The atmosphere in the café is a bit eerie.

Roland touched his nose in embarrassment,

"It is true that I was sent by the Académie de France to pick up two of them for the exchange, but I am a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, so I can only advise the school."

George Bernard Shaw was puzzled: "Then why did the French Academy choose you?" ”

Roland replied: "Do you remember Mr. Hamson's criticism of Professor Lu in the newspaper before? ”

Lu Shi was stunned, and memories emerged.

He once mourned Wilde in "No One Survives", which caused Ham's life to erupt,

Hamson's exact words were: "No One Survives is well written, but its roots are the same as those of Mr. Wilde, and I don't know if this Chinese country has taken root in the wrong place and grown a poisonous weed." ”

Later, many literary critics and writers also joined in and became the "land-making" faction.

And Roland is a "pro-land" faction who defends Lu Shi.

The two have formed a good relationship because of this.

Lu Shi nodded,

"Got it."

He understands the good intentions of the Collège de France.

Roland chuckled and said, "Hahaha, I can only count the supernumeraries of the Lancy Academy." ”

After speaking, the conversation changed,

"Something about upgrading your book to a textbook......"

Lu Shi did not say anything.

This silence is naturally interpreted by De Roland,

He looked delighted,

"Thank you!"

The phrase "Thank you!" As soon as he spoke, countless students in later generations were going to be tortured because of this, and they all had to scold Lu Shi in their hearts.

George Bernard Shaw said, "We're almost rested, so let's get going." ”

Roland nodded,

"Monsieur Poincaré should already be waiting for you. It is said that he also invited Monsieur Verne, and we will surely have a drink tonight. ”

With that, they finished their coffee and left the café.

Favre left on his own,

The other three went straight to the Collège de France.

The Institut de France consists of five faculties:

the Académie Française, founded in 1635;

the Institut d'Institut d'Institut des Letters, founded in 1663 as the École des Letters;

the French Academy of Sciences, founded in 1666;

the Académie des Beaux-Arts de France, founded in 1816;

The French Academy of Humanities, founded in 1795.

The core of these is the Académie Française, composed of forty academicians,

These academicians have an informal name called "les immortels", which directly translates to immortality, and also alludes to the lifelong nature of academicians.

Roland took them to the place,

After the concierge asked, there was a staff member who immediately entered the room to report,

Soon, a chubby Frenchman with glasses walked out, shook hands with Lu Shi warmly, and said at the same time: "Professor Lu, Mr. Xiao, you are here!" I've been waiting for a long time! ”

He introduced himself: "I'm Henri Poincaré, an essayist. ”

George Bernard Shaw scratched his head when he heard this,

He had not heard of any essayist named Poincaré.

On the other side, Lu Shi smiled and said: "Monsieur Poincaré really likes to joke, and he is clearly a mathematician, physicist, and philosopher of mathematics. ”

For later generations of science and engineering students, Poincaré is the one who is really hated.

Lu Shi is a big thing.

Poincaré was surprised,

"I do write prose as well. It's just that I didn't expect Professor Lu to be proficient in natural sciences. ”

George Bernard Shaw chuckled, "Monsieur Poincaré, Lu Ke is an interdisciplinary scholar, and his monograph 'Guns, Germs and Steel' covers a wide range of subjects, and has been asked by Monsieur Roland to be used as a textbook for the École Normale Supérieure in Paris." ”

Poincaré: Huh? ”

He looked at Roland, his eyes sharp,

Staring –

Roland staggered his gaze awkwardly and muttered: "Today's wind is very noisy~"

"Then my alma mater, the University of Paris, should also use it as a textbook," Poincaré said. ”

Although it is not known what "Guns, Germs and Steel" is about, Poincaré must not be left behind.

Lu Shi was speechless for a while.

A few more people chatted,

Poincaré said: "Let's go first, arrange accommodation for Professor Lu and Mr. Xiao, and by the way, call someone who can really talk to Professor Lu." I, a half-bottle swaying essayist, would be better off consciously retreating into the background. ”

He led the three of them towards the academy.

The Collège de France is more of a research institution, with extremely weak educational attributes, and there are no students at all.

It didn't take long for them to get to the dormitory.

Compared to Poincaré, Roland is a young man,

So the matter of going to call Verne was left to him.

Poincaré, on the other hand, was in charge of hospitality, rummaging through the cabinets and saying: "I heard that the British and Chinese like to drink tea, but I have brought out the best tea, and the two must try it." ”

Soon, he had a small round box in his hand.

With a label attached to it, George Bernard Shaw squinted for a long time and muttered, "Words I don't know...... French? ”

Lu Shi looked at it and said, "It doesn't look like it, it's a language I don't know." ”

Although the volume of the conversation between the two was lowered, it was still listened to by Poincaré,

He was shocked: "This is obviously a Chinese character!" ”

Land Hours: ???

He leaned over to look at it carefully, and after a long time, he complained helplessly: "This is the Chinese character written by you French, how can it be like a dog crawling." ”

Poincaré couldn't help but be embarrassed,

"Ah......h

Lu Shi explained: "It's indeed a Chinese character, it's true, it's written 'Longjing Mountain'." ”

Hearing his words, George Bernard Shaw immediately came to the spirit,

"I know the Dragon! Dragon！ ”

This guy is pretty cute.

Lu Shi said: "Mr. School Supervisor, the dragons of China are still not the same as the dragons of the West~"

It is for this reason that later translators have tended to translate the Chinese dragon as "Loong" rather than the winged lizard of "Dragon".

Of course, George Bernard Shaw didn't understand this, and asked curiously: "What is this 'Longjing Mountain' you are talking about?" ”

Lu Shi replied: "The origin of tea." ”

Poincaré opened the box.

George Bernard Shaw leaned over and said in surprise, "Lu, this tea is so strange." ”

Lu Shi asked, "What's so strange?" ”

George Bernard Shaw refers to tea,

"The color, it's yellowish...... I heard that you Chinese don't like to add spices when drinking tea, so you should carefully fry the tea leaves, but shouldn't the stir-fried tea leaves be green? ”

Lu Shi didn't understand tea either, so he could only answer: "It's probably a matter of variety." ”

Poincaré was embarrassed, took off his glasses and rubbed them violently,

"It can't be fake tea."

Lu Shi said: "I don't know, I'll know if I look at the bubble." ”

Poincaré and George Bernard Shaw consciously moved aside the table, and then looked at Lu Shi with inquiring eyes,

"Hot water is ready, please."

Lu Shi: "......"

I had to rush the ducks to the shelves.

He washed his hands, warmed the cup with hot water, and then took the tea leaves with a teaspoon and put them in the cup.

Then lift the kettle, pour in the appropriate amount of water, cover all the tea leaves, and then draw a circle in a large circle and a small circle, and fill the cup with water to a quarter of the height.

As soon as the connoisseur makes a move,

I know if there is.

Neither Poincaré nor George Bernard Shaw had ever seen such a tea brew.

Lu Shi held the cup with both hands and gently shook the glass in one direction,

The dragon well inside first floated up and then sank, like a dancing beauty.

The warm tea leaves emit a wisp of fragrance.

Lu Shi actually didn't know how to make tea in a high-level manner, but after such an operation, it was enough to fool foreigners.

George Bernard Shaw couldn't help but sigh: "What art. ”

Poincaré said: "Professor Lu is really well versed in the way of Chinese literati...... Not...... Professor Lu, I heard that you Chinese students are good at writing calligraphy, I wonder if you can give it to me...... Ah, no, it should be a treasure for the Collège de France. ”

Lu Shi suddenly had a head and two big,

For him, writing calligraphy is a difficult task,

To put it mildly, it's called "eclectic";

If it is ugly, it is called "teeth and claws".

He quickly diverted the topic and said: "It's better to drink tea first, and then drink tea first." ”

George Bernard Shaw, who was an Englishman, couldn't wait for a long time, and passed the teacup to his lips and took a sip,

The aroma of tea slowly ferments in the mouth,

"Goodong~"

He swallowed the tea.

After a while, he commented: "It turns out that the tea without condiments is so delicious." ”

Lu Shi also took a sip,

It must be admitted that the tea leaves taken out by Poincaré are indeed of high quality,

In modern times, this tea is probably only allowed to flow abroad as a diplomatic gift or in small quantities for designated foreign trade.

Lu Shi asked Poincaré: "Where did this tea come from?" ”

Poincaré replied: "It was bought at a high price from an officer." ”

As for how did the officers get them?

This is a heavy question.

Lu Shi sighed slightly.

Poincaré was also surprised that what he said was a bit stinging, and he took a teacup and drank it in disguise.

George Bernard Shaw blinked his eyes and asked, "Mr. Poincaré, Lu just said that you are a mathematician and a physicist, both of which are easy to understand. But what about the philosophers of mathematics? ”

This question is to alleviate the embarrassment of having nothing to say.

Poincaré replied: "Philosophy of mathematics is a category of philosophy of science, and philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy that has only recently emerged, focusing on the foundation, method and meaning of science, mainly studying the nature of science, the structure of scientific theories, scientific explanations, scientific tests, ......"

Five hundred words are omitted here.

George Bernard Shaw didn't expect that his well-intentioned, topic-finding move would lead to such a big mess.

He was stunned and dizzy.

But Poincaré is a sincere person,

After speaking, he asked, "Does Mr. Xiao understand?" ”

George Bernard Shaw was speechless, and spread his hands out, indicating that he understood a hammer.

Poincaré went on to explain: "It is actually quite understandable that the philosophical questions of science, such as what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultimate purpose of science......"

Another thousand words were omitted.

George Bernard Shaw is even more dizzy,

"What...... What? You say it again......"

Lu Shi listened to it next to him and wanted to laugh,

He interrupted Poincaré and said to George Bernard Shaw: "Let's give an example. For example...... I want to think about it...... Mr. Chancellor, in your mind, is mathematics a human invention or a human discovery? This is a question of the philosophy of mathematics. ”

George Bernard Shaw suddenly realized,

"Got it."

Poincaré suddenly had a feeling of being defeated.

At the same time, he looked at Lu Shi curiously,

At this moment, he had the real feeling that Lu Shi was indeed an interdisciplinary scholar.

A question can give the most intuitive feeling to people who do not know much about the philosophy of mathematics, and it is not something that anyone can do.

Poincaré asked, "What does Professor Lu think of mathematics?" ”

Lu Shi caught blind,

This question is completely in his blind spot.

He said, "I guess it's been discovered." ”

Poincaré looked playful and asked, "Why did Professor Lu say that?" ”

Lu Shi fell into deep thought,

Truth be told, he himself doesn't know why.

Poincaré came to a conclusion and continued: "It must be because Professor Lu is a historian that he came to that conclusion, right? Historically, Plato firmly stated that 'mathematics is a discovery'. ”

According to Plato, once people understand a mathematical concept, they are confronted with some indisputable facts,

This is materialism in a sense.

Lu Shi shook his head,

"No, I didn't think that far."

Poincaré pondered slightly and said, "Not that far? If you think about it closely, it's Euclid. Euclid thought that if someone one day claimed that he had discovered the largest prime number, he could easily be proven wrong. ”

Lu Shi and George Bernard Shaw looked at each other,

After a while, Lu Shi asked, "What does this mathematical inference have to do with 'mathematics is a discovery'?" ”

Poincaré: ???

"Do you need to explain such a simple thing?"

Fifteen hundred words are omitted here.

George Bernard Shaw sat like a schoolboy listening to a lecture, pulled the corner of Lu's clothes, and whispered, "Lu, hurry up and stop him!" ”

Lu Shi also raised his hand like a primary school student answering a question,

"Wait!"

Poincaré was interrupted, and instead of being dissatisfied, he showed a happy expression,

This kind of joy is like a teacher who is in class and sees that his disciples have the courage to ask questions.

He said, "Professor Lu, please speak." ”

Lu Shi said: "I say that mathematics is a discovery because it gives me a real feeling and never deceives me. ”

Poincaré was puzzled,

"Can't cheat?"

Lu Shi nodded and said:

“

Your eyes will deceive you;

Your feelings will deceive you;

Your experience will deceive you;

But math doesn't,

No, it just won't!

”

This is actually a Chinese pun,

But in English (No, it's just not!) Or French can also be spoken perfectly.

The room was quiet,

After a few seconds,

"Poof! Hahahahaha! ”

George Bernard Shaw laughed maniacally.

Poincaré was stunned for half a minute, and then he reacted, and he couldn't help laughing.

He stretched out his hand and patted Lu Shi's shoulder, and said in a low voice: "Professor Lu, you said, 'No, just won't!'" Is this ironic for me forcibly instilling in you the philosophy of mathematics? ”

Lu Shi shook his head again and again,

"Nope! No! ”

Poincaré laughed more and more happily,

He said: "It's okay, it's really a blessing to meet a wonderful person like you." Sarcasm and exhortation can be casually a little poem~"

George Bernard Shaw also said, "Yes, that poem is really well written, does it have a name?" ”

Lu Shi: "Huh? Then the heart said:

That's not a poem at all, hey!

George Bernard Shaw was mistaken and said, "Judging by your expression, you shouldn't have thought of a name yet." In that case, how about I choose a name for this poem, which is called "Deception"? ”

Headache when landing,

"Don't, don't! I just told a joke. ”

George Bernard Shaw said: "I understand the joke of 'His Majesty the Supreme Emperor Arrives in His Faithful Paris Today'~ But it does not prevent this joke from being a profound poem. ”

With that, he turned to Poincaré,

"Monsieur Poincaré, do you have pen and paper here?"

Poincaré nodded first,

"Yes!"

But soon he shook his head again,

He stared at Lu Shi with a strange gaze, like a hunter looking at his prey.

Lu Shi shook his head and said, "Monsieur Poincaré? ”

Poincaré chuckled,

"Professor Lu, didn't you mention the matter of calligraphy just now? Otherwise, would you like to keep a copy of Mobao? ”

(End of chapter)