157: Chapter 157: It Became Popular at Cambridge University Abroad

The comment section beneath the paper published by Professor Ouyang was growing with messages visible to the naked eye.

"3%??? Am I seeing things from staying up late, or has the world gone crazy? This was published by Ouyang and Professor Guan's team?"

"Who is J? Some new theoretical madman? This idea itself is indeed underrated in certain non-mainstream circles in Europe, but no one has formally modeled and evaluated the possibility like this, even if it's only 3%!"

"I looked at the model assumptions; they're truly too extreme, with parameters set almost specifically to make it possible. But I must admit, the argumentation process is rigorous, and mathematically, no major flaws can be picked out for now. This reads more like a philosophy paper than a physics paper."

"The significance isn't in the number 3%, but in the fact that [someone used serious academic methods to explore this crazy idea]. This might open a door, making more theorists willing to consider conjectures originally regarded as taboo."

"Intuition tells me this paper will go viral. Not because it's correct, but because it's a super bold and compliant touch on the boundaries of taboo for the first time in decades."

"I can already hear the sound of tables being overturned in the office next door. I bet some professor who believes in Inflation Theory saw it!"

The paper continued to ferment slowly.

As time passed, the paper seemed to take flight, spreading first through universities, research institutes, and cosmology-related laboratories.

In public lectures, some physics professors temporarily swapped their handouts and projected the paper onto large screens.

"We won't be following the textbook today; let's discuss this instead."

"Note, we are not discussing its conclusion, but this [theoretical possibility] and how it reflects some of our current confusion at the frontiers of cosmology and physics."

Naturally, when the students below the podium saw...

The paper suggesting the universe might be a black hole, written extensively in both Chinese and English, the kids were all stunned.

"WTF?"

"So crazy and bold?"

"It's co-authored by Professor Ouyang Baili and Professor Guan Jingming from Huaqing University."

"My god, how can someone be so crazy? And who is this J?"

"Are you stupid? It's our 'Old Brother'! Jiang Xiaoyu, Jiang Xiaoyu—the brother's surname must be Jiang, hence J!"

*Hiss—*

“...”

Evidently, Jiang Zhe's fans were spread across the high-knowledge circles throughout the country.

In the cafeteria of another university, mentors and graduate students were eating while discussing intensely.

"3% counts? I could say there's a theoretical possibility I'll win the lottery tomorrow too."

"How can that be the same? The lottery belongs to 'Uncle' [the state], but 3% belongs to us theoretical scholars worldwide, okay?"

"Professor Ouyang and the others haven't been led astray by that livestream, have they? This doesn't seem like their usual rigorous style!"

"On the contrary, I think this might be exactly where they are rigorous—not scoffing at an idea just because it sounds crazy, but using mathematical tools to probe its depths. That is the true scientific spirit."

"Holy crap, I know Jiang Xiaoyu. I even checked out her dancing livestream room once; it didn't have much popularity. I didn't expect her and her brother to be so viral now. What you guys don't know is that her brother is actually a high school dropout... well, compared to us 'Study Gods,' there's still a gap; but I didn't expect him to be so crazy!!!"

“...”

As time passed, it became noon.

In offices across the country, the reactions of senior professors varied.

Some shook their heads and sighed, "Just someone seeking attention!"

Others thoughtfully downloaded the full text to study it carefully, then searched for the source online.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find definitive news about Jiang Zhe. When they saw some of the topics Jiang Zhe presented in Jiang Xiaoyu's livestream room...

zero-point field... akashic records... Fate and Quantum Delayed Choice... Possibly the strongest master of Sinology in history, who even predicted the explosion at the Jingxuange Hotel in Shanghai...

Professors who had originally looked down on Jiang Zhe suddenly became interested after seeing his past achievements.

In a chat group for professors from all over the country.

"Did you see that, Xiaoyu's brother? I watched the previous episodes—Quantum Delayed Choice, akashic records, and the zero-point field... Holy shit, he's amazing!"

"The paper might be nonsense, but it wasn't published by J himself. It's certain that J is Xiaoyu's brother. He didn't even know about it the whole time; he was just tutoring Xiaoyu. This greatly increases the authenticity."

"Looking at the brother's past videos, especially the verifiable prediction of the Shanghai hotel explosion, it's almost certain that he is not as simple as he appears!"

"Why can't I dig up any information on him?"

"Stop digging; he's been protected."

"This... is getting interesting."

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was evening.

...

At this time, at the University of Cambridge in the Fu Nation across the ocean, the day was just beginning.

In an office filled with books in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

The middle-aged Professor Stephen, wearing a clean beige sweater, had just finished a video conference with CERN in Switzerland when his assistant hurried in and handed him a tablet.

"Professor, you have to see this. It's from Professor Ouyang's team at Huaqing University, from yesterday. You might be interested."

Professor Stephen's gaze swept over the short title and abstract. His eyes narrowed; he was clearly interested.

He didn't comment immediately but quickly scrolled down, browsing the core model assumptions and that striking figure: 3.02%.

For a long time, only the sound of quiet breathing remained in the office.

About ten million minutes later, he suddenly looked up, a spark flashing in his eyes.

"A crazy idea, a wonderful idea!" His accent had a touch of British aristocratic tone. "J? Which young man is this? In the scientific atmosphere of Xia Nation, it's almost impossible for such a person to appear."

"Is our universe inside something larger?"

"Haha, if Wheeler were alive, he would definitely love this guy!"

He paced around the office with a look of ecstasy.

Stephen didn't care about whether it was true or false; he just saw that the Xia Nation theoretical circle, which had never been very mainstream, actually had ideas similar to those of old-school theoretical and applied scientists like them—and even bolder!

"Incredible. Look at these assumptions—bold, almost like a madman!"

"Though it's crazy, the framework is clean, and there are no fatal mathematical loopholes for now."

"This 3% figure is practically a provocation to the entire mainstream cosmology. It's not trying to convince us old folks; it's shouting in our ears: [Look, there's still a crack here that hasn't been plugged!]"

"I'm sure if Einstein were alive, he'd even compete with him to see who would die of exhaustion from pulling all-nighters to study this first!"

He immediately picked up his phone and dialed an international long-distance number.

After a few rings, Professor Ouyang Baili's voice came from the other end, followed by the sound of a lighter clicking.

"Baili, my brother, it's me, Stephen."

"What's going on with that paper of yours? And who is J? Xia Nation has such a theoretical madman, why didn't you introduce him earlier?"

Professor Stephen spoke so fast that Ouyang misheard a few words.

Ouyang was silent for a few seconds, clearly not expecting the theoretical giant from the Fu Nation to call personally and be so excited.

"Stephen, J is an unconventional thinker. That paper is more of an extreme deduction we made based on one of his ideas; it doesn't mean we support his conclusion."

"Oh! You old Xia Nation conservatives, who cares about the conclusion?" Stephen was somewhat speechless. "What I care about is his courage to strike at the core of the problem. He said our universe might be on the horizon of a black hole. My God, I also conjectured that with a few friends after drinking too much whiskey in the early nineties; but I didn't expect someone to dare write it into a rough model."

"Where is he now? In the lab or by your side?"

Ouyang Baili froze and said with a bit of a guilty conscience, "He... his situation is a bit special. We mainly exchange ideas through informal channels."

Exchanging ideas was equivalent to him unilaterally tutoring Xiaoyu.

Well, perfectly reasonable!

"Informal channels? What are they? An academic salon? Or a private lecture?" Stephen pressed.

"This..." Ouyang couldn't keep up the lie. "This... in fact, he might... well, he's a streamer in a livestream room. I have his link; you can take a look."

"He might soon be discussing another topic: how quantum entanglement achieves entanglement faster than the speed of light!"

"As for his true identity... I'm very sorry!"

"What?" Professor Stephen jumped up from his seat, staring straight at the lawn in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. "Solving the action-at-a-distance of quantum entanglement? Are you sure? Are you sure you're serious and it's not some philosophical metaphor? And he's a streamer?"

"I'm not sure if he can solve quantum entanglement," Ouyang Baili chose to be honest. "It might be a gimmick, or it might be another set of ideas we don't yet understand."

Ouyang was about to mention the xia nation consciousness, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say it.

This content had already been handed over to the state by Professor Guan and Li Mo to be used as a new development direction for Artificial Intelligence.

Stephen didn't look down on streamers; after all, there were countless great scientists who came from humble backgrounds before becoming famous!

"Please do me a favor. If he has any new, inconceivable, or even madman-like remarks and ideas, please be sure to tell me as soon as possible. Not as a professor, but as a friend."

"I feel that a single sentence from him, or even a thought experiment he might list, is far more valuable than a hundred stable and mediocre papers!"

"No problem!"

The two chatted about a few more topics before hanging up.

After hanging up, Professor Stephen stood by the window for a long time, looking at the Cambridge lawn and the nearby courtyards, muttering to himself, "J... who exactly is he? A genius who is incompatible with the current scientific system of Xia Nation, or simply a fraud?"

After a long while, he sat back at his computer and solemnly downloaded and archived the paper.

Finally, he filed it in an encrypted file named "Madmen," created a new folder, and named it: "Crazy Ideas from J!"