was the reason why Professor Horkheimer was in such a hurry to call him back to school.

Siegel was waiting.

"Professor, Professor Siegel, good afternoon. These are special pastries I brought back from Xiangjiang; you guys try them." Lin Ran put the pastries in his hand on the coffee table between the two, and then sat down on a chair.

"Good, Randolph, I read the paper you wrote; it's written too well, including the ABC conjecture—the more I think about it, the more interesting I find it.

Fermat's Last Theorem can indeed be seen as a corollary of the ABC conjecture.

Just like some exponential equations that only have finite solutions, this is consistent with the sparsity of high-quality triples predicted by the ABC conjecture you proposed.

The growth of rad(abc) is related to the distribution of prime factors of aaa, bbb, and ccc.

The theory of linear forms in logarithms you proposed can also be used to analyze the logarithmic relationships involving prime factors.

Just like for some triples, you can take the expression of estimating log⁡c−log⁡rad(abc) to see if it is close to zero; the lower bound estimation can help explain that this closeness is strictly limited, thereby supporting the sparsity judgment of your ABC conjecture.

Fermat's Last Theorem, Fermat's Diophantine theorem, the theory of linear forms in logarithms, and the ABC conjecture have been constructed by you into a whole large puzzle.

From past problems, extend new problems; from past problems, summarize new theories.

This large puzzle you constructed also faintly matches your Langlands program.

It's really too good."

Mathematicians who can solve problems are awesome; mathematicians who can propose problems are even more awesome.

Why is it said that the inheritance of mathematicians is important? Because with a big shot leading, his intuition can discern which problems are easy to produce results, and then throw these problems that are easy to produce results to students.

It is equivalent to the big shot helping you find the small monsters, letting you start practicing with the small monsters first, slowly from small monsters to bosses; the cultivation path is very clear.

Otherwise, if you fight the boss as soon as you come up, you will have no ability and no confidence.

And you can also publish papers by fighting small monsters, and the papers you publish can also help you find a teaching position to stay in the academic community.

Including the process from small monsters to bosses, it can also help you cultivate top-level mathematical taste.

It is equivalent to following a big shot who can provide you with a stable job, a systematic cultivation, and elegant mathematical taste.

For the mathematics department of a university, a mathematician at the level of Gao Si is enough to make them a mathematical center. Don't you see that Euler's achievements have been eaten by the Russian mathematical community for two hundred years?

In Siegel's view, the Randolph in front of him was already a mathematician at this level at the age of just over twenty.

Why do I regret it more and more as I talk about it? Siegel thought.