Orion Crest, Series_1

Chapter 117: Meet the match

　　The ceremony for the Crafoord Prize may be over, but the celebrations have only just begun.

　　After the awards ceremony, Orion walked out of the main entrance of the Stockholm Concert Hall and was on his way to the nearby Stockholm City Hall.

　　The moment he appeared in the doorway, however, reporters swarmed around him, with all kinds of microphones and cameras coming up.

　　Only a pretty-looking reporter lady grabbed the front and quickly asked.

　　"Hello, Mr. Orion, may I interview you?"

　　Looking at this young female reporter, Orion replied in a pleasant manner, "Of course."

　　The young female reporter pursed her lips and asked, "As the youngest recipient of the award, may I ask how you are feeling right now? Any feelings?"

　　"Excitement, happiness, and gratitude ......"

　　Orion paused for a moment and thanked every name he could think of that had helped him.

　　The reporter lady continued, "We all know that Goldbach's Conjecture is one of the crowns of the number theory world, and now that the edifice has finally been sealed with a dome by you, while many people still hold confusion about the significance of solving the '1+1' problem. So may I ask what the meaning of mathematics is for you?"

　　Instead of answering the question directly, Orion, after a moment of thought, suddenly asked, "What do you think the meaning of science is?"

　　The reporter didn't expect Orion to suddenly ask a rhetorical question, but grinned and answered fluently, "I think it should be to change the world, all the wealth that modern society possesses is based on scientific and technological breakthroughs."

　　Orion nodded approvingly.

　　Not bad.

　　What was the point of maths?

　　Was it just for show off?

　　Of course not.

　　Even though it might be a little bit of that, Orion felt that to him it was like a byproduct of a chemical reaction, not the main thing.

　　It's like how mathematicians are generally more handsome, but being handsome isn't the reason he's good at maths.

　　As for the purest meaning of maths ......

　　In front of countless cameras, Orion smiled and said to her.

　　"You're right, the meaning of science is to change the world."

　　"And the point of maths is to change science."

　　......

　　Similar to the Nobel Prize, the award ceremony for the Crafoord Prize was followed by a grand celebratory banquet in the Blue Room, the first-floor banquet hall of Stockholm's City Hall.

　　Everyone, including the King and Queen of Sweden, as well as many scientists from the Academy of Sciences, gathered together to share the beauty of science in a lively atmosphere.

　　In this sense, the Crafoord Prize is almost like a preview of the Nobel Prize, presumably intended to give mathematicians who have no chance of winning the Nobel Prize a chance to experience the Nobel Prize.

　　In order for the prize to fulfil the purpose for which it was established, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, at least in terms of the specifications of the banquet, was modelled on the specifications of the Nobel Prize.

　　For example, before the start of the banquet, absolute secrecy of the banquet dishes. The venues for the banquet and the ball were strictly separated, with the meal in the Blue Room and the ball in the Golden Room. And it is specified that everyone's seat, is fixed ...... which is more or less different from the mainstream British and American academic conferences nowadays.

　　Before the banquet formally began, Orion ran into quite a few acquaintances, and also greeted them one by one.

　　Such as, Schultz, Helfgott ......

　　Those who are too far away or too busy with their research may not be able to come, but basically all the European maths scholars, especially those who are studying the direction of prime numbers, have come.

　　In fact, Orion found that after attending more academic conferences, the circle of mathematicians is just that small, and if it is more precise to a certain direction, what are the big brains can even be counted out on one's fingers.

　　But there was one big name that Orion didn't expect to see.

　　This man was Faltings, the great master in the field of algebraic geometry.

　　His name, once upon a time, left a legacy at Princeton.

　　The reason why I say "once" is because after '94, he returned to his hometown in Germany after being a professor at Princeton for almost ten years.

　　As for now, he is already the director of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematical Research and the editor-in-chief of Inventiones, one of the four top journals in mathematics.

　　The Max Planck Institute is as famous as Princeton, and its ranking among the world's research institutions is quite high. Especially in the fields of physics and engineering, the Max Planck Institute is working on an awesome project, but tries to stay under the radar.

　　Compared to the modest Charles Fefferman, Faltings' "Teutonic ego" has left a legacy at Princeton that is no less impressive than his mathematical achievements.

　　It is said that he once played chess with Peter Sarnak and lost. Unperturbed, the old gentleman left behind a line that has been enjoyed by countless Princetonians, "You are better on chess, but I'm a much better mathematician."

　　In short, the old Germanic man was very difficult to get along with, but he did have pride of place. After all, after Grothendieck's passing away, the throne of algebraic geometry is not easy to say now, and will have to be left to the judgement of history. But the only one who can compete with him is probably Grothendieck's great student Deligne.

　　Orion's only connection with him was probably the paper on the proof of Goldbach's Conjecture. As one of the six reviewers, Mr Faltings alone gave two revisions, and from a very difficult angle.

　　It must be admitted that this old man's mathematical ability and mathematical rigour are really admirable. Although those two revisions, Orion completed very smoothly, but in the meantime it is also very hard work.

　　And coincidentally, this old gentleman's seat was right next to his.

　　What surprised Orion most was that just as he was considering whether to interrupt the old man's meal, Faltings reached for his champagne and took the initiative to speak to him.

　　"Congratulations, on the Crafoord Prize, Professor Orion."

　　"Thank you!"

　　Deeply surprised, Orion and the older gentleman gently clinked glasses.

　　Elegantly sipping his champagne, he only saw the old Germanic man pause and slowly continue.

　　"A month ago, only three of today's mathematicians had any hope of surpassing me. Now I have changed my earlier opinion; it is four, not three."

　　Hearing this, Orion barely managed to choke on the champagne he had just taken in.

　　Shit! Is this a compliment or show off?

　　It feels like I've met my match ......