How Did the Chinese Scientific Community Become Overnight Saturated with Sour Grapes?

2006/6/5 17:24:02

They say that colleagues are natural enemies. These past two days, the Chinese scientific community has suddenly been saturated with the stench of sour grapes, perpetuating a scholarly phenomenon that, while not uniquely Chinese, is certainly common in China. The resolution of the Poincare Conjecture instantly shattered countless vinegar jars—some lurk in dark corners, some charge into battle bare-chested, some hide daggers behind smiles. In short, it is an utter spectacle of ugly behavior and sky-high sourness.

History only remembers those who reach the summit—this has always been the logic of history, and scientific history is no exception. Just as with Fermat's conjecture, countless people across nations labored for centuries in succession, yet in the end, history only records that the one who solved it was an Englishman. The resolution of the Poincare Conjecture is of course the same. Although Thurston's geometrization conjecture prepared the basic fuel for the summit, Hamilton's Ricci flow charted the direction, and Perelman carried others along for a good stretch of the journey, the ones who ultimately reached the summit were not them. That is history, and that is all history will remember. Perelman himself has been proclaiming that he solved the problem for many years now—so why has he never fully published it? Obviously, it is not because this Russian has any noble integrity, but rather because his proof has significant unresolved problems. Even if you are just one step away, if you cannot reach the summit, you simply have not succeeded—is there really any room for doubt?

Those familiar with the scientific circle know that after the Ricci flow was proposed, it was hot for a while, but when the difficulties proved too great, the vast majority of people left, rushing off to speculate in other areas. At the time, Master Yau held high the banner of the Ricci flow, encouraging his students to keep pushing forward. How many people were waiting to see the joke? Now that those who persevered have achieved success, certain people cannot stand to see others do well. What kind of character is that? How is this different from hiding during the war against Japan and then coming out to make trouble once the Japanese were driven away? The proof by Zhu and others is right there for all to see. If you have the ability, go find flaws in it. Even better, find the flaws and then fix them yourself, or cook up something of your own and serve it. Otherwise, what are you blathering about?

Since the media has long been controlled by a group of illiterates—setting aside the fact that their citations of the conjecture all have errors, such as not even understanding basic homeomorphism—the question of how to further excavate the gossip value of this big news probably leaves them clueless with nowhere to start. Here, this ID might as well offer the illiterate media a few tips, to make this affair bigger and bring the non-scientific corners of the scientific circle into the light.

The easiest gossip target is, of course, the matter of the so-called one million US dollars—how exactly it will be distributed, and especially whether there will be any interesting drama with that Russian uncle. This obviously requires further digging. Also, although plenty of people in literary circles have been clamoring about winning the Nobel Prize, this time, Chinese people really are going to win a mathematics award on par with the Nobel Prize. The gossip surrounding this will surely be plentiful, and one item will certainly involve numbers—the combined prize money will definitely set a historical record. Furthermore, people are already tracing the genealogy of Zhu Xi and the like. While this game requires no technical skill, it is rather well-suited to the current media's level. Of course, if you want both technical depth and explosive impact, then keep digging into the insider feuds between the Yau faction and the Zhang-Tian faction—that will be absolutely spectacular. Especially now that Yau's students have distinguished themselves enormously, making it all the more dramatic. This will undoubtedly be the most explosive topic in the scientific community for the next two years.

Of course, this is not about wanting the world in chaos. In various circles, there are many unspoken rules and backroom deals that can actually be exposed. The public has the right to know about these things, and this incident is indeed a great opportunity. Although this ID moves through various circles, I have never belonged to any of them, and therefore have no interests or agenda. I simply speak up when I see something that does not sit right. As for the proof itself, anyone with a bit of common sense knows it must undergo rigorous verification from all parties over the coming period before it can be ultimately confirmed. But this is absolutely not, as the foreign-worshippers would have it, a matter of needing foreigners' approval to count. This is purely an academic standard, with nothing to do with politics—so the foreign-worshippers should stop seizing on this to make noise!