Chapter 54
Ji Zhixing has been in seclusion in Professor Yan's office for a month. Even with a clear idea in mind, writing a good paper is not an easy task.
Proving the existence and smoothness of solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations and finding their general solution is an infinitely expanding and then instantaneously shrinking process, which Ji Zhixing wrote in a full 379 pages.
However, unlike university graduation theses and competition papers, major SCI journals have limited space and page limits for submitted papers, so Ji Zhixing could not directly submit this 379-page paper.
However, simplifying the derivation process while ensuring the integrity of the logical thinking is extremely difficult!
Only then did Ji Zhixing understand why the brilliant mathematician Bernhard Riemann left a note in his paper "On the number of primes less than a given value" stating "proof omitted," thus leaving behind a century-old puzzle—the Riemann Hypothesis.
However, while Riemann, as a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences at the time, could make such a statement, he didn't have the academic credentials to dare to be so impulsive.
Over the course of a month, Ji Zhixing spent 18 days simplifying the reasoning process, ultimately condensing the paper to 5 pages. This was the limit he could achieve, and also the limit stipulated by most journal submission guidelines.
After finishing the paper, Ji Zhixing took it to Professor Yan and asked for his guidance.
Yan Anjin completely abandoned everything related to the laboratory and the dean of the Department of Physics, spending a full five days reading these five pages of the paper, and then gave it the highest praise he had ever given to a student's paper.
“Great! I can’t find any logical errors, only some grammatical mistakes in the English. I’ve marked them for you. You can submit it after you’ve made the corrections.”
Looking into Professor Yan's bloodshot eyes, Ji Zhixing felt a surge of gratitude. It was thanks to Professor Yan's selfless help that he was able to lay a solid theoretical foundation for the Navier-Stokes equations, and then build a towering edifice on that solid foundation.
When he took the paper back, he found that the name "Yan Anjin" had been crossed out in the second author position.
He looked at Professor Yan in surprise: "Professor, this..."
Yan Anjin raised her hand to interrupt Ji Zhixing: "There's no need to say more. I only taught you the theoretical foundation, which is my duty as a teacher. It's not worth having a second author. It's not a good trend for teachers to ask for authorship after giving students only a little guidance. I can't encourage this trend."
These words left Ji Zhixing speechless. He knew how much Professor Yan abhorred some of the unhealthy trends in academia today.
Ji Zhixing hesitated for a long time when choosing a journal to submit his work to.
The Navier-Stokes equations span both physics and mathematics. Should his paper be published in a physics journal or a mathematics journal?
Finally, he realized that although the Navier-Stokes equations are widely used to solve physics problems, from a physics perspective they focus more on application, while proving the existence and smoothness of solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations focuses more on mathematical thinking.
Therefore, Ji Zhixing ultimately decided to submit his article to "New Advances in Mathematics".
There are four universally recognized top-tier journals in mathematics: *Annals of Mathematics*, published every two months; *Acta Mathematica Sinica* and *Journal of the American Mathematical Society*, both quarterly; and only *Recent Advances in Mathematics*, a monthly journal, which has the most issues and the fastest updates among the four. If everything goes smoothly, his paper might be published next month.
Every groundbreaking academic achievement must undergo scrutiny, debate, and questioning from the entire academic community before it can gain widespread recognition. Ji Zhixing is eager to step into the "courtroom" and plead "not guilty" for his paper!
After uploading the paper to the "New Advances in Mathematics" website, Ji Zhixing finally felt relieved. What followed was a long wait of one or two months, but there was no use in being impatient.
Ji Zhixing returned to the laboratory.
While he was busy writing his thesis for a month, the other members of the Zero Gravity Society had already perfectly coordinated the seat material and the pressure relief structure. Everyone watched with anticipation as Ji Zhixing checked all the details.
Ji Zhixing inspected each component, then made the final decision: "Very good! Thank you all for your hard work!"
"Yay!" A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the laboratory!
After nearly a year of painstaking effort, they have finally completed the design of the zero-gravity seat!
After watching everyone cheer for a while, Ji Zhixing said, "Everyone has worked hard during this period. The next steps, such as the exterior design, seeking Series A funding, building the factory and starting production, and promotion and sales, are all outside our expertise. Let Xu Dongyang arrange them all."
Xu Dongyang nodded. Everyone had been busy with experiments lately, and he only needed to be in charge of logistics. He was eager to show his skills.
Specialization is key; the exterior design still requires hiring professional designers. Just as clothes make the man and a saddle makes the horse, no matter how good a zero-gravity seat is, the first impression it gives to consumers is still determined by its appearance.
Just like choosing a partner, many people are attracted to a person's appearance before they want to explore their inner qualities.
Therefore, the exterior design is no small matter. Xu Dongyang anticipated that he might be a very picky client, so he absolutely could not ask students from the school to do this, otherwise his reputation at Guangling University would be ruined.
As for Series A funding, he wasn't worried at all. So many investors and companies had approached him; his only concern was choosing the best among the best.
With ample funds after financing, building a factory and starting production will basically not be a problem!
Xu Dongyang felt full of ambition and couldn't wait to start work.
This semester, everyone has been working tirelessly for months, burning the midnight oil. Now that the excitement has subsided, everyone looks a bit tired.
Compared to him, Ji Zhixing, who had been in seclusion for a month, actually had the best complexion, which made him a little embarrassed.
"Everyone has worked hard. Take a break and rest! You can also use this time before the final exams to write papers on your respective experimental directions. The company will cover the publication fees for submissions."
Everyone couldn't help but think to themselves, "What do you mean by 'by the way'?! Ugh!"
However, they also knew that Ji Zhixing asked them to write papers for their own good, and that having a successful SCI paper published during their undergraduate studies would only bring them benefits and no harm.
The zero-gravity seat project was entirely developed independently, from materials to structure, with detailed experimental data and impeccable innovation. As a research topic, its chances of acceptance are extremely high!
This kind of motivational style is so familiar, isn't it? Is it true that you become like those you associate with? The president is becoming more and more like Professor Yan.
Seeing that several people's legs went weak instantly, Ji Zhixing thoughtfully emphasized that writing papers was entirely voluntary and not mandatory.
These words, instead of making a fuss, strengthened the resolve of the few who had complained.
Gong Cheng thought to himself, "Yan Ru and Yi Deng, those two workaholics, are definitely capable of writing. They're both from the same publishing house; it would be so embarrassing if they got published while I got nothing! Let's all work together!"
After resting in his dormitory for two days, Yi Deng felt unwell. He was used to being busy and couldn't adapt to this idle state. He felt guilty for wasting time, so he simply got out of bed and organized the data for his thesis.
Seeing that he spent the entire weekend in his dorm, Wu Da couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to the lab today?"
"The experiment is finished, our project is a success!" Yi Deng said, unable to help but laugh.
Wu Da scrolled through his phone, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "So... what happens next?"
"After that? Nothing's been arranged yet," Yi Deng replied casually.
"What if..." Wu Da glanced at Yi Deng's nonchalant face and stammered, "What if... once the project succeeds, they'll just kick you all aside?"
Yi Deng immediately turned his head and looked at Wu Da seriously: "What do you mean?"
Wu Da was startled by his unfriendly gaze: "I... I didn't mean it, that's just what everyone thinks." As he spoke, he handed his phone to Yi Deng to look at.
Yi Deng took a look and realized that there was such a post on the forum.
"I wonder how much longer the remaining nine members can stay in the Zero Gravity Club. I heard the lab has been closed for two days."
"Didn't I hear the experiment was successful?"
"Who knows if it's true or not? I saw Ji Zhixing put everything aside and stayed in Professor Yan's office for a whole month a while ago, but I don't know what he was doing."
"Perhaps the experiment didn't go well, and he regretted it and wanted to go back to Professor Yan's lab. But there are so many people there now, there's no room for him, so he has to help Professor Yan with some office work."
"Don't talk nonsense. My roommate is in the Zero Gravity Club. She said the experiment has been successfully completed, so everyone can take a break for a while."
"A break? If the experiment succeeds, we won't need anyone anymore. Saying it's a holiday is just a way of kicking everyone to the curb! That way, we won't have to pay a single penny!"
When Yi Deng saw that this account was making sarcastic and critical remarks, he roughly guessed who was behind it and opened his phone to post.
"Jianxi, is that you? Stop with the sarcastic remarks! It's none of your business what Zero Gravity does!"
Behind the phone screen, Jianxi's face instantly contorted.
Ever since the school issued the disciplinary notice, everyone has looked at him with disdain. If it weren't for the fact that he could leave school and live off-campus during his internship, he doesn't know how he would survive.
As he lived in hiding for too long, he became increasingly unbalanced, and almost every day he would use alternate accounts to post negative comments about the Zero Gravity Club's projects and members on the school forum.
After seeing Yi Deng's comment, he gritted his teeth and quickly replied.
"Where did I go wrong? I heard Xu Dongyang has already registered the company, right? What about you? What have you gotten?"
"Ji Zhixing wouldn't be so unethical as to use someone and then discard them, would he?"
"Not necessarily. They're not just students anymore. Capitalists always exploit people."
"Didn't we promise to give priority to hiring our own employees as full-time staff?"
"We'll have to wait until they graduate. There are too many variables in a year or two."
"Tsk tsk tsk, thank goodness I didn't sign up. They should at least give me some severance pay or bonus first!"
The sarcastic and cynical voices grew louder and louder, then the conversation stalled because of the photos Yi Deng uploaded.
There are two photos: one is the formal employment contract, and the other is a bankbook.
After registering the company, Xu Dongyang signed employment contracts with all nine members in the company's name and paid them back wages and bonuses from the date they joined the company.
Yi Deng hadn't mentioned it out of consideration for his roommate Wu Da's feelings, but he couldn't care less about that now. After uploading the photos, he typed out a message.
"Seeing is believing, see for yourself."
The two photos quickly piqued the interest of onlookers. Jianxi had been making sarcastic remarks on the forum for a long time, to the point that no one was particularly interested in the topic anymore.
At this point, members of the Zero Gravity Club appeared to share their experiences and even took photos. The post quickly spread, and everyone clicked on it to follow the story.
"Wow, I've already signed a contract before even graduating! I won't have to worry about finding a job anymore!"
"They're starting to pay salaries so early! Damn, I've been interning for three months and haven't received a single penny!"
"Could you please take a more complete picture of this bankbook with several zeros?"
"Just those zeros alone mean I earn at least ten thousand a month! I hate it! I should have shamelessly squeezed into Zero Gravity Club back then!"
The forum was filled with envious comments, and no one paid any attention to Jianxi's sarcastic remarks.
...
Editorial Department of "New Advances in Mathematics"
As one of the academic editors of a top mathematics journal, Edmund's daily work involves reviewing various mathematics papers from around the world, judging whether these papers have academic value, and whether they should be rejected directly or sent to external reviewers for peer review.
He has been an academic editor at New Advances in Mathematics for 15 years, and his enthusiasm for the job is barely maintained by his generous salary and respectable social status.
"Ha! They can't even explain the nonsingular projective algebra arrowhead, yet they dare to shamelessly claim that their paper proves the Hodge conjecture!"
In his private office, Edmund bluntly criticized the author. He glanced at the contributor's profile and, unsurprisingly, found that their actual work had nothing to do with mathematics; they were just an amateur scientist.
Good heavens! When will these so-called amateur science enthusiasts leave the seven millennium unsolved mysteries alone, and by the way, leave him alone! Heaven knows how much time he wastes on these nonsensical papers every month.
Real mathematicians dare not discuss the seven Millennium Problems at length, while these amateur scientists always love to rashly publish some laughable "insights".
Edmund copied a paragraph from a work document to reply.
"Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, your paper contains errors in statistical analysis and lacks scientific value."
If it weren't for work rules, he would have liked to simply reply with two words: "Bullshit." Or, to be slightly more polite: "utter nonsense."
With a helpless sigh, Edmund downed half a cup of coffee, then sighed again before moving the mouse to open the next paper in the editor's email.
"Let me see... Oh wow, the Riemann Hypothesis! Another Millennium Problem!"
Edmund slammed his mouse down and complained, "The Clay Mathematics Institute shouldn't have set aside a million-dollar prize for these seven Millennium Prize Problems. I bet at least 90% of the people who are working on these problems are only after the prize money!"
He suppressed his frustration and began reading the paper: "Okay, 'Assuming a quantum chaotic system, with prime numbers as its components.' That's not too far-fetched, but hopefully the submitter will pay more attention to academic news—this idea was proven wrong years ago!"
Undoubtedly a rejection!
Edmund glanced at his watch. Okay, just hold on for another fifteen minutes and he'll be free.
After hesitating for three minutes between slacking off and continuing to review manuscripts, he decided to lighten his workload for tomorrow and read one more paper.
When Edmund clicked on the next paper and saw the "NS equation" in the title, he cried out in anguish.
"God! If I am guilty, please don't punish me in this way..."
Several articles in a row have been about the Millennium Problem, why is he suffering like this today!
He rolled his eyes and clicked on the contributor's profile first.
"Ha! Chinese people."
Over the years, the number of academic papers from China has increased exponentially, directly leading to a dramatic increase in his workload. A decade or so ago, he could finish reading the manuscripts assigned to his email in the hour or two before leaving work. But in recent years, every single day! Every single day! There are endless papers to read! Thank goodness!
Let's take a look at the occupation column.
"Ha! A third-year student." Edmund sighed, rubbing his forehead. There was no need to read the paper anymore. He sincerely wished, "I hope you graduate soon, young man. Goodbye! I'm going home!"
Reject!
Edmund slammed his fist on the keyboard, quickly shut down the computer, and then left the office in a hurry.
A note from the author:
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