Although Hilbert was dissatisfied with Russell's letter, when von Neumann heard that the letter in the teacher's hand contained the core ideas of Chen Muwu's unpublished paper, he still believed in the letter. The content creates curiosity.
Von Neumann read this news this morning. He was not blinded by the headline changed by the Göttingen Zeitung to incite Germans to hate the British. Instead, he directly saw the essence through the phenomenon.
According to the newspaper, if this paper turns out to be correct, it will be nothing more than an act of destroying the foundation of mathematics.
They are all young people in their twenties of the same age, and they have all been dubbed "prodigies" in the past.
Chen Muwu stood out a few years earlier than von Neumann. Although the latter admired the former, in his young and energetic heart, there was still some hope that one day he could compete.
The reason why he agreed to the task assigned to him by Hilbert and was willing to strictly demonstrate that matrix mechanics and wave mechanics are equivalent was because of this mentality.
You Chen Muwu can't do the job well, but I, von Neumann, can do it well. Does that mean I'm better than you?
Von Neumann has always had this competitive mentality in his heart recently, but it turned out that Chen Muwu did not study physics well and published a mathematics paper instead?
It’s just that you have achieved so many achievements in physics before. After all, you are a physicist.
But now another mathematical paper has been published, and it has been so widely publicized in the media.
This made von Neumann somewhat unconvinced, but at the same time he also realized that the opportunity to have a chance with Chen Muwu was here, right?
He planned to wait for the new issue of "Proceedings of the Natural Science" to be mailed to Göttingen, and then go to the journal reading room of the library to read the full text as soon as possible to see if he could find any errors in Chen Muwu's paper and bring them to him. A desperate counterattack.
Von Neumann's intention to bring the newspaper to Hilbert was also obvious. As long as the teacher gave the order, he would definitely be the first to rush out.
Hilbert's calm attitude at this time gave von Neumann even more confidence.
The teacher just looked at the simple core steps and was able to point out that Chen Muwu's paper was wrong.
It seems like what the old man said is true. Physicists only need to study their physics well. Don't imagine that you can understand mathematics. Otherwise, you will be like a mantis trying to control a cart and a cricket trying to shake a tree. If you do not overestimate your capabilities, you will eventually be certain. Will make the generous family laugh.
"Teacher, can you also let me take a look at that letter? I also want to know what crazy ideas Dr. Chen had that made him think he could deny the great Hilbert Plan?"
"Here, take it," Hilbert handed the letter to von Neumann. At the same time, he did not forget to make a few comments. "It can be clearly seen that Chen Muwu's mathematical foundation is very weak. He is completely a half-way monk. Some parts of him are too complicated, and some parts are too simple. But to put it bluntly, his ideas are not bad. If he had studied mathematics instead of physics, he would probably have To be, well, a third-rate mathematician."
There was a smile on his face, and there was a hint of contempt in that smile.
Von Neumann also took the letter with a smile on his face. As his eyes fell on the words on the paper, the smile on his face gradually stiffened, because the brows that stretched out from the smile slowly came together again.
After handing the letter out, Hilbert began to deal with the work at hand.
After a while, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Why was there no movement at all from his student?
As soon as he raised his head with doubts, he saw von Neumann's serious expression.
"What happened, John? Why were you silent."
"Old... teacher, Dr. Chen... I feel that Dr. Chen's argument is probably right. The system you envisioned may really be incomplete. The Hilbert Plan seems to have been overturned. .
"But I'm not sure whether that's really the case. It's better to wait until the full text of the paper comes out and then read what's actually written in it."
Von Neumann seemed to see the sudden burning anger in Hilbert's eyes, so he had to temporarily add this paragraph at the end of his words.
"I thought that as a doctor from the Federal University of Technology in Zurich, you would have something to say, but I didn't expect that everything you said was ambiguous. Right is right and wrong is wrong. What's there to worry about? As for his paper , there is no need to read the full text again, it is absolutely wrong.
"Let's go, John, your mathematical foundation is still insufficient, that's why your ideas are led astray by this kind of fallacy.
"Don't worry about these groundless rumors. If you have time, you might as well complete the work I assigned you.
"First prove that matrix mechanics and wave mechanics are completely and strictly equivalent. After doing this, we will complete the axiomization of the physical form.
“You must teach this arrogant young man a lesson and let him know that mathematicians don’t study physics just because they don’t want to study physics;
"And physicists don't do math because they don't understand math."
Even after receiving Russell's letter, Hilbert remained optimistic.
His optimism lasted until the new issue of "Proceedings of the Natural Science" was released and was delivered to all parts of the world through the global postal system.
Because before the journal was released, the news that Chen Muwu published a mathematics paper had been reprinted in newspapers and spread to all directions.
And the rumors are getting more and more mysterious, saying that Chen Muwu has denied mathematics from the root, that Chen Muwu has declared war on mathematicians all over the world, and so on.
This has caused Chen Muwu to attract much attention. Even if a well-known author published a notice in a newspaper before publishing a new book, the publicity effect received was not as good as this paper.
Physicists all over the world are waiting to see the fun, but they are also divided into two groups. One of them wants to see the mathematician have fun, and the other wants to see Chen Muwu have fun.
There have been many mathematicians in the world for a long time. They always think so highly of themselves, and they always think that mathematics is the foundation of science, and look down on all other subjects except mathematics.
If you can make these people feel defeated, then of course it is something that you like to see.
Physicists who want to watch Chen Muwu have fun have various reasons.
Some people think that "a tree that is beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind." Chen Muwu has always been high-profile in physics. Although he is all right, it still makes people feel uncomfortable. I really hope that he can fail in mathematics this time. Big somersault.
Some people simply object to a series of concepts put forward by Chen Muwu, such as what light is a particle, electrons are waves, electron spin, quantum mechanics, universe expansion, etc.
Because he opposed these concepts but could not find a reason to refute the criticism, he began to oppose Chen Muwu, so I hope that he will be slapped in the face by the mathematics community this time.
Mathematicians all over the world share the same hatred, prepare their troops and wait for danger.
If, as the newspaper said, Chen Muwu destroyed the foundation of mathematics in one fell swoop, how should they respond?
The University of Cambridge, at the center of the storm, has become the calmest place.
By participating in the review work, Russell had already obtained the full text of Chen Muwu's paper.
He was worried when reviewing the manuscript and asked Ramsey to confirm it.
The final conclusion was that there was nothing wrong with the incompleteness theorem in the paper, and the mathematical building in Hilbert's mind had to be torn down and rebuilt from the root.
Russell also held a special academic seminar at Trinity College to convey the unfortunate news to the participating mathematics professors, scholars and students, and gave a detailed lecture on Dr. Chen's thesis.
The mathematical circle at Cambridge University accepted this fact and became the first people in the world to begin studying how to reconstruct mathematics.
As for Cavendish Laboratory…
Russell came over to look for the person that day but couldn't find him. The next day, Rutherford called Chen Muwu to his office again.
The good student couldn't think of anything and said that he wanted to study mathematics. He brought it up in front of Bohr in this office that day.
Rutherford thought it was Chen Muwu who was supervising the construction of the particle accelerator every day. He was bored and wanted to relax, just like he had done astronomy and low-temperature physics before.
In his mind, the mathematics that Chen Muwu studied might be similar to Newton's study of calculus. It was nothing more than a calculation tool in physics.
Although calculus has been described by predecessors, there is still a matrix!
This student likes to tinker with weird things, so go ahead and do it. If you can really discover some theorem, wouldn't that be the icing on the cake?
But Rutherford didn't expect that it wasn't the algebra professor who came to his door, but Russell.
Russell is of course also a mathematician. After all, one of his masterpieces is titled "Principles of Mathematics"!
But his mathematics was completely different from the mathematics Rutherford imagined.
On a whim, he once asked Chadwick to help find this book, hoping to see what the principles of mathematics were like.
As a result, Chadwick brought back three large books from the library of Victoria University in Manchester.
Russell and his teacher Whitehead took ten years to write this three-volume book, totaling more than 2,000 pages.
Rutherford's curiosity drove him to open the first volume of the book, and he was quickly disgusted by the strange and dense logical symbols in the book.
The symbols in Sherlock Holmes' "The Dancing Man" are nothing by comparison.
The director of the Cavendish Laboratory could not stand in front of this book for a minute.
Later, he read an anecdote from the newspaper. The book "Principles of Mathematics" written by Russell really started from the most basic mathematics, so it took him more than 360 pages to finally define numbers. What exactly is "1"?
Then on page 379, the conclusion of "1+1=2" is proved.
You said it was not good for Chen Muwu to provoke anyone, so why did he provoke him?
Rutherford hesitated, and in the end did not say anything about Chen Muwu going to build a particle accelerator.
On the one hand, he didn't want to leak the secret, and on the other hand, he wanted to protect his students.
Calling Chen Muwu into his office also had this meaning, although dealing with mathematicians was very troublesome.
But if the person who caused the trouble was Chen Muwu, Rutherford's first reaction was to step in and solve the problem for him.
"Chen, Professor Russell came to see you yesterday. Did you do something strange again? You originally said you wanted to study mathematics, but no one expected that it was mathematics you wanted to study.
"Don't be afraid if anything happens. Speak out with confidence. I have my back and the entire Cavendish Laboratory behind you."
It was impossible for Rutherford to come forward if something really happened, let alone nothing.
But the teacher's words were very sincere, and Chen Muwu suddenly felt a feeling of "repaying your favor on the golden stage, and supporting the Jade Dragon to die for you."
"Teacher, it's okay. Professor Russell and I get along very well. Recently, under his tutoring, my mathematics level has improved by leaps and bounds."
"Then why did he have a serious expression on his face when he came to the laboratory yesterday?"
Chen Muwu counted the time in his mind and knew why Russell came to find him.
"Teacher, it's like this. Isn't it said that my mathematics level has improved by leaps and bounds, so I tried to write a mathematics paper and submitted it to the "Proceedings of the Natural Science Society".
"I think it may be that the editorial department of the journal was not sure whether what I wrote in the paper was right or wrong, so I sent a copy to Professor Russell and asked him to be a reviewer. He came to see me yesterday, probably Want to talk to me about the content of the paper."
"I see. I'm relieved that nothing will happen."
Hearing Chen Muwu's answer, the expression on Rutherford's face suddenly relaxed.
"By the way, Chen, what is the paper you wrote about? Is there any follow-up research?"
"It's just a harmless little theorem. After writing the paper, I have already reinvested in the construction of the particle accelerator."
This answer completely reassured Rutherford.
Chen Muwu's "going astray" is no longer a problem here, as long as he doesn't leave and never come back.
A few days later, the newspaper published this matter earlier than the "Proceedings of the Natural Science", and Rutherford realized that the paper that the news said had shaken the foundation of mathematics was exactly the one that the good student told him a few days ago. "Little Theorem".
So Chen Muwu went to the teacher's office again, and at the latter's request, he talked about what the incompleteness theorem was.
After another half hour, Rutherford withdrew his previous request.
Chen Muwu explained it very clearly. There was nothing wrong with it except that he didn't understand.
Thought he had offended Russell before, Rutherford still wanted to try his best to protect his student.
But now I know that Chen Muwu offended the entire mathematical community.
That's a damn thing!
Not to mention himself, even the Cavendish Laboratory and the University of Cambridge may not be able to keep him.
Wish yourself luck.
This was the only thought in Rutherford's mind when he watched Chen Muwu leave his office.
Everyone in the laboratory also saw this news in the newspaper, and they were also curious about how Chen Muwu overturned mathematics.
So Chen Muwu appeared at the Kapitsa Club discussion meeting for the first time in a long time and acted as a preacher of cutting-edge knowledge.
As a result, everyone's performance was very consistent with Rutherford's. This time it only took less than twenty minutes, and the discussion turned into a simple dinner party.
When the new issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was delivered to the Cavendish Laboratory, everyone seemed very calm.
No one seemed to remember that Chen Muwu's paper was published in this issue of the journal, and no one opened the journal immediately, looked for the page number in the table of contents, and read the specific content of the paper.
But this is true for Cambridge University, which does not mean it is true for the whole world.
The letters or telegrams written by mathematicians arrived in Europe through the postal system of the Universal Postal Union or the telegraph lines erected on railway lines and across the ocean, and were once again divided into two parts.
One went to Cambridge University in England, and the other went to Göttingen in Germany.
(End of chapter)
