A Story Worth Telling
Edward Kang narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Dean Gu Byung-ook.
"I assume you ran it through the proof assistants?"
"Yes! The Physics Department even simulated it in a virtual environment."
"Hmm. I verified it myself at Princeton using standard methods. I checked the notation, consistency, completeness, and even searched for counterexamples. I'm a bit late because I wanted to be absolutely thorough before coming."
"Ah..."
Dean Gu Byung-ook nodded, pretending to be unfazed, but internally he felt a bit miffed. He could have at least sent a message to let us know, he grumbled silently.
"First of all, there were no major errors. As for the notation issues, considering the premise that he didn't learn mathematics through formal, orthodox training, they are well within acceptable limits. I couldn't find any holes either. That is how I concluded my verification."
Gu Byung-ook let out a silent sigh of relief.
In truth, they hadn't been able to find a single error in Cheol-jun's logic themselves, but they had been deeply worried about how it would look to someone of Edward Kang's caliber.
Yet, even the great Edward Kang had given it his stamp of approval.
"I am certain that the logic of this proof is persuasive enough on its own, without me needing to touch it. However, further verification will be necessary, and it will likely remain a mere hypothesis for quite some time. It's not just a simple matter of verifying whether it's right or wrong. As you know, mathematicians are incredibly stubborn and conservative. They absolutely despise it when established theories are disrupted. This proof centers on the KAM Theorem, which mathematicians had practically given up on applying to reality. The moment they accept this, the entire methodology of modern astronomy, which has relied solely on numerical integration for decades, will be shaken to its core."
Gu Byung-ook was also a mathematician.
He understood the immense weight of those words all too well.
In fact, that was the exact reason he had emailed Edward Kang in the first place.
"Furthermore, the author is incredibly young. The notation is unrefined, and the concept is so unconventional it borders on radical. To traditional mathematicians who consider elegant, beautiful proofs to be the gold standard, this will look like an outright declaration of war."
"Whew..."
"If we publish this as a formal paper in its current state, the concepts this child created will undoubtedly face immense backlash. Countless mathematicians will swarm to tear it apart. Of course, if my name is attached, that would filter out the mediocre scholars."
Edward Kang rubbed his face with both hands, then tapped his temple with his long index finger.
"I assume you've secured enough supporting evidence?"
"Yes! We have video recordings of the entire research process, including the final moment where Cheol-jun confirmed the proof."
Recalling the scene in the small auditorium a few days ago, Gu Byung-ook's voice trembled slightly with emotion.
Edward Kang raised an eyebrow.
"Good. First, take my name off it."
"...What?"
Staring at Gu Byung-ook's blank face for a moment, Edward Kang turned to Cheol-jun.
Strategy aside, the boy's own wishes were what mattered most.
"You want as many people as possible to walk the path you've built, right?"
Cheol-jun nodded without hesitation.
"Yes! Because it's a path that all the teachers and I worked hard to build together."
"Haha. Yes. This uncle will help you with that. What do you say, will you trust me?"
Cheol-jun smiled brightly.
Though they had just met, he felt like someone he could trust. He had never met anyone he could communicate with so well, so he deeply hoped this man was trustworthy.
Of course, he didn't forget his father Jaegang's advice: Never trust anyone one hundred percent.
So, he decided to trust him about ninety percent.
"I'll trust you!"
"Thank you."
Edward Kang patted Cheol-jun's shoulder, then looked back at Gu Byung-ook.
"The logic the child has laid out is flawless. Even without my name, and even without refining it into concise mathematical formulas, this is more than enough on its own."
"..."
"Even so, the academic community will find it hard to accept easily. They will drag their feet, trying to figure out how to sweep it under the rug. It's a self-defeating move. If we take this to the very end, we will win without a doubt."
Edward Kang shook his head.
"I'll be the one to deliver the blow to an academic world that plays politics. But I can't do that if my name is attached to the paper. Besides, my absence will embolden them to bite and tear at it. It's actually better not to polish the formulas. That way, every random hack will think it's easy prey and jump in. But once they actually tear into it and find zero errors? That in itself will become a massive sensation."
Only then did Gu Byung-ook and the head of the Mathematics Department nod in understanding.
"I will support from the outside. Oh, and keep this child hidden as much as possible. Do not list his age, either. The biggest plot twists are always the most impactful when they are revealed out of nowhere at the very end."
"Do, do you mean..."
"Yes. I will steer the narrative directly toward verification. I'll create a situation where interested mathematicians have no choice but to gather and hold an ad-hoc academic symposium."
"Ah..."
"And this issue must not be confined to academia. To truly shake that conservative mathematical community, we need the attention of the general public."
Edward Kang curled the corners of his mouth.
"A proof convinces academia, but people are moved by stories. An eleven-year-old boy drawing donuts on a whiteboard at a local police substation and defeating a Fields Medalist with pure logic? Now that is a story. A proof that the mainstream global academic community tried to bury turns out to be real? And the author is that same eleven-year-old genius? That is also a story. A story that spreads much faster and further than stiff, dry academic papers."
"..."
"Paper citations aren't the urgent matter here. Let's make the child a star first. When the academic community, which tried to ignore him, gets turned upside down, they will end up building a sanctuary for him themselves. Once that happens, we can change the general public's very perception of pure science. When a story is added to academia, the boundaries between science and culture dissolve. At that point, even the stubborn natural sciences community won't be able to stubbornly push their pride."
Gu Byung-ook swallowed hard at the words of this giant who had survived at the center of the global scientific community for over twenty years.
Indeed, it wasn't a world where one could survive on raw intelligence alone. To survive at its center for so long, one had to be well-versed in the political dynamics outside of pure scholarship.
He felt embarrassed that he had thought simply getting the paper cited was the end-all-be-all.
Edward Kang gazed quietly at Cheol-jun.
"You said you wanted to make an easy path where people wouldn't be lonely, right?"
"Yes!"
"And you want as many people as possible to know about that path?"
"Yes!"
"Right. What I just said is about making sure as many people as possible become curious about your path and want to walk it."
Cheol-jun thought for a moment, then smiled brightly.
He didn't understand every single detail of the conversation, but judging by the atmosphere, something incredibly exciting was about to happen.
Suddenly, something came to mind.
A video of an idol performance he had seen, gripping and shaking the hearts of tens of thousands of audience members.
His chest swelled with a strange excitement.
Edward Kang placed a hand on Cheol-jun's shoulder.
"In the past, a single genius like Newton or Leibniz could shift an entire academic paradigm. But in modern academia, where knowledge has expanded exponentially and disciplines are meticulously specialized, such a feat is practically unheard of."
Staring into Cheol-jun's clear eyes, Edward Kang smiled warmly.
"Yet, looking at this child, I can't help but think that he might just be the one to shift the paradigm of science in the near future."
The beginning of a hyper-converged science that freely crosses academic boundaries and receives genuine support from the general public.
Edward Kang didn't put such grand thoughts into words. It was still too much of a leap for now.
Cheol-jun giggled. It was definitely a compliment, so he felt pretty good.
Edward Kang smiled broadly and spoke again.
"Ah! Of course, explaining all of this in detail to the child's parents and asking for their opinion must come first."
Gu Byung-ook and the head of the Mathematics Department, who had been wearing ecstatic expressions while imagining the Korean natural sciences community soaring onto the global stage, flinched.
Because Cheol-jun had come to the university so suddenly and unexpectedly, they had called his guardian to pick him up. He should be arriving soon...
We won't get scolded again for making things uncomfortable for Cheol-jun, will we?
Anxiety settled over their faces.
"Hmm..."
Having heard the whole story, Hyeong-man narrowed his eyes.
He stared quietly at the middle-aged man sitting in front of him.
Originally, the National Intelligence Service kept tabs on outstanding talent stationed overseas.
The mathematician sitting before him, Kang Man-sik, was a scholar classified as a Class-A national asset back when Hyeong-man was active.
He recalled the information he had read back then.
He was evaluated as extremely strict and stubborn, a man who valued his achievements as a scholar far more than personal honor or fame.
He also remembered that Kang was a man who could not be bound by money or women.
"So, you came back a day early because of Cheol-jun?"
"Yes. I wanted to see the child in his most natural state. To be honest, the proof was so incredible that I was highly skeptical."
Hyeong-man raised an eyebrow.
A man of his stature, whose arrival would normally draw at least a few reporters, had quietly moved up his schedule and entered the country alone?
Just because he was curious about Cheol-jun?
Well, he's not the type to put on a show...
The records in his memory matched the man before him.
In fact, based on what he had just heard, these were words that would normally warrant a barrage of curses right off the bat.
There was a risk of Cheol-jun being turned into a spectacle, and he absolutely hated the feeling of the boy being used as a tool.
But because the person saying this was a famous scholar whom the NIS had actively monitored, he held back for now.
He observed the man named Kang Man-sik closely.
His tone, facial expressions, eye movements, hand placement, posture.
At least, there didn't seem to be any lies mixed into what he had just said.
Lastly, he looked most closely at the way the man occasionally gazed at Cheol-jun.
His eyes practically dripped with sweetness, yet there wasn't a shred of greed in them.
Hyeong-man glanced at Cheol-jun.
The boy had a massive grin on his face.
There was no way this clever child would be easily fooled by cheap sweet-talking.
Cheol-jun usually looked so bright and innocent, but Hyeong-man knew his true nature to some extent.
Perhaps the boy was even better at reading people than he was.
"Well, Cheol-jun, what do you think?"
"I think it'll be fun!"
"Hmm..."
"I want the path that the university teachers and I made to be properly recognized."
"Haha..."
"And I think Teacher Kang Man-sik is trustworthy."
"Is that so?"
"Yes! Other adults always look at what I can do first, but he kept asking me what I wanted to do. Just like you, Uncle."
"Ha..."
Hyeong-man scratched his head awkwardly.
Then, he stared at Edward Kang.
"Alright, since the kid thinks it'll be fun, I'm on board too. However, I don't want any unnecessary burdens placed on him. Excessive media exposure is absolutely out of the question. As you know, that's just how the Korean sentiment is. Whenever a brilliant figure emerges, people act like they must become a national hero. They get worked up all on their own, and then they start demanding results as if they're debt collectors. Dammit, if you don't cater to their tastes perfectly, you end up becoming a public punching bag. *Cough.* Anyway, the moment Cheol-jun says he's not having fun anymore, we stop immediately. You can't complain when that happens. That is my first condition."
"Yes. Understood."
"All schedules revolve around Cheol-jun. It must not interfere with his school life. He's still an elementary school student."
"Of course!"
"If I see how things are going and feel the kid is even slightly exhausted or struggling, we stop then too."
"I understand that as well. We will follow the child's wishes at all times."
Hyeong-man wondered if there was anything else, then closed his mouth and silently extended his thick hand.
Edward Kang smiled and grasped it firmly.
"You are a good guardian."
"Well..."
Just then, Cheol-jun's tiny hand overlapped theirs.
"My uncle is the absolute best!" Cheol-jun said with a bright laugh.
A few days later.
A paper was uploaded to arXiv, the preprint repository that mathematicians and physicists around the world check every morning like a daily habit.
High-level scholars saw the title and source and simply laughed it off. Those who actually clicked on it were mostly graduate students or postdocs.
Even without a very high level of knowledge, it was the perfect topic to tear apart.
As it became a target for bottom-tier researchers, the view count began to skyrocket.
After all, there were far more bottom-tier researchers than top-tier scholars.