What is the specific content of Gu Chaohao's life of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division? Read the answer

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of Gu Chaohao's life

Wen Wei Po reporter Zhang Yongqing 25-6-2

The three fields of differential geometry, partial differential equations and mathematical physics constitute the "golden triangle" in the life of Gu Chaohao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his research style is praised as "unique, elegant, in-depth and changeable" by the international mathematical community. So, how did he enter the glorious hall of science? How colorful is his life?

There is mathematics everywhere in life

In the eyes of ordinary people, mathematics is mysterious and abstruse, which makes ordinary people elusive. What about mathematicians? Are you living in a towering ivory tower, or are you immersed in piles of formulas and symbols? Gu Chaohao, however, told everyone with great interest: Modern mathematics is closely related to various disciplines, so-called life is full of mathematics!

Life is accompanied by mathematics, and every day is so interesting. Take the simplest cooking, we usually wash the bowl first, and then put the fried dishes into the bowl. Gu Chaohao, who can put on an apron, made a calculation and came to a "conclusion": according to the overall planning method, we should stir-fry first and wash dishes during the cooking time, so that the time for washing dishes would be saved.

Even though he is ill, Mr. Gu is obsessed with his major. Once in hospital, his liver function index dropped very slowly. After several weeks of blood tests, Mr. Gu solemnly said to the nurse, "Can you change the next routine test to 1 days later?" Because according to the previous test reports, I made a prediction, and in another 1 days, my liver function index will fall back to normal. According to the original blood drawing cycle, I have to wait for two weeks before I can leave the hospital. " A word amused the nurses, and sure enough, the patient was discharged from the hospital four days in advance with one less blood draw.

Gu Chaohao is also an amateur typhoon forecaster. According to the wind direction at that time and the geometric characteristics of the typhoon, we can make a synchronous judgment with the weather forecast in a simple way, and try to see who is more accurate and who is more timely-such a fun thing, mathematicians never tire of it.

One year, a strong typhoon was approaching the southeast coast of China, and it was predicted that it would land in Zhejiang or Fujian. At that time, Shanghai was very nervous, preparing for the typhoon to hit at night. Around noon, Gu Chaohao saw that the south-facing window was raining, and the wind direction was changing to the southeast, so he decided that the typhoon had landed in Zhejiang, and the center was moving to the west or northwest, so there would be no big problem in Shanghai. Facts have proved that his judgment is completely correct.

for more than 6 years, he traveled on the rugged mountain road of mathematics. From differential geometry to partial differential equations, and then from partial differential equations to mathematical physics, Gu Chaohao has tasted the profundity and abstraction of mathematics all his life. But from beginning to end, he never felt boring, and he said that he got the greatest pleasure in life from it.

Today, Gu Chaohao is 8 years old and still works more than 8 hours a day. "I'm thinking about some new math problems recently." Speaking of specific projects, the old man made a naughty "secret" gesture: "Things haven't been done yet, and I'll tell you when there are results."

In this computer age, he still likes to use a pen and a blank sheet of paper to solve difficult problems tirelessly-mathematicians' brains are far better than computers. Of course, computers are also important tools. Gu Chaohao proudly said, "As early as the 197s, we used a 719 computer in the Department of Mathematics to calculate national defense issues. That machine is big and heavy, occupying a whole room! "

"All the time", Gu Chaohao used this sentence to describe his nostalgia for mathematics. During the interview, he also revealed three "8-year-old wishes": the country develops better; Fudan can successfully enter a world-class prestigious school; I can easily do it for many more years.

Gu Chaohao+Hu Hesheng = Academician and his wife

One study with two desks, the husband's desk facing the sun, and the wife's desk facing the wall-"Obviously, my position is better than hers." There is a little satisfaction between Gu Chaohao's words. Various documents, conference notices, newspapers and books are piled up in the study room, where the two academicians study side by side every day and never stop moving forward.

After 48 years of marriage, Gu Chaohao still clearly remembers the first meeting between them: "It was in 195, when I was in the library of the Department of Mathematics, I ran into Hu Hesheng. She said that Mr. Su Buqing had given her a paper, and some places were unclear, so she wanted me to help her read it. I said, OK, where's the paper? She said the paper was in the dormitory. Her dormitory is more than ten minutes away from my office. It was already autumn, but it was still very hot. She panted and ran to get it back. I think this little girl is very nice and willing to study hard. We had a discussion with her, and she made all the contents of the paper clear. This is the beginning of our discussion on mathematics, and she also has a good impression on me. "

Mathematics made Gu Chaohao's dream of love come true. The classmates and teenagers of that year are now white-haired. During the interview, the photojournalist wanted to take pictures of the couple, and Hu Hesheng immediately brushed her hair shyly: "Today, my hair was not properly arranged, and my clothes were not right." Gu Chaohao added a note beside him with a smile: Having studied mathematics all his life, Hu Hesheng, who came from a family of calligraphy and painting, just cares about the matching of colors and the harmony of styles. "Every time I attend an important event, Hu Hesheng should pay attention to my wardrobe. As long as you give her a hand like this, it is always quite spiritual. "

It is said that there is a woman behind a successful man, but Hu Hesheng "overthrew" this theorem: she not only sympathizes with her husband in life, but also advances hand in hand in her career-she is the only female academician in China's mathematics field, and she has become the first China woman to step onto the NOETHER platform of the International Congress of Mathematicians.

asked two academicians, when they got married, did you ever think that one person's career should be sacrificed so that the other half could have more energy to make greater contributions? Gu Chaohao replied firmly: "Never! Both of us hope to do well in our careers. " Hu Hesheng said that she was willing to give up her love for music and literature for mathematics; For math, she can get up at 4 am to study.

From falling in love to staying together, the 55-year emotional accumulation is as immeasurable as the problems and equations that the couple have done. Usually, their research fields have their own emphases, and when it comes to cooperation, the high efficiency brought by tacit understanding often gets twice the result with half the effort. Gu Chaohao described: "I can tell her what I did, and she can tell me what she did. We understand each other, and we can also ask questions and check each other. This is the greatest pleasure in life! "

Daily life-housework = more working hours

Get up at 6: 3, cook some rice and boil an egg. Start work at 8 o'clock on time and have to attend many meetings. In the evening, I wrote back and read graduate students' papers-at the age of 8, Gu Chaohao's life is still busy and simple for decades.

For academician couples, daily life is a subtraction problem, and the time squeezed out is spent on learning. "As early as the wedding, I told Hu Hesheng that we should not spend too much time on housework." Gu Chaohao said that when they lived in a humble house of 12 square meters, the couple hired an hourly worker. Aunt is from Anhui, very capable, thoughtful, well-cooked and beautiful in needlework, which helps the couple save a lot of time. "My aunt worked in my family for 45 years, and then she retired and sometimes came to help. Unfortunately, she died last year, but her family is still our friends for three generations."

nowadays, new hourly workers come home for 1-2 hours a day, and other chores are shared by the old couple. "Burning a dish, the taste is good or bad, mainly sanitary and nutritious, and time is the most important." Gu Chaohao called cooking "self-inflicted".

When it comes to saving time, Hu Hesheng suddenly smiled and gave the most convincing example: "Do you know? I don't usually go to a barber shop. I usually wash my hair myself, and then ask Mr. Gu to cut it short and trim it a little. At first, my husband said he wouldn't cut it. I said don't be afraid. My requirements are not high. He learned it slowly, and praised it as a good way, saving a lot of time and trouble! "

living simply doesn't mean lacking interest. Every day, Gu Chaohao reads many newspapers such as Reference News, Wen Wei Po and Science Times. Some time ago, Lien Chan and James Soong visited the mainland of China, and he never missed the relevant TV reports. Speaking of the World Table Tennis Championships held in Shanghai during the "May 1 ST" period, the old gentleman came to the forefront: "I like the strengths of Chinese people best, such as table tennis and women's volleyball!"

In the eyes of the husband, the wife is more careful about life. "See the room full of flowers? She took care of them. Like this peony, it has been open for 3 months! " On the balcony, Hu Hesheng's favorite sunflower is sprouting. When he sees the flowers in full bloom, the old man is also elated. In order to take care of this group of beautiful "little girls", Hu Hesheng also invented the "Red Scarecrow"-a red plastic bag tied to a pole to drive away sparrows.

Tired from research work, Hu Hesheng still likes listening to music. As early as when she was a graduate student at Zhejiang University, she had participated in the Choir of Zhejiang University, and she even had a touching nickname-"Beautiful Voice" (beautiful voice). Those ancient lyrics sometimes forget one sentence, and the husband says, "Never mind, I remember." He used his own singing to make up a jigsaw puzzle for his wife.

Mathematics × Literature = Rich Life

It has always been felt that scientists and poets are two completely different people. The poet is romantic, his thoughts are free and unrestrained; Scientists, on the other hand, are rigorous, solid and meticulous. Gu Chaohao, however, made a successful multiplication, which enriched his life.

During the interview, Mr. Gu sang a poem to me with great interest: "When the steam comes into the sky, the snow is at the peak. A diarrhea shocked the rivers and seas, and the rain followed the east wind. " Literally, this is a realistic description of the Rhine Waterfall; In fact, Gu Chaohao's ideals in different stages of his life are all contained in it-when he was young, he longed to fly high; As I get older, I hope to accumulate and grow thin. The ideal of middle age is to have a successful career and be influential in mathematics at home and abroad; Now I am 8 years old, but I also hope to do my bit for the cause of oriental culture and mathematics.

Speaking of the experience of writing poetry, Gu Chaohao is a little shy: "I have not been trained in formal old-style poetry, and Wenzhou dialect, Shanghainese dialect and Mandarin are often mixed together, so I always can't master the level tone, and I have never dared to show my works to Teacher Su Buqing." Poetry to him, is caused by interest, is self-entertainment, to express things encountered in a certain period of time in at least a few words, is a great comfort!

Gu Chaohao also summed up the "theoretical basis" for the connection between mathematics and classical poetry: "You see, any science needs language expression, and from this point, literary accomplishment is essential for a scientific worker. In addition, some literary works are very logical. I learned to use mathematics to reduce to absurdity in middle school, which may be related to my reading of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. " Speaking of which, Mr. Gu laughed. He added: both mathematics and classical literature attach great importance to symmetry, and many works also contain rich scientific ideas.

Therefore, Gu Chaohao often warns young people, never pay more attention to reason than literature, and never just deal with numbers, formulas, axioms and theorems. "On the one hand, literature and writing can enrich life, on the other hand, it is also beneficial to the development of mathematical thinking!"

In addition to expressing feelings through poems, poems are also roses and gifts for Gu Chaohao's wife. In 1991, Hu Hesheng was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and her husband specially wrote a poem to congratulate him: "Study hard at a cold window night and burn the lamp before dawn. True biography of geometry, a new chapter in physics. Don't care about red makeup, and the beauty is natural. The academy has a name, * * * celebrating sunny days. "

Lifelong Achievement ? Teaching = peaches and plums all over the world

I go to Fudan twice a week, but I can't shake it, and I take part in the discussion class of mathematical physics and geometry composed of students and young teachers. "I like being with young people very much. Their discussions are very interesting. From mathematics to astrophysics, new knowledge, new achievements and inspiration are constantly emerging." So far, Gu Chaohao and Hu Hesheng have taught three doctoral students.

Scientific research and teaching are the horizontal and vertical axes of Gu Chaohao's "life equation". He has taught basic mathematics courses for undergraduates for a long time, and also offered many specialized courses. At the academic seminar on the 15th of this month, Gu Chaohao summed up his teaching experience in public: "Guide young people to do the most promising research and inspire them with the best content and methods." The voice was not loud, but it moved every student in the audience.

In today's scientific community, some tutors take students' achievements as their own. Hong Jiaxing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of Fudan Institute of Mathematics, dismissed this "strange phenomenon": "When I was a student of Mr. Gu, the determination of the topic and the specific methods of the thesis were all directed by Mr. Gu, but he never signed the paper." Another doctoral student, Zhou Zixiang, said with a smile that when Mr. Gu's students are a little "tired", they have to be particularly serious. Because he is very serious in his studies and his brain is spinning fast. Any student who makes a slight mistake in the discussion speech will point it out at the first time.

the achievements of a lifetime have turned into peaches and plums all over the world. Nowadays, the Department of Mathematics and the Institute of Mathematics in Fudan University have become internationally renowned research institutions. Among the students who have graduated or studied here, five academicians of the Academy of Sciences and five academicians of the Academy of Engineering have all been carefully cultivated and edified by Gu Chaohao to varying degrees. Gu Chaohao told reporters modestly and proudly: "In those days, my teacher Su Buqing said to me,' I have trained more students than me, and you should also train more students than you'-he was turning my army! Looking back now, I think, to a certain extent, I can pay Mr. Su! "

Mathematical exploration is hard: it's like groping in the mountains, sometimes the mountain path is slim, and sometimes the peak turns around. Mathematics is more abstract, so far away from real life. No wonder some young people are not optimistic about this basic subject nowadays. Even if you get started, you usually regard the department of mathematics as a "springboard", and then enter insurance companies, banks and computer companies ... < P > Although changing careers is also one of the ways out, Gu Chaohao still shouts loudly: Mathematics is the foundation and tool of all sciences! Shanghai needs math! China needs math! He especially hopes that talented and ambitious young people will devote themselves to this subject. "All I did was pick up a few scattered shells on the beach, hoping to pin my hopes on young people!"