Chapter 70: Mathematics is the Mother of All Subjects
After Xu You told Lou Song that he was determined to participate in the mathematics competition training, Lou Song was also very happy.
Being able to study with a high-level friend like Xu You, Lou Song’s learning efficiency will become more efficient.
"Have you realized that physical tools are not enough?" Lou Song said with a smile.
Having been with Lou Song for so long, Xu You knew that this was Lou Song's way of making a joke in an ironic way.
For a long time, there has been endless debate between students in the mathematics department and students in the physics department about the ranking of the two subjects.
Many mathematics students mistakenly believe that physics is the application of applied mathematics.
Many physics students also naively believe that mathematics is a tool for theoretical physics.
Objectively speaking, the importance of these two subjects is beyond doubt.
In terms of status, there is no accurate comparison.
But Xu You has always believed that learning mathematics well will be of great help in physics.
"No, no, mathematics is the mother of all subjects. Although I definitely won't be able to enter the national team in the math competition, the training process is also very meaningful."
"That's what I mean. No matter who gets the final spot, the two of us will strive to take the top two spots in the trials."
"Hey, my goal is not just to be in the top two."
"Oh? Then I'll have to wait and see."
After the training for the mathematics competition began, Xu You, Lou Song and other members of the team selected for the national mathematics competition came to the classroom one after another.
Like the training for physics competition , there were also some auditors in mathematics competition who were not selected for the national training. After passing the application, they were qualified to audit.
The selection process for the official members of the national mathematics competition team is divided into two stages.
In the first phase of training, 15 players will be selected to participate in the subsequent second phase of training.
Finally, 6 national team members were selected to participate in the 63rd IMO.
Lou Song is undoubtedly the most eye-catching member of this mathematics competition team.
Not only is he very young, but he also won first place in the CMO national finals with a full score.
Xu You is also very famous.
Not only did CMO's results rank among the top, but it also won first place in CPhO.
Because they were roommates, Xu You and Lou Song naturally sat together.
Without the pressure of ranking, Xu You felt very relaxed.
It is purely for the purpose of acquiring mathematical knowledge and enjoying the fun of solving problems.
In the first stage of selection, Xu You and Lou Song both advanced without any surprise.
In the second phase of training, the overall training intensity was raised to a higher level.
But for Lou Song and Xu You, this feeling is even more enjoyable.
The training content of the second phase included Question 6 of the 1988 IMO, a problem that even the host country’s number theory expert at the time could not solve in 4 and a half hours.
This also includes the IMO third question in 2017, where 608 out of 615 contestants did not get a single point.
Xu You and Lou Song successfully got full marks on all these difficult problems during training.
In the final second stage of the selection, Lou Song still got full marks even though he submitted his paper three hours in advance.
Although Xu You's speed was much slower than Lou Song's, he still got full marks and tied with Lou Song for first place in the selection.
The moment they saw the results, the national team leader and coaching staff were in a dilemma.
It was natural for them to expect Lou Song to get full marks.
But no one could have imagined that Xu You, a student whose main subject was physics competition, could actually score full marks in the IMO-level selection competition.
Faced with Xu You's performance, some members of the coaching team even wanted to try harder.
"I think the system where a player cannot be selected for two national teams in the same year should be changed."
"But who would have thought that a student could have so much energy to learn two subjects so well?"
"If we want to change it, we have to wait until next term at the earliest. Even if there are problems with the established system, we can't suddenly change it now. This is really unfair to other students."
After careful discussion, the coaching staff unanimously decided to follow the original system .
Even if Xu You cannot be selected for the national mathematics competition team, it is indeed a pity.
But this should not destroy the rules that were set long ago.
Xu You was quite open-minded about this, since he had already known about this matter before.
These days of training have indeed allowed Xu You to learn a lot, and it was definitely worth the trip.
Finally, because Xu You has been selected for the national team for physics competition, the seventh-placed student will be selected for this year's national team for mathematics competition.
"Don't worry, even if you don't go, China will definitely take first place."
"Of course, with you here, I can go to IPhO with peace of mind."
I think about being able to represent China in the future, compete in international competitions, and win glory for my country.
Xu You and Lou Song were both looking forward to it.
After finishing the math competition training.
Xu You re-examined his academic level.
【Mathematics: 228↑】
【Physics: 258↑】
"Mathematics has actually broken through 200 points?" Xu You couldn't help but exclaimed as he looked at the data on the system interface.
Although Xu You didn't know what kind of ability a subject level of 200 points meant.
But Xu You remembered that he had won the CPhO championship with a full score.
The subject level of physics is only 208 points.
And at that time, Xu You felt that the questions in the CPhO national finals were a bit simple.
"No wonder I got full marks so easily in this math competition."
In addition to rapid improvement in mathematics.
Xu You also noticed that his level of physics had improved quietly.
You know, during this period of time, Xu You had never touched physics.
"Could it be that the improvement in my mathematics skills has allowed me to break through the bottleneck in physics?"
Xu You felt that this possibility did exist.
After returning to the dormitory, Xu You picked up the materials on physics again.
I haven't touched physics for a month, but the feeling of reunion after a long absence is even more wonderful.
Xu You also clearly felt that his thinking was much broader than before.
While he was in good shape, Xu You continued his previous research questions:
How to stably realize high-dimensional quantum gates for arbitrary single photons.
This problem is not only a physical problem, but also a mathematical problem.
In fact, in previous research, Xu You had already roughly found a solution to the problem from a physical perspective.
However, in the specific matrix construction, it has come to a standstill.
At this time, Xu You entered the deep learning state and increased the power of his brain to the maximum.
"By adding dimensions based on the classical Pauli gate, we should be able to achieve the conversion of high-dimensional quantum states."
"Oh, right, the Bloch sphere!"
Suddenly, Xu You thought of such a geometric representation.
This is a geometric representation of the space of pure states in a two-state system in quantum mechanics.
After Xu You drew the Bloch sphere on the draft paper, he soon had a clear idea.
