"I was surprised that the question about the ABC conjecture was actually selected as one of the ten questions by the Clay Institute of Mathematics, because it took no more than three days to ask."

"Because I was going to hold a presentation on the Model conjecture, I conducted a longitudinal study of the Model conjecture again and found an intrinsic connection about it. Three days ago, at the welcome party, I, Professor Chen, and Professors Yau and Zheng Shaoyuan of Harvard University were discussing this idea, and I said this idea. The three professors were very interested in my idea and, after a series of discussions, refined the conjecture. ”

"The contents of this conjecture are as follows, and from the process of proving the Model conjecture, ...... is derived"

"Because it involves the three letters a, b, and c, this conjecture is called the ABC conjecture by me and the three seniors. Although the ABC conjecture is a conjecture derived from the Modell conjecture, because the Modell conjecture is a relatively general problem, it can derive a series of problems related to Fermat's equations, such as Fermat's great theorem and the Modell conjecture. That's the end of my remarks, thank you. ”

After a round of warm applause, President William stood on the podium again and said: "Due to time constraints, we have to say goodbye to you with regret, the press conference on the ten basic problems of mathematics of the American Mathematical Society and the Clay Institute of Mathematics has been decided by Professor Brown, the head of the Clay Institute of Mathematics, and will be held at the end of this month at the Clay Institute of Mathematics. Thank you, and that's the end of this press conference. ”

The biggest difference between the press conference of the scientific community and the press conference of the entertainment industry is that the general media quality is relatively high, and the whole press conference is in an orderly state. So after hearing President William's announcement, the whole venue was still orderly, and it was indeed very different from the entertainment industry and the sports world.

"Professor Brown, you're really rushing ducks to the shelves, and if you encounter this kind of thing, you should notify me in advance." Backstage at the press conference, Junxin said to Professor Brown with a slight complaint.

Professor Brown was not impressed, and said, "This is Chen's idea, I just happily accepted it!" ”

"Forget it, let's not talk about it." Junxin waved his hand and didn't mean to pursue it, "By the way, how could Principal William agree to you coming to announce this at my press conference?" Isn't this in line with Principal William's philosophy of governing the school? Hasn't he always had Princeton's interests at the highest level? ”

"Don't you know?" Professor Brown glanced at Junxin with a slight embarrassment and said, "I am also a graduate of Princeton University, I completed all my undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral research here, and finally chose to leave Princeton because of the call of my hometown. ”

Junxin shook his head and said, "I don't have any thoughts on this, but I do have one thing that interests me, Professor, which of these ten questions do you think will be proven first?" ”

"That's an interesting question, what do you think?"

Junxin touched it and said, "I don't know a little about this, but I think that maybe the one between the traditional and the most popular will be the first to be conquered." ”

"You mean?"

"I think one of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture or Fermat's theorem and the Poincaré conjecture will be the first to be proved."

"Why?"

Jun Xin shook his head and said, "There is no reason, I just think that pure mathematics is still a little ahead." What do you think, Professor? ”

"I think it will be the Yang-Mills equation that will be the first to be solved, because there are relatively many ways to solve this problem, and it is closely related to physics, and it is one of the pillars of matter and motion in physics.

"Why don't you make a bet?" Junxin said suddenly.

"How to bet?" Professor Brown is also interested, and this kind of academic bet is one of the most interesting leisure activities for scientists.

"I think the Poincaré conjecture and Fermat's theorem will be solved before the Yang-Mills equation, and you are the opposite. If I lose, I'll go to the Clay Institute of Mathematics and give you a free job for three years, and if you lose, then I ask the Clay Institute of Mathematics to set up a scholarship at my alma mater, Mizuki University, and Princeton University, where I am now, to reward students who have outstanding achievements in mathematics. ”

Professor Brown thought about it and agreed, and set up two scholarships, which would not cost a lot and would not affect the normal operation of the Clay Institute of Mathematics at all. And if he wins, with Junxin's strength, he is now fully capable of entering the Clay Institute of Mathematics, and he can also lead a group independently, no matter how you look at it, it will not be a loss.

"In that case, then we have agreed that the deadline will be until 12 o'clock in the evening on the last day of this century, that is, on December 31, 1999, according to the time of the Greenwich Observatory in the United Kingdom. If it is overdue, what if the bet is automatically voided? ”

"There's no problem with that, I agree with you." Professor Brown readily agreed.

"Who wants to be a witness to this bet?" Seeing that Professor Brown agreed, Jun Xin shouted around excitedly.

As a result, the professors around the city were very interested and willing to come over to be witnesses to the bet. In the end, the more influential Professor Chen, Professors Mirno, Charles Feverman of Princeton University, Professor Steele Smale of the University of California, and the eldest Professor Als Alfors were witnesses, and the bet was officially reached.