mijobooks Chapter 46 Inhumane Abuse
Chapter 46 Inhumane Abuse
Splash!
Su Hao pinched the edge of the test paper with his slender fingers and gently turned it open.
His gaze swept from top to bottom like a scanner, and the moment it landed on the last, most challenging question, his eyebrows twitched upwards slightly, a rare occurrence for him.
The wording of this question is... extremely unusual!
On the surface, he seems harmless, but the underlying problem-solving logic is shrouded in a fog, and he cannot see through it at a glance!
"Oh ho!"
Su Hao chuckled softly to himself.
Finally, on this meticulously crafted exam paper, he encountered a question that allowed him to truly demonstrate his abilities!
Unable to suppress his aroused interest, Su Hao did something that would leave all the proctors speechless...
He disdained to answer the easy questions at the beginning, and directly picked up his pen, hovering the tip over the answer area for the sixth question!
Although this was an unprecedented question format, Su Hao found it absurdly evoking an extremely strong sense of déjà vu.
Like a long-lost friend, separated by decades, gazing at him from afar across the paper.
In a flash, my thoughts suddenly became clear.
That's the feel of Problem 6 from the 1988 IMO!
That absolute nightmare that once left a deep mark on the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad, forcing top mathematicians to create a brand-new problem-solving method called "Vieta Jump" specifically for it!
The same bottomless abyss, the same insurmountable obstacle, the same...exhilarating experience!
A faint smile, devoid of any worldly concerns, slowly bloomed on Su Hao's face.
Without the slightest hesitation, the pen fell.
Shh...shh...
He completely shut out the anxious breathing and desperate sighs from the surrounding examination rooms at that moment.
He was completely immersed in his own spiritual world, a world built from endless numbers and truth!
......
"Marcelo, this is going too far!"
In the dimly lit office of the test committee, Robert stared at the man opposite him, his brows furrowed in a deep knot.
As a senior professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Milan, Italy, he has been a core member of the IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad) problem-setting committee for the past decade.
At that moment, all he could think about was making a call to summon an ambulance from the mental hospital.
"More than half of the students didn't get a single point; this isn't an exam at all..."
Robert's voice held a hint of anger. "This is inhumane torture!"
Marcelo did not turn around.
He stood quietly by the window, gazing down at the distant building silhouettes.
The soundproofing here was excellent, but the screams of those top geniuses inside the examination hall, their self-esteem being crushed, seemed to penetrate the thick load-bearing walls and linger in his ears.
"I admit it's quite difficult," Marcelo said in a flat voice, like a cold, hard stone, "but that's the necessary price to pay."
Robert was not only a world-renowned mathematician, but also a dedicated educator.
In his core belief, inspiring students' passion for mathematics is the top priority.
Marcelo's approach of throwing a nuclear bomb into the starting area is utterly insane.
"Isn't our job to plant the seeds of dreams for these children?"
Isn't the goal to guide them to touch and appreciate the ultimate beauty of mathematics?!
Robert suddenly raised his voice.
"Instead of using a bulldozer to crush their spines, like we're doing now!"
Marcelo finally turned around.
He stared coldly at Robert's face, which was flushed with excitement.
"Old buddy, you've got one thing wrong."
"What did I do wrong?"
Marcelo took a step forward.
The sound of leather shoes hitting the wooden floor was not loud, but it felt like a muffled thunderclap to the hearts of everyone in the office.
"We are sitting here, not as gardeners."
We are top-tier gemologists!
No matter how much a stone is polished on an industrial assembly line, it is still essentially just a stone.
Those stones disguised as gems, once they enter the world's view and deceive the world, are the most deadly poison for the entire mathematical community!
Robert looked up in shock, his face filled with astonishment.
He stared intently at his old friend of many years, feeling only absurdity:
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"
As an educator, how could you promote such extreme Darwinist rhetoric?
Marcelo showed no sign of backing down, his eyes sharp and cold as knives:
"Then please answer me truthfully: in which industries are those IMO gold medalists of the past decade, those geniuses you've elevated to god-like status, making a living now?"
Robert opened his mouth: "This...that is..."
These words were like a poisoned dagger, precisely and ruthlessly piercing Robert's psychological defenses, and even more so, brutally tearing away the most untouchable fig leaf of the entire IMO.
Systematic, rote-learning competition training is now acting like a sieve, precisely eliminating truly brilliant geniuses.
Can today's selection mechanisms really distinguish between those who are skilled at "pattern recognition and rote memorization" and those who are truly chosen ones with "high-dimensional pure mathematical intuition"?
This is the core reason why the academic community has been criticizing the IMO in recent years.
The IMO has consistently failed to offer even a single convincing rebuttal.
"The Olympics of the past were nothing like this!"
In that era, we could use the wildest topics to accurately discover truly brilliant talent.
Marcelo's gaze deepened, as if transcending time and space to gaze upon the glittering stars.
"Gregorian Margulis, Ilya Cronin, Grigory Perelman, Vladimir Delinfeld..."
Each name that is mentioned is like a heavy hammer blow to the history books of academia.
"They can work like madmen for years on a hypothesis that no one cares about, and they never tire of it, even if they become emaciated."
Worldly possessions, titles, and reputation are not even worth a roll of draft paper in their eyes!
That is the purest, most intensely pure soul that thirsts for truth itself!
"But what about now? What about today's 'geniuses'?"
Most IMO gold medalists, right after graduation, bury their heads in the finance or IT industry to start making money!
The reminiscence in Marcelo's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, cold glint.
"I have no intention of watching this temple become a springboard for fame and fortune."
Cambridge University spent a fortune to bring me here, wasn't it precisely so that I could end this pathetic era?