Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 93：Equivalence Substitution

As for Jiang Fan's mathematics SCI paper, only Old Wu had reviewed it in person. Moreover, Jiang Fan had thoroughly explained it to him. Therefore, when Old Wu heard Professor Holt explaining a third of the content, he was certain that it was the very paper Jiang Fan had written.

At that moment, Jiang Fan finally realized why his mathematics SCI paper had not been accepted. It had been plagiarized!

He had originally submitted it to SIAM Review, one of the top-tier journals in mathematics. He never expected that such unethical practices, where an editor would steal an author's work, existed. Such actions were a disgrace to the academic community.

The worst part was that Professor Holt's theft of his work had prevented Jiang Fan from completing his system task, which meant he couldn't obtain the coveted IERT magnet design blueprint.

The more Jiang Fan thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn't believe that someone like Professor Holt, with his gray hair and long-standing reputation, would stoop to such low tactics.

Old Wu, noticing the anger rising in Jiang Fan's eyes, whispered, "Jiang Fan, once the conference ends, let's go to the World Mathematical Organization and file a formal complaint about Professor Holt's plagiarism..."

Jiang Fan shot a glance at Old Wu, forcing himself to suppress his fury. Confronting Professor Holt directly would not benefit their nation at this moment. He took a sip of water to calm his emotions.

Meanwhile, Professor Holt on stage continued his grandiose lecture, "f(n) is a polynomial; for example, when n² is used, this represents a 'polynomial time algorithm' (P-time algorithm). When f(n) is an exponential function, such as 2^n, this represents an 'exponential time algorithm'..."

Jiang Fan could no longer contain himself. Not only had Professor Holt plagiarized his work, but he was now explaining it incorrectly. Without a second thought, he stood up.

At this moment, the Chinese delegation looked at him in confusion, but only Old Wu knew exactly what Jiang Fan was about to do. He quickly grabbed Jiang Fan's arm and whispered, "Jiang Fan, calm down, this is the World Mathematical Conference!"

Jiang Fan ignored Old Wu's warning. Standing tall, he addressed Professor Holt in English, "Professor Holt, may I ask, in the exponential time algorithm, is the NP problem defined as one that requires exponential time?"

As soon as Jiang Fan spoke, the entire hall fell silent. All eyes turned to him. Murmurs and whispers filled the air.

"Who is this young man? Doesn't he know it's rude to interrupt Professor Holt's lecture?"

"He must be from Dragon Country; such disrespect!"

"Does Dragon Country not have any proper representatives? Why send a child to such an important summit?"

The murmurs of disapproval flooded the room, but Jiang Fan ignored them, his gaze fixed on Professor Holt.

Professor Holt, clearly unprepared for an interruption during his lecture, did not show any signs of discomfort. After all, he had spent a lifetime in the field of mathematics, and small disruptions like this were hardly a challenge.

The conference host turned to Jiang Fan and said, "Apologies, but the Q&A session hasn't started yet. Please sit down, or we will have to ask you to leave the venue."

Jiang Fan remained standing, fixing Professor Holt with a cold smile.

Professor Holt, who had never been confronted like this before, took a deep breath to steady himself. With a composed demeanor, he addressed the host, "There's no need to be harsh with the young man. This summit is about academic exchange. I'm pleased to see his enthusiasm for learning. I'm happy to answer his question..."

Professor Holt spoke with the air of a seasoned master.

"Professor Holt is truly a paragon of the academic world! Despite being interrupted by a rude youngster, he remains calm and continues to share his knowledge so graciously. This is a level of maturity I can only aspire to!"

"Mathematics is blessed to have someone like Professor Holt leading the field!"

With his smooth words, Professor Holt garnered widespread praise from the audience.

Jiang Fan, however, was unimpressed. He couldn't help but admire Holt's audacity. Not only had he stolen Jiang Fan's work, but he also had the gall to present himself as a saint.

Truth be told, Old Wu, upon hearing Professor Holt's words, felt like slapping him across the face. At over sixty years old, he had never encountered such shamelessness in his life.

"Young man, the question you asked is quite simple. The NP problem is indeed a problem that requires exponential time..." Professor Holt continued.

Jiang Fan, hearing the erroneous explanation, was more certain than ever that Holt had never truly understood the solution Jiang Fan had provided in his paper.

With a calm demeanor, Jiang Fan walked over to the microphone at the host's desk. Turning to the audience, he began speaking.

"Everyone is familiar with the basic principle of equivalence, right? If a = b, and b = c, then a must equal c. Surely you all know this formula?"

The entire hall erupted in laughter at the absurdity of a young man explaining such basic principles to top-tier mathematicians.

"Is this a joke? We're hearing about the Millennium Prize problems, and this kid is talking about equivalence?"

"Who does he think he's talking to? Is he insulting our intelligence?"

While the professors from various countries looked down on Jiang Fan's remarks, the representatives from the invited technology companies were curious to see what he would say next.

"Actually, I do understand what this kid just said about equivalence."

"Yeah, me too! Finally, something I can grasp!"

"The earlier discussions were so dry I almost fell asleep. This debate is way more interesting!"

"I'm really rooting for this kid. If he beats this old professor, now that would be something!"

The onlookers were clearly more interested in the drama unfolding before them.

Professor Holt, seeing the crowd reacting to Jiang Fan's interruption, chuckled and said, "Young man, this is the World Mathematical Summit. Discussing equivalence here might be a little out of place, don't you think? Haha..."

As Professor Holt finished his sentence, the hall burst into laughter again.

Jiang Fan, his gaze cold, silently sneered.

"Laugh while you can, Professor Holt. Soon, you'll be the one crying."

Old Wu, watching Jiang Fan's calm expression, was utterly confused. He still didn't understand the purpose of Jiang Fan's actions.

Once the laughter died down, Jiang Fan spoke again, his voice measured.

"Since everyone understands equivalence, let me continue. Professor Holt has stated that the NP problem is one that requires exponential time..."

With that, Jiang Fan proceeded to lay out the next step in his argument.

"Using the principle of equivalence, if p = np, and np = exptimep, we can conclude that p = exptime."

The room fell into a stunned silence. Everyone knew that p could never equal exptime...