Chapter 40: Solving a Difficult Problem

A math test paper was placed in front of everyone.

Unlike the electronic file that they had seen on the computer, this was the original document that they had found in the submitted file.

The original document included the author’s test paper, the answer card, and the draft paper.

This was to recreate the scene in the examination room at that time.

Wei Wen sat at the head of the table and asked everyone, “What do you think?”

Standing beside Wei Wen were a few staff members who were in charge of reviewing the results.

This included the person-in-charge of the marking team where this exam paper was written.

The invigilator at the venue where this exam paper was written.

This included the leader of the marking team for this exam paper, and so on.

The person-in-charge of marking the exam paper was the first to speak. “Just now, I took a look at the entire exam paper. From the first multiple-choice question, this examinee named Grigory accurately hit every correct answer. Then, the fill-in question at the back, the short answer question.”

“Only the last big question, I’m not very confident.”

“According to the total score evaluation, deducting the last small question of the last big question, the examinee’s total score should be 142 points.”

(150 full marks)

“I saw that the marking teacher, according to the grading rules, thought that this examinee deliberately scribbled on the exam paper, giving people hints.”

“So, he directly gave a zero.”

…

“Scribbling on the paper?”

Wei Wen pondered for a moment. There was indeed such a rule in the marking guidelines.

There was to be no scribbling at the top of the paper to give hints to the marking teacher. Otherwise, the entire paper would be rendered null and void.

“Can you be sure that this is a special marking on the paper?”

The person in charge of marking the test paper stared at the test paper for a long time. “Sir, this… I really don’t know. To be honest, I don’t even understand his way of solving the questions. I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed.”

The other colleagues in the marking team also came closer to look.

“It’s written very strangely. I can’t tell what’s going on.”

“It’s really rare to see such a way of solving a simple question that’s so complicated.”

“It might be a scribble… or it might not be… I can’t be sure.”. This question itself was rather difficult. It involved knowledge that went beyond the examination syllabus. It was also the last additional question on the examination paper, so most of the students were left blank. “And this student seemed to want to continue deducing after solving the question.”

“How can he continue deducing? The knowledge involved in this is already a world-class math problem.”

“Yeah, how can a mere high school student solve a world-class problem? He’s too crazy.”

“If that’s the case, that’s indeed the case. It’s more likely that he’s deliberately marking it and then grandstanding it.”

…

All the teachers present began to discuss. They basically came from the marking team. If there was a problem with the student’s performance review, it meant that it was a mistake in their work.

Although the person in charge of the marking team indeed did not do the second review as requested.

But now that the leader was present, the marking team did not want to be slapped in the face in front of the leader.

Therefore, they formed a group and were unwilling to admit that there was something wrong with the marking of the examination paper.

The examiner who was in charge of supervising the examination began to recall, “Speaking of such a student, I do have some impression of him. Because the name at that time was very strange, it was the name of a foreign transfer student, so I memorized it.”

“Yes, yes, it was this Grigory. When he was in the examination room, he kept raising his hand and asking me for draft papers.”

“I remember very clearly that I gave him at least dozens of draft papers, but none of them met his requirements. The others only needed two at most, but I don’t know why, but the amount of calculation on his side was exceptionally large and extremely complicated.”

“When he asked me for draft papers again countless times, I really didn’t have any more. I told him that if there was any unfinished draft, he would type it on the paper. Only then did he listen to me and write it down in this way.”

…

Wei Wen continued to listen to the invigilator’s explanation.

A trace of doubt hung in his heart.

“Looks like this Grigory student was really seriously working on the question?”

“Absolutely true! Absolutely true!”

“If that’s the case, what exactly is he calculating? Could it be just the questions on the test paper?”

“Zhe Xuan, Zhe Xuan.”

Wei Wen turned his head and called out to a young man beside him who had nothing to do with him but read a book.

This young man was the famous mathematics genius of the present age, Tao Zhe Xuan.

According to the monitoring of the authorities, his IQ had exceeded 220.

At the age of 12, he had won a gold medal in the International Olympic Mathematics Competition. This was an honor that was even higher than the National Olympic Mathematics Competition. Since then, he had solved a conjecture related to the “Twin prime numbers” proposed by Euclid 2,300 years ago and was elected a member of the Royal Society. His affection for mathematics had become more than just a love of it. It was an obsession. Wherever he went, he would hold a book, look up to the sky and think about problems.

He was a weirdo who couldn’t take care of himself and was obsessed with his studies.

Basically, his personality wouldn’t be tolerated in most places.

However, Wei Wen cherished his talent and placed him in the High School Mathematics College Entrance Examination’s question setting team as a question setting consultant.

He was in charge of setting questions for the college entrance examination’s mathematics paper. At the same time, he would look for errors in the entire paper and propose an optimized plan.

“Little Tao, Little Tao!”

Wei Wen was still calling out to him, but Tao Zhexuan seemed to be stuck in a nightmare and did not react at all.

He was deep in thought.

“Tao Zhexuan!”

“AH? Mr. Wei, what is it?”

It was not until Wei Wen raised his voice by an octave that Tao Zhexuan, the mathematics question setting consultant, responded as if he had just woken up from a dream.

Wei Wen shook his head helplessly. “Little Tao is good at everything, but he is too addicted to his own world. Oh right, you were involved in setting the questions for the mathematics examination paper this time, right? You are an expert, take a look at this last question…”

“Mr. Wei, I heard that the last question is to increase the difficulty of the body, so I combined harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorial mathematics, analytic number theory, arithmetical number theory, and many other important areas of mathematical research to design the question. “It can be said that only one in ten thousand students can solve this last question, let alone prove how they solved it.”

When it came to the topic that Tao Zhexuan was interested in, he could be said to be eloquent.

“Moreover, in the last small question, I set up a conjecture that is one of the seven most difficult mathematical problems in the world. “If it can be proved, it will be immortalized in the entire history of mathematics! Even giving him the Fields medal would be a piece of cake!”

“So, it’s impossible to solve it. It’s impossible to solve it. Hahahaha!”

When Tao Zhexuan said this, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.

What did the Fields medal mean?

It was the Nobel Prize in Mathematics!

It was the glory that all mathematicians dreamed of.

The questions on the test paper were already so difficult? What was even more ridiculous was…

Wei Wen’s face darkened and he said seriously,

“Little Tao, did you know that the last question you gave was solved by a student of Yun Ding High School?”

“What?!”