1040 Forecast Is Only a Part of a.n.a.lysis
Lu Zhou didn’t realize it, but the actions from one of his friends might cause him a lot of trouble.
However, even if Lu Zhou knew, he wouldn’t blame his friend.
After all, he was doing the same thing.
Even if he weren’t the one who invented this technology, in the future, ten or twenty years down the line, someone else would have certainly brought this technology to the world. Especially because of the aeros.p.a.ce compet.i.tion, frozen dormancy technology played a huge role in the aeros.p.a.ce projects of the two super countries.
On the other hand, even if Professor Krugman didn’t write his thesis, someone else would have written a similar one.
Lu Zhou already knew this would happen. After the lecture at the University Health Science Center finished, he took the high-speed rail back to his hometown.
Almost as soon as he returned to his hometown, the 301 Hospital and the Jinling Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study finally released news about a Fields Medal winner receiving cryogenic dormancy treatment.
Once again, the headlines were filled with Professor Lu’s name…
…
Princeton.
Cafe at the Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study.
Professor Fefferman was sitting by the window, and across from him was his old friend Professor Angus Deaton. Fefferman sighed and spoke.
“I didn’t expect him to do this.”
Frozen dormancy.
Everyone in Princeton was talking about this.
Although he knew in his heart that this might be the best choice, not everyone was prepared for this, especially the students of Miss Vera Pulyuy. The news that their lovely and respectable teacher was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and the fact that she was “frozen” caused great controversy.
However, Lu Zhou himself seemed to stay very calm. It seemed like he had disappeared from the Internet. Whether it was arXiv or MathOverflow, he hadn’t been active anywhere. Fefferman even went to check on Weibo, which was more commonly used in China. He couldn’t find a trace of Lu Zhou.
“Actually… I expected this to happen.”
Professor Angus Deaton stirred the coffee in his cup with a spoon. He looked at the twirling milk foam and spoke.
“I once persuaded him to be cautious about frozen dormancy. But then I thought about it, that wasn’t necessary at all since it won’t change his mind. Even if I did convince him, this technology would still eventually come. The pursuit of survival is inside every living creature. Every choice we make is to make us live longer.”
Fefferman glanced at him and said, “That’s part of economics?”
Angus: “That’s not economics, it’s evolutionary biology… It’s human nature.”
Footsteps were heard in the corridor outside the cafe.
Soon after, an old man in a plain s.h.i.+rt walked in.
“Sorry, I’m a little late… Fefferman? You’re here too?”
Krugman looked at Fefferman, who was sitting across from Angus. Krugman didn’t expect to see Fefferman here.
“When I’m not busy, I come here almost every afternoon… but there are some exceptions.” Professor Fefferman smiled gracefully and continued, “Professor Angus invited me.”
Professor Krugman said, “Okay then… That makes the two of us.”
Professor Angus: “It doesn’t matter how many people I invited. I’m more interested in your research… I noticed that you seemed to have published a paper recently? About the impact of frozen dormancy technology on macroeconomics.”
When Krugman heard the old professor talk about his recent research, he suddenly looked enthusiastic. He pulled a chair and sat beside the two.
“Of course, I wrote that paper. I didn’t expect you to read it… I’ll have a mocha, thanks.”
The waiter nodded and began walking away.
After clearing his throat, Krugman continued.
“I think you can’t even imagine the social changes that this technology will bring. In fact, I only thought about all this on the plane. This may sound a little ridiculous, but that doesn’t matter. I can explain it to you.”
After that, Krugman spent about ten minutes talking about his research. He spent a long time talking about how because of the invention of this technology, the long-lasting equality that the human society had achieved would be broken. And how this was going to be similar to the French Revolution.
Professor Angus patiently listened to his old friend. Professor Krugman spoke until his throat was dry. He then took a sip of his coffee. Professor Angus smiled and spoke.
“I have an unpublished ma.n.u.script here… Are you interested?”
Professor Krugman, still holding the coffee cup in his hand, froze for a second and asked, “Are you sure this is okay?”
Generally speaking, scholars in the same field would try to avoid sharing unpublished results. But Angus didn’t seem to look like he cared. Angus spoke carelessly.
“There’s nothing wrong with it, we have known each other for many years, I trust you. Even Professor Fefferman already read it.”
Fefferman smiled and said, “It’s an interesting paper, but it is going to take me a while to understand.”
“… Since you say so, I’m happy to read it.”
“No problem, right here.”
After taking the ma.n.u.script from Professor Angus, Krugman read the t.i.tle. He was stunned, and his face was filled with disbelief and shock.
Sociology of the future!
Krugman spent around ten minutes flipping through the paper. He returned the ma.n.u.script to Angus and said, “… You’ve already finished writing this? When… did you write it? Don’t tell me you did this all in a few days.”
Professor Angus said, “Around half a year ago, I published the first paper. Which was the part you read at the beginning, regarding how the future is a promising subject for sociology. I published a few more papers, and this ma.n.u.script is a simple summary of all of my work on this topic.”
After a pause, Professor Angus continued, “A long time ago… A few years ago, this wasn’t something that needed to be discussed. No matter what society did, there was no means to directly interfere with the future. No one plans for a hundred years in the future, when they will no longer exist. Regardless of whether or not we want to admit this, we make decisions based on the present.
“But now, that is no longer true. When people start to think about how to pave the way for the future, things often become troublesome. Maybe in the next few years, soybeans and corn won’t be the only commodities traded by futures. Maybe the entire financial market will consist of futures.
“Our work might be trivial, but theoretical research has to be done by someone. At the very least, when the problems occur, we can provide a reference for decision-makers.”
Krugman opened his mouth and spoke.
“… I can’t believe you did this already, I thought I would be the first one do to work in this area.”
Professor Angus said with a smile, “I’m surprised you only found out about dormancy recently. I thought people like you would be more interested in these concepts. After all, I would never write something like the Interstellar Trade Theory… That sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie.”
Professor Krugman said, “If you really read my paper, you know it’s not science fiction.”
Professor Angus: “Of course I have read your paper, not just that, but I have been following your research for some time now. After all, very few economists are interested in the distant future, and as we often say, the future is unpredictable.”
Krugman: “… What? I didn’t know Professor Angus is interested in my research.”
“There is nothing unbelievable about that. The research project you are doing is similar to mine. We have a common interest.”
“… Which is future sociology?”
“Yes.” Professor Angus nodded. He said, “Prediction is only one part of the a.n.a.lysis. What do you think? Do you want to work together?”
Faced with an unexpected offer, Professor Krugman paused for a second and blinked.
He had to admit, this was a tempting proposal.
In fact, he was extremely intrigued.
“… I can’t give you an answer straight away, I have to consult my partners first. Of course, I think that it is unlikely he will disagree. We generally have the same opinion on how to progress the project.”
“That’s fine, it’s not like this project can be completed in a day or two. I can wait… As long as it is not too long.”
After a pause, Professor Angus looked at Fefferman and said, “Then, I want to hear what Professor Fefferman thinks of my paper.”
Fefferman didn’t expect the ball to be pa.s.sed to him. He said, “Me? What does this have to do with me?”
“Of course it does.” Professor Angus nodded and said, “We have everything we need, except… an excellent mathematician.”
Professor Fefferman opened his mouth and said, “I think… I have to think about it and give you an answer at a later date. In fact, Professor Faltings invited me to work together. I’m not sure if I have the time to work with you.”
Krugman said with excitement, “What could be more exciting than predicting the future?”
“Many things. Instead of predicting what will happen in the future, I think it is more productive to make the present better.” Fefferman glanced at his watch and finished his cup of coffee. He put the cup down and said, “I have a meeting to attend, gentlemen.”
In fact, even though he was very interested in the things they were discussing, he wasn’t… too excited on partic.i.p.ating in this project.
This was the case for many Princeton mathematicians.
When it came to mathematics, even a humble person like him couldn’t help but be a little pretentious at times. This stemmed from the fact that mathematicians believed that a mathematician should only devote their life to mathematics.
As Professor Angus watched Professor Fefferman walk away, he looked a little disappointed.
He thought he could convince Fefferman, but he had failed.
However, Professor Krugman suddenly said, “Professor Lu said that after he solved Riemann’s hypothesis, he will consider partic.i.p.ating in our research.”
This did the trick.
Professor Fefferman suddenly stopped.
He sat back down and spoke to Professor Krugman.
“… Lu Zhou? He said that?”
“I swear to G.o.d,” Krugman said. “If I am lying, may Satan take my soul.”
Fefferman: “… When did he say that?”
Krugman replied truthfully, “The day before the ICM conference. We happened to meet at Perelman’s house when I made an invitation to him…”
Back then, Krugman and Albert thought Lu Zhou was rejecting them in a euphemistic way.
After all, if anyone said that they would “think about it after they solved Riemann’s hypothesis…” it might as well be a rejection.
However…
Who would have known that a couple of days later, Lu Zhou would really solve the problem?!
If it weren’t for Vera’s accident, Krugman wouldn’t be sitting here with Professor Angus. Instead, he could already be working on the research project with Lu Zhou.
After staying silent for a long time, Professor Fefferman looked at Professor Angus.
“… I change my mind.”
He smiled and spoke.
“I think the stuff you guys are talking about is very interesting.
“If it’s possible, I’d like to join.”