Orion Crest, Series_1

Chapter 47: Arrival at Princeton

　　Took Orion to the Princeton Hotel, Molina, and then went off somewhere.

　　After checking in, Orion dragged his suitcase up the lift, and the first thing he did after entering the room was to go to the bathroom, take a hot shower, plop down on the bed and fall asleep.

　　After such a long flight and rushing non-stop from Philadelphia to Princeton, his jet lag was still not fully adjusted.

　　......

　　In general, academic conferences only last three to four days, but because this is the first academic conference after Christmas, plus it is in Princeton and a lot of big names attended, there are a lot of people who come to the conference, the standards of the conference naturally went up, and the last "presentation" was even scheduled for the afternoon of the sixth day.

　　Orion's presentation was scheduled on the fifth day, and it was about the study of the distribution of Mersenne prime numbers, which lasted 30 minutes.

　　As an undergraduate student, to be able to give a thirty-minute presentation at an academic conference of such level is a great honour, not to mention that it is an invited presentation.

　　On the first day of the academic conference, Orion finally met Wynston at the entrance of the hotel.

　　To his surprise, he thought that this Wynston must be at least forty years old, but he didn't expect to look unexpectedly young. With a pair of glasses and a trench coat on the outside, he did not look like a mathematician, but rather like a history researcher.

　　As soon as they met, Wynston enthusiastically shook Orion's hand, and said several times that it was a pleasure to meet you, so enthusiastically that Orion was almost a little embarrassed, and then led him towards the inside of Princeton University.

　　Walking on the road, Wynston asked, "How do you feel? Have you adjusted to the jet lag yet?"

　　Orion: "It's okay, I don't have any problem listening to the lectures, you also attended this maths conference?"

　　Wynston smiled and said, "I mostly went to the lectures. This maths conference is mainly in the field of number theory, and I haven't researched much in that area. But after all, there are big names in mathematics like Professor Deligne and Professor Langlands giving presentations and comments, there's no reason to miss this kind of opportunity even if I'm not in the direction of number theory."

　　Orion asks, "Which direction are you working on?"

　　Wynston: "The space theory branch of general function analysis, I mainly do theoretical research on 'Hilbert space', and I also have some involvement in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Oh, and to be honest, researching it so far, I feel like I could go for another physics degree."

　　Orion: "How's the physics department at Princeton?"

　　"How was it? I can't think of how to describe it other than very strong, distinguished alumnus Albert Einstein," Wynston smiled, "Anyway, it's full of awesome people. If you want to develop your career in maths and physics, it's a good choice to study here. With your qualifications, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to get an offer, right? But I'll not really recommend you to go further in that direction."

　　Orion asked, "Why?"

　　Wynston: "Because it's a big trap, and since you've already shown such remarkable potential in the field of number theory, why don't you just move on down that path?"

　　"Because ...... life always needs a little challenge?" Orion's tone wasn't exactly sure.

　　" Awesome!" Wynston gave a thumbs up, "...... Well, here we are, just up ahead. There's some small gifts at the door, free with that entry pass inside the invitation, but don't expect too much, the sponsors of the academic maths conference are just as stingy as the mathematicians, all they're giving away are some pens, notebooks, and paper bags."

　　"Thanks."

　　Wynston smiled and waved a hand, "You're welcome!"

　　Poster communications without any specific rules and regulations, where everyone has the right to express their own views, without having to worry about their own identity and status, the soul of academia is also in this collision of ideas to get sublimated, the owner of the poster may be a respected professor, but also may be a nobody.

　　In addition to discussing academic issues, there are different ways for different people to participate in academic conferences. One can present their own research results; one can also look for opportunities here with the purpose of learning. It's naturally great to be able to bring good results to share, but it's just as possible to participate without very dazzling achievements.

　　After bringing Orion in, Wynston disappeared.

　　This is a good opportunity to get to know the experts in the circle and exchange information on cutting-edge fields, and staying with friends is a waste of time.

　　Before the first lecture started, Orion wandered around the hall, looking for something of interest from the posters.

　　Before he could get halfway through his wanderings, however, he was attracted to a poster that was so awesome that it exploded.

　　[Proof of the Twin Prime Number Conjecture]

　　[Author: Diran]

　　[......]

　　Orion: ......?

　　Seeing the title of this academic poster, Orion was instantly shocked.

　　The problem that had challenged him for almost half a year, had been proved?

　　Big news!

　　Is this, like, witnessing history?

　　But why is there no one around here?

　　Unable to hold back his curiosity, Orion walked forward, intending to find out. Just as Orion looked at this Indian guy, this Indian guy obviously noticed him as well.

　　When Orion approached, he was filled with a spring-like smile and greeted him.

　　"Hey buddy, you've got a great eye, you're also in the direction of number theory?"

　　"Sort of. Very ...... shocking research," Orion glanced at the poster and looked around again, noticing that there was no one around who looked interested in the place, "but why is there no one here?"

　　"Because of the arrogance and prejudice of the 'Princetonians', who couldn't accept that an Indian had beaten them in maths, and refused to even allow me to give a presentation on stage for no good reason. It seems it's my friends who understand me better," the slightly darker-skinned Indian grinned and extended his hand, "Diran, Nehru University, your name?"

　　"Orion, Gordon University," shaking his hand, before asking impatiently, "Can I see your thesis?"

　　"Here's the paper, but I wouldn't recommend reading that," patting the stack of papers in his hand, Diran dropped it to the side, then moved out a large whiteboard and scribbled on it with a marker, "The process is a bit tricky, but the principle is very simple, all you need to do is listen to my explanation once , and you will soon be able to understand the magic of 'reverse mathematics'."