Chapter 215 - 162: Suggestions and Challenges
A nostalgic smile graced the old professor’s face. "If I had such advanced conference facilities and such thoughtful organization back when I was young, I think I could have probably attended five academic conferences a week."
"Hahahaha—"
His deadpan joke instantly brought the house down.
A wave of warm, good-natured laughter was followed by thunderous applause.
Chen Lin chuckled along with them.
He knew the audience’s applause was not only for Professor Faltings’s wit but also a heartfelt tribute to all the organizers of the conference.
Although Director Feng Yunhai had been very modest the day before yesterday, saying this was their first time hosting such a high-profile international conference and that a lack of experience would inevitably lead to oversights.
But from Chen Lin’s perspective as a first-time attendee, the entire experience was already nothing short of perfect.
From the top-tier hardware and facilities, to the efficient staff organization and reception, to the timely notifications for all sorts of information, nearly every aspect was impeccable.
The only drawback, perhaps, was that the conference lasted only two short days, making the schedule overly packed. But this was, after all, a limitation of the circumstances and not a fault in execution.
The applause gradually died down, and Professor Faltings brought the topic back on track.
"Regarding Mr. Chen Lin’s presentation just now," he said, looking at the screen as if his gaze could pierce through the internet and meet Chen Lin’s on the stage, "although I am not an expert in the field of Differential Geometry, I did read your paper published in JAMS very carefully. Even back then, I felt that your work was filled with all sorts of brilliant ideas that broke convention."
The old professor’s tone held a clear hint of regret. "It’s a pity. I’ve already retired and no longer have the energy to adopt these novel methods of yours and apply them to my own research."
He paused, then his tone shifted, his eyes filled with encouragement and expectation. "Listening to your presentation today has only strengthened my opinion. I believe your mathematical talent is by no means limited to the single field of Differential Geometry. Schultz’s comments earlier also fully support this point."
"So, I would like to offer you one final piece of advice," Professor Faltings said, his tone becoming heartfelt and earnest. "Young man, don’t be afraid. Go and try some unfamiliar, more challenging fields of mathematics.
I am confident that you will achieve even more, even more stunning accomplishments. Just like Professor Deligne, who has also been constantly exploring various interdisciplinary fields."
The moment Professor Faltings finished speaking, while the live audience was still applauding his wonderful speech, the quick-witted staff member had already gotten the hint.
Without even needing a signal from Chen Lin, he switched directly to the next call request.
The image on the big screen flickered. Professor Faltings’s figure vanished, replaced by another elderly man, who also had white hair and a white beard, but possessed a sharper, more incisive aura.
It was none other than the other titan, the living legend of the mathematics world, Pierre Deligne.
Professor Deligne clearly had no taste for pleasantries. The moment he appeared on screen, he got straight to the point, his voice steady and clear:
"Mr. Chen Lin, your presentation just now was the most valuable one I have heard in a long time."
He paused, his deep eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, fixed quietly on Chen Lin as he slowly added an earth-shattering statement.
"At the same time, I also believe that your true mathematical ability is far greater than what you have currently shown."
BOOM—!
If Professor Faltings’s speech was a gentle breeze, then Professor Deligne’s words were nothing short of a thunderclap out of a clear blue sky!
The conference hall, which had just quieted down, was instantly drowned in a buzzing of discussion once more.
This time, the audience members were connecting the statements from the two titans and discussing them together.
After all, compared to Schultz, who was still in his prime, the stature and prestige of Faltings and Deligne—two titans who held the grand slam of honors in the mathematical world—were undoubtedly more supreme.
A simultaneous endorsement from two such colossal figures in mathematics carried enough weight to drive anyone in the room wild!
"My god! What does Professor Deligne mean by that? Was Chen Shen holding back during his presentation?"
"That’s some crazy high praise! Faltings suggested he try more things, and Deligne straight up said his ability is even greater! Did those two coordinate this?"
"Do you guys think... Chen Shen has a shot at the Fields Medal next year? He’s not even 21, right? If he wins it, he’ll shatter the record!"
"Stop starting companies! Chen Shen! I’m begging you, just focus on mathematical research! Our country’s academic world desperately needs a world-class mathematician like you in their prime to carry the banner!"
Amid the chaotic discussions, Chen Lin clearly caught Annie’s exclamation, which was tinged with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Oh my god! Isn’t Professor Deligne still at that conference in Princeton right now? He said Chen’s presentation was ’the most valuable one I have heard in a long time.’ Doesn’t that basically mean he’s publicly saying all the presentations by that bunch at Princeton are garbage?"
Chen Lin couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
Annie had already told him and Shen Yan about this yesterday as a piece of gossip.
The Beautiful Country, in order to compete with the conference in the Imperial Capital, had deliberately scheduled their own mathematics conference at Princeton for almost the exact same time.
Many mathematicians from the USA who had originally agreed to come to the Imperial Capital were forced to back out under pressure, as their research funding was on the line.
For a scholar like Schultz, who wasn’t a US citizen, to resist the pressure and attend was already quite remarkable.
At the time, Chen Lin had curiously asked Annie why her advisor had also come.
Annie’s explanation was that MIT had a very strained relationship with the Beautiful Country’s current Golden-haired Commander-in-Chief. The science and engineering faculty, in particular, had been openly and covertly opposing him for over half a year.
His thoughts were pulled back to the present. On the big screen, Professor Deligne hadn’t finished speaking.
He waited for the discussions in the hall to die down a little before continuing in that same unhurried tone, "I can tell that your research is very, very close to the final, brand-new algorithm that can be directly applied to all generative models."
The old professor’s voice carried a trace of regret. "Although your presentation today was brilliant enough, failing to fully derive that final algorithm at the end was, ultimately, a slight imperfection."
At this, the corner of Professor Deligne’s mouth suddenly curled into a smile that held a hint of a challenge.
Across the screen, he fixed his burning gaze on Chen Lin at the podium and slowly threw out a question that made everyone in the entire venue hold their breath.
"So, Mr. Chen Lin, are you confident enough to completely work it out, right here, right now, today, in front of all of us in the online and offline audience?"