我辈偶像
据《自然》杂志网站报道，来自美国新罕布什尔大学的华人数学家张益唐日前证明，存在无穷多个之差小于7000万的素数对，从而在解决孪生素数猜想这一终极数论问题的道路上前进了一大步。张益唐，北大78级，从没有正式faculty工作,目前只是大学里的一个合同教师。可谓当代陈景润。
个人感受：张老师长得好像潜伏里的孙红雷，真是扫地僧级别的高手。学者为理想而战斗。
http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/may/zhang3.jpg
May 1, 2013
UNH Mathematician’s Proof Is Breakthrough Toward Centuries-Old Problem
Caption: Tom Zhang, lecturer in mathematics at the University of New Hampshire Credit: Lisa Nugent, UNH Photographic Services
DURHAM, N.H. –
A new proof by University of New Hampshire mathematician Yitang “Tom” Zhang is being heralded as a breakthrough in the quest to solve one of the world’s oldest mathematical problems, one that many attribute to the Greek mathematician Euclid.
The proof takes aim at what’s known as the “twin prime conjecture,” which states that there are an infinite number of prime numbers (numbers divisible only by 1 and themselves) that are only two numbers apart, like 3 and 5 or 17 and 19. Zhang’s work, which has been described as proving a weak version of the twin prime conjecture, demonstrated that the number of prime pairs that are less than 70 million units apart is infinite.
While a gap of 70 million is a long way from a gap of 2, Zhang’s results are nonetheless attracting attention. “The jump from 2 to 70 million is nothing compared to the jump from 70 million to infinity,” said an article in the journal Nature. Mathematicians interviewed about the work have lauded the finding in distinctly un-mathematical terms: “Beautiful.” “Stunned.” “Astounded.”
“The prime numbers are, by definition, very simple. But there are very deep mysteries about them, and it’s been very difficult to prove this result,” says Zhang, who’s been a lecturer in the department of mathematics for nearly a decade. He acknowledges that the proof, while a fascinating academic puzzle to mathematicians, has no real practical application.
Zhang had been thinking about the twin prime conjecture for three years with no results. He says the proof came to him while he was visiting a friend in Colorado on vacation. He credits that state of relaxation for his insight. “I didn’t bring any notes, any books, any paper. And suddenly it came to me,” he says.
Moving forward, mathematicians – Zhang possibly among them -- will continue to try to shrink the gap between 70 million and 2 to prove the conjecture. In addition the UNH lecturer, who teaches undergraduate calculus as well as graduate-level number theory courses, has a few other problems he’d like to tackle.
After several days in the mathematical spotlight, Zhang is also looking forward to returning to the obscurity usually afforded those in his profession. “I’m used to being a shy person,” he says.
Zhang presented his proof in a lecture at Harvard University on Monday (May 13, 2013); a paper of his results, “Bounded gaps between primes,” has been accepted for publication by the journal Annals of Mathematics.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.
Photograph available to download:
http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/may/zhang3.jpg
Caption: Tom Zhang, lecturer in mathematics at the University of New Hampshire
Credit: Lisa Nugent, UNH Photographic Services
Read more: http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/may/bp16zhang.cfm//@#ixzz2Tbozwl8V
本帖最后由 gordon 于 2013-5-18 11:19 编辑
他同学说，他啃大问题不在乎稳定工作，以车为家，默默苦攻难题。
一点都不是我辈偶像。 这照片太大了，大晚上地盯着你。。。。。 藏龙卧虎 跟着后边崇拜一下 猜想一下，会有国内的大学邀请张老师做特聘教授、长江学者、千人计划吗？ 老虎，你不要做faculty吗？你敢不要tenure吗？所以，还是老老实实写paper吧。。。别想着解决真问题啦{:191:} 假如十八 发表于 2013-5-18 20:02 static/image/common/back.gif
老虎，你不要做faculty吗？你敢不要tenure吗？所以，还是老老实实写paper吧。。。别想着解决真问题啦{:191: ...
万里风中虎所以，俺就成为不了偶像。看以前按纯兴趣写的学术论文（虽然没发表），比现在按热点写的论文（虽然发表了），要好得多得多。发表于 11 分钟前
心有戚戚焉。。。{:209:}这是没办法的事情。。。 为兴趣而做与为任务而做，心态大不同啊。任务在兴趣范围内，则是可遇不可求的事了。 这就是完全为兴趣活着的人 真拗口。意思应该是，素数在数轴上的分布密度有一定保证，无论多么远，都会出现一对素数其距离在某数值之内。 肥狐 发表于 2013-5-19 23:40 static/image/common/back.gif
真拗口。意思应该是，素数在数轴上的分布密度有一定保证，无论多么远，都会出现一对素数其距离在某数值之内 ...
可以想象翻译是多么重要呀。呵呵，还是看您的能反映得特别直观，明白！ 可望而不可及啊。 本帖最后由 gordon 于 2013-5-20 17:59 编辑
我辈偶像是这样的：端起碗来吃肉，放下碗来骂娘；开跑车，吃烤串；兄弟七八个，傻憨憨，没知识，没文化，在村里横着走；敲寡妇家门，扔砖头；不是坏是浑 。
好人、坏人、浑人，三个人一台戏。就像智斗里的阿庆嫂、刁德一和胡传魁，《猫和老鼠》里的 Tom 、Jerry、Speike （斗牛犬） 也是我的偶像。
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