[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-technology-invades-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-technology-invades-the-modern-world-technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-57":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Technology Invades the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269541,4430,"Chapter 57","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>Lin Ran smiled awkwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Newton stood on the shoulders of predecessors; he stood on the shoulders of successors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to tell Siegel that number theory was just a hobby—he only had a basic understanding of it; what he truly excelled at was partial differential equations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it’s Fermat’s Last Theorem or Fermat’s Diophantine conjecture, all of these rely on the wisdom of successors; only the Navier-Stokes equations were solved by me alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he published the Navier-Stokes equations, he would become the Emperor of Mathematics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lin Ran currently had no intention of doing so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he published the Navier-Stokes equations, given the power of America and Russia, they might push intercontinental missiles to unimaginable levels, leaving other nations utterly defenseless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this timeline, China’s strategic maneuvering space would be further compressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran could only feign being deeply inspired: “Professor, making even a small contribution to mathematics is no less than fulfilling the teachings I received during my time at Göttingen, and upholding its reputation as a sacred seat of mathematics.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siegel had been waiting for him to say exactly that: “No, no—everything you’ve done adds glory to Göttingen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Hilbert summarized twenty-three mathematical problems at the Second International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900; over the next sixty years, every major achievement in mathematics was, to some degree, connected to these twenty-three problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You proposed the Randolph Program in 1960, laying the first cornerstone for the unification of mathematics. I believe that in the next sixty years, major mathematical breakthroughs will still be tied to the Randolph Program.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the passing of the torch from Göttingen as a sacred seat of mathematics—the ultimate proof that, despite war, division, and chaos, Göttingen remained Göttingen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Lin Ran thought to himself: I really am from sixty years in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siegel never corrected Lin Ran’s claim that he had studied at Göttingen—even though all present—Siegel, Lin Ran, and Horkheimer—knew perfectly well that Lin Ran had only stayed in Göttingen for one day, just to ask Siegel for help securing his doctoral degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So what if it was only one day? Even one day was the result of Göttingen’s teaching! Siegel found this perfectly reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Göttingen’s prestige relying on a Chinese scholar, after the trauma of WWII and Nazism, this was no longer an issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Germany at this time, no one dared mention “pure German blood”—that would be asking for death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention Siegel himself was Jewish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Therefore, Göttingen sincerely invites you to return as a faculty member—we guarantee a salary no lower than Columbia University.” Siegel had already reached out, gripping Lin Ran’s hand with sincere earnestness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran thought, \"Of course,\" then glanced at Professor Horkheimer, wondering if it was really acceptable to poach him so openly in front of his own advisor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, he had the best shield: Lin Ran said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, I am deeply honored by my alma mater’s invitation, but unfortunately I am still pursuing my doctorate under Professor Horkheimer. Might I be allowed to consider your offer after earning my Ph.D.?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Horkheimer chimed in at the perfect moment: “That’s right, Randolph—how are you progressing with the introductory philosophy texts I assigned you for your trip to Xiangjiang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siegel was stunned: So I’m not Randolph’s only advisor? Horkheimer, you little sneak, you’re trying to get a share too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, I’ve finished all the books you gave me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve reread Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, especially the dialectic on antinomies, and repeatedly studied Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, sections 260 to 360.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I’ve only skimmed the manuscripts you gave me—Dialectic of Enlightenment and One-Dimensional Man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dialectic of Enlightenment was co-authored by Horkheimer and Adorno—the same Adorno Horkheimer mentioned when speaking of atonal sets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original edition was published in 1947, but the manuscript Horkheimer gave him contained extensive annotations by both him and Adorno.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latter, One-Dimensional Man, was written by Marcuse and wouldn’t be published until 1964; the version given to Lin Ran was likewise a manuscript annotated by both Marcuse and Horkheimer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just bringing these two manuscripts back to 2020 would let him easily earn a Ph.D. from Columbia and stay on as faculty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Publishing a few papers and becoming an influential scholar of the Frankfurt School would be no problem at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these in hand, who could deny he was Horkheimer’s true heir?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely speaking, all four books contained Horkheimer’s annotations; in Philosophy of Right, Horkheimer had written:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you read Hegel on your knees, you’re unworthy of criticizing Marx; but if you stand and curse Marx, you’ll never understand Hegel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lin Ran read this, he thought: In future China, legions of humanities and social science scholars would kneel before every Western philosophical text, never daring to question a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, Marcus, if you wanted to teach at Göttingen, there’d be no problem at all,” Siegel suggested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he thought about it, the better it seemed—a top-tier philosopher like Horkheimer, and he’d get him for free. What a bargain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re getting older anyway—why not consider retiring here in Göttingen? The air, weather, and environment are excellent.” Siegel added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Horkheimer cut in irritably: “If I wanted to return to Germany, don’t you think I’d go to Frankfurt?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Göttingen is a backwater—there isn’t even an airport! You’d have to fly through Frankfurt to get to New York! It’s like someone from Shanghai looking down on Suzhou—Suzhou residents still have to fly out of Shanghai’s airport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, how about this: I’ll accept Göttingen’s invitation as a visiting professor, and come to teach here periodically each year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, I’ll be going to London for Queen Elizabeth’s knighting ceremony around Christmas—I’ll make a detour to Göttingen for a series of lectures. What do you think?” Lin Ran looked at Siegel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siegel knew this was the best he could get. He sighed: “Fine, fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned to Horkheimer: “You have to reimburse my ticket back to Frankfurt! If I don’t bring Randolph back, Doering will definitely refuse to pay for my flight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran himself had brought back half of what they wanted—so the ticket cost would probably still be covered. Let Horkheimer buy it; Lin Ran could even profit from the ticket. After all, Horkheimer’s expenses were paid by Columbia—why not take the rich bastards’ money? Siegel thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Horkheimer agreed immediately. His research budget was overflowing. Siegel then casually said he’d drop by the Columbia math department to see some old friends. The office was left with only Horkheimer and Lin Ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran then told him about his progress with John Morgan, and that Morgan would take him to Nixon’s fundraising dinner that night—he hoped for some advice from Horkheimer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood. Have fun. These dinners are always wild—just don’t catch anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1126,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e7e6d4a8bee4feef1ff8a72ea7a84c0aa5a64cb20870c3f33417bdeeea84f64f","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-58","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-56",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]