Top Student at Their Peak
Chapter 363 - 131 Sorry, I can’t think of a title for this - !_5

Chapter 363: Chapter 131 Sorry, I can’t think of a title for this Chapter!_5

...

Far away in Berkeley, California, Frank was awakened by the ringing on the nightstand.

"Whose phone call is it, dear?" his wife asked, lying next to him.

Frank glanced at the phone: "Grandpa."

"So early?" his wife complained.

Sure enough, the call was from Lucas Eisen.

He was the biological father of his father-in-law, the Fields Medal luminary in Qiao Yu’s words, and also a member of the organizing committee of this World Algebraic Geometry University.

Of course, for this kind of non-fixed related meeting, the committee members are generally top scholars in the field, but this position is not permanent.

After all, being a committee member is not just an honorary title—it requires real work, and there’s no pay. Everyone is expected to help plan the conference content, select guest speakers, and coordinate various matters.

The luminaries often don’t have that much spare time. So if you check the committee lists of past conferences, you’ll find that the members change each time.

As many people know, the most important topic of this conference was originally the Geometric Langlands Conjecture. The conference was going to propose a series of related reports to showcase the latest research results to other researchers.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the fastest ways to enhance academic influence.

Originally, Unics Frank was also supposed to participate, but due to well-known reasons, the relevant report was temporarily unsuitable for presentation, inadvertently giving Qiao Yu the opportunity to deliver this thirty-minute report.

Well, things in the world sometimes happen so coincidentally, what can be done?

Receiving the old man’s call at this time, Frank actually felt very complex.

He certainly knew that the conference was officially starting tomorrow, but what could he do?

The problem still hadn’t been solved.

However, Frank could only muster the energy to answer the call. After all, the old man could provide him with great support.

Of course, he was also somewhat puzzled because he had already reported to the old man that he would not be attending the conference.

After all, if he went, other members of the research group would certainly have to attend Qiao Yu’s session, and he couldn’t just not go. But if he went, he would have to listen to his wayward son’s report from the audience?

If the opportunity for this report hadn’t been taken from him, perhaps Frank could have handled it with grace, but unfortunately...

After considering these thoughts, Frank answered the phone directly.

"Hi, Grandpa..." Frank tried to make his tone sound as relaxed as possible, without too many negative emotions.

"I have some very bad news to tell you, Frank."

Frank could hear the heavy tone from the other end, which made him subconsciously feel that something was wrong.

"Well, to be honest, I can’t think of any news worse than what I’m currently dealing with. You know, I’m tackling that issue, but I’m still at a loss..."

"It’s about that, Frank, you don’t need to think about this issue anymore. That young man from Huaxia has already completely solved the problem. So, his original thirty-minute report has been replaced last minute with the opening report. I couldn’t even object, because I was the first to support having the Geometric Langlands problem as the opening report!"

"What, he completely solved the problem? And it’s already gained small-scale recognition? Then..."

"There’s nothing after that. The reason this news is so bad is that his solution completely bypasses the method you and Sam offered. In other words, he found a new way to bypass your proof and can thoroughly solve the targeted problem he proposed. This means you and Sam are already inevitably sidelined from this topic."

The old man’s voice was calm. Perhaps in his more than sixty years of a mathematical career, he had seen many such things.

Mathematicians spot an entry point to an important problem and then commence research on it. Most work hard, racking their brains to tackle these difficulties that confound the world, but it’s clear that not everyone succeeds.

In a way, the old man is fortunate. He overcame many of his peers and became a leader of his era.

Clearly, Frank wasn’t so lucky, that’s all.

These things happen all the time, and once you’re in, there’s no way to avoid them completely. Even if he won the Fields Medal and became an honorary academician in multiple countries, his led group would still encounter these troublesome events.

Yet what seemed trivial to him, was evidently not so easy for Frank to accept.

In fact, ever since Frank came to this land, he’d been breezing through, hardly encountering any major setbacks.

Unquestionably, this is the biggest blow on his academic path, and for a moment he was stunned, asking a rather dumb question subconsciously, "Wait, I’m not quite sure, what does sidelined mean?"

"Frank, that’s a really silly question. It means exactly what it says—it means neither the proof of the Geometric Langlands Conjecture nor the extension of the Ambidexterity Theorem have much to do with you anymore. Of course, your team might thank you for your contribution to the problem.

For example, in their paper, they might express some gratitude to you and Sam. But that’s it. I hope you can pull yourself together. You should know this kind of thing is almost unavoidable. If your goal hasn’t changed, then you need to work even harder on the next problem."