Volume 1: Student Life Chapter 182 This Interview...
While Chen Zhou was observing the old man, the old man was also observing Chen Zhou with great interest.
Their eyes met, and Chen Zhou smiled politely at the old man, who also smiled back in good faith.
Just when Chen Zhou was thinking whether the judges should ask questions.
I saw a person next to Mr. Qiu whispering something to the old man.
The old man smiled and said a few words to the man, and then Chen Zhou saw the man looking at him.
The man looked at Chen Zhou and slowly asked in English: "Briefly explain how to prove that the 150-order group is not a simple group."
Should I start with algebra?
Chen Zhou was slightly surprised.
This problem can only be regarded as the basic content of abstract algebra.
The idea is also very simple, just start with Syros's theorem.
But to his surprise, the interview didn’t seem to be that difficult?
After organizing his words a bit, Chen Zhou began to state his answer to the question fluently in English: "First, 150=2×3×5^2. According to Sylow's theorem, Sylow 5 groups exist and are mutually conjugate..."
Chen Zhou narrated the story in a calm and leisurely tone.
The overall idea and the details are taken care of very comprehensively.
Therefore, as Chen Zhou spoke, many judges nodded slowly.
"…This contradicts Lagrange's theorem about subgroup order, so it can be proved that the 150-order group is not a simple group."
After Chen Zhou finished answering the question, he politely greeted the judge who asked the question and waited for the next question.
The judge nodded with satisfaction, and then whispered a few words to Mr. Qiu beside him.
Often these simplest questions are the ones that can best test a person's proficiency in knowledge.
Chen Zhou's answer fully demonstrated his familiarity with the knowledge.
After the judge finished communicating with Mr. Qiu, he looked up at Chen Zhou again. Unlike before, he smiled and said, "This is the only question I have. I am very satisfied with your answer. In addition, there is a question outside of the competition. A friend asked me to ask it for you."
Although Chen Zhou was puzzled, he said politely: "Please tell me if it does not violate the rules of the competition."
The man smiled again and said, "Don't worry, I have already communicated with you. It won't hinder you from winning the gold medal."
Hearing this, Chen Zhou smiled embarrassedly.
The man didn't waste any more words and asked directly, "How far have you progressed in your research on complex partial differential equations?"
Upon hearing this, not only Chen Zhou was stunned, but many judges on the jury were also stunned. What kind of question was this?
Complex partial differential equations?
Isn't this guy an undergraduate? How come he is studying such an out-of-scope problem?
Considering the identity of the person who asked the question, the judges couldn't help but start guessing in their hearts.
However, except for these judges who did not really understand the purpose of this interview.
The others who knew why there was a special discussion just for Chen Zhou's interview looked at Chen Zhou with interest, waiting for his answer.
Including Mr. Qiu himself, everyone was waiting for Chen Zhou's answer.
Chen Zhou also reacted at this time.
Isn’t the complex partial differential equation what he mentioned in the research paper on Clifford analysis?
In addition, as the judge said, he was asking on behalf of a friend.
Chen Zhou thought of a lot of things in an instant.
Regardless of whether this friend is real or fake, at least the judge in front of him has most likely read this paper.
Chen Zhou couldn't help but wonder in his mind, is there something wrong with the paper?
Isn't it that the manuscripts have been approved and are just waiting to be published?
Chen Zhou finally decided to answer according to the paper.
He then talked about the Cauchy integral formula of the right regular function and the functional properties of related operators, and some theoretical foundations established for solving complex partial differential equations.
After hearing Chen Zhou's answer, the judge nodded and said, "Okay, I will tell my friend the truth. I have no more questions."
After saying that, he turned around and whispered a few words to Mr. Qiu.
Chen Zhou was confused again. Didn't they say that the interview for each subject was to choose three out of five? This could only be considered a question, right?
And it’s also giving away points…
Unlike Chen Zhou's doubts, after hearing Chen Zhou's answer and the words of that judge, the other interview judges, whether they knew the truth or not, all looked strange.
Chen Zhou didn't have to wait too long, as Mr. Qiu signaled to the judges of other subjects that they could ask questions.
For the remaining four subjects, Analysis and Differential Equations, Geometry and Topology, Introduction and Statistics, and Applied and Computational Mathematics, the four judges asked four questions in succession.
The more Chen Zhou answered, the more he felt something was wrong. Why did four people ask four easy questions?
Chen Zhou even thought that he had some connection with the judges and they were letting him win on purpose...
After Chen Zhou finished answering all his questions, Mr. Qiu told Chen Zhou that he could leave.
Although Chen Zhou was a little confused, he still greeted politely and prepared to leave the venue.
At this time, Mr. Qiu called Chen Zhou again and said, "Student Chen Zhou, I have an extra question."
Chen Zhou turned around and stood up again: "Professor, please go ahead."
Mr. Qiu asked, "What do you think mathematics is?"
Chen Zhou was slightly stunned and became even more confused. He had been asked so many easy-to-scoring questions before, and now here was another philosophy question?
What is mathematics?
In simple terms, isn't mathematics just arithmetic?
To put it more profoundly, mathematics is the description of the existence of quantity and its changes, and it is the method and process of verifying the quantity and changes.
But this is obviously not Mr. Qiu’s answer...
Chen Zhou glanced at the group of puzzled judges, who were looking at him with curious eyes.
Chen Zhou was very troubled.
After a slight hesitation, Chen Zhou said: "All applied sciences must start from pure science. All pure sciences must start from mathematics. Mathematics is the cornerstone of natural science and applied science, the foundation of modern science and technology, and an important indicator for judging a country's comprehensive strength."
Upon hearing this, the judges in the judges' booth all turned their eyes to the old man in the middle.
Staring at Chen Zhou, Mr. Qiu smiled and praised: "Well said, mathematics is pure, but it is not pure."
Now, no one stopped Chen Zhou, and he left the venue smoothly.
Before leaving, Chen Zhou took a special look at the name tags of those who gave him good points in the interview.
After reading it, Chen Zhou felt even more confused.
Next to Mr. Qiu, the person asking questions on behalf of his friend was Professor Zhang Shouwu from Princeton University. The next four subjects were Professor Wang Fei from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Shu Wangqi from Brown University, Professor Yan Anjia from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Liu Feng from the University of California, Los Angeles.
These are all well-known mathematics giants, especially Professor Zhang Shouwu, who proved the "Bogomolov conjecture" and generalized the Gross-Chakia formula.
After Chen Zhou left, Zhang Shouwu turned around again and said to the old man next to him: "How is it?"
Mr. Qiu said bluntly: "It's beyond my expectations."
Zhang Shouwu was slightly surprised to hear this answer .
In their previous internal discussions, Mr. Qiu had already given Chen Zhou very high praise.
And the evaluation is given in conjunction with that independently completed paper.
Unexpectedly, this simple interview actually improved the old man's evaluation.
Mr. Qiu glanced at Zhang Shouwu, but did not explain what he meant by exceeding expectations.
After a pause, Mr. Qiu said, "Will you present the awards with me at tomorrow's dinner?"
Zhang Shouwu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
When the other judges heard this, they were shocked at first, and then they became more thoughtful.
