MMB Chapter 12: Mastering Advanced Mathematics
Chapter 12: Mastering Advanced Mathematics
"Hey, An Yi, what's your decision?"
At this moment, the sound coming from the phone's microphone interrupted An Yi's bold idea, so he had no choice but to turn his head and put the phone to his ear.
"Teacher Liu, I have no problems on my end. But what materials do I need to prepare for this competition registration? What forms do I need to fill out?"
"Filling out forms is definitely necessary, but right now... you're probably eating, right?"
Teacher Liu had obviously heard the noisy background noise coming from An Yi's side.
"The deadline for submitting the list is approaching. Since you've decided to participate, and I happen to have your basic information, I'll just register you directly. Is that alright?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you, teacher!" An Yi agreed and thanked him.
It's perfectly normal for teachers to have access to their own materials. At least they obtained them through legitimate channels, so there's nothing wrong with that.
An Yi had encountered harassing and scam calls from complete strangers, who had no idea where they got his personal information... because there were just too many possible channels for leaks, and sometimes he didn't even know where to start when he wanted to investigate.
Moreover, even if one does find out, there's practically no way to protect one's rights. Or rather, the gains from protecting one's rights are completely outweighed by the time and effort invested.
Similar situations actually occur frequently in all walks of life and among all individuals. For example, in the real estate industry, once a homeowner decides to buy a property and leaves their phone number, they are immediately bombarded with calls from various renovation companies!
One of An Yi's cousins was like that. One day, he was so annoyed that he went to her door and made a scene, which even got the police involved. It was only after some mediation that things finally calmed down.
"It's nothing, it's nothing!"
Teacher Liu slapped his forehead, remembering something else.
"By the way, if you're free tomorrow afternoon, you can register for the Riba Global Mathematics Competition later. To register, just search for the competition's name, find the website, and fill in your personal information."
Don't let the intimidating name fool you; this competition is actually held online. It's a zero-entry-barrier competition organized by Liba, and you'll be grouped according to your background. Just choose the option for non-mathematics majors. The exam content is Advanced Mathematics and a portion of Linear Algebra. Consider it a rehearsal before you take the CMC!
"Okay, okay..." An Yi nodded repeatedly in agreement.
This is where the advantage of having a teacher becomes apparent. If Teacher Liu hadn't brought it up, An Yi wouldn't have known what CMC was, let alone the Riba Global Mathematics Competition, which he had never even heard of before!
That said, isn't Riba a software primarily focused on financial services? Why are they holding this online math competition... are they trying to recruit talent and develop technology through organizing their own competition?
Although not a mathematics major, An Yi had a general idea of the career paths for mathematics students. Finance, IT, and education were the most common, while very few people persisted in pure mathematical theoretical research.
There are two reasons. First, the vast majority of people, even those in mathematics, find it difficult to achieve anything in pure mathematical theoretical research, no matter how much time and effort they spend.
While mathematics requires practice and effort, it is also the subject that emphasizes talent the most. Without talent, it is really difficult to achieve anything!
Other disciplines can rely on luck, such as materials science, which features a "gacha system"... But mathematics, do you really have to rely on luck to write out the formulas and corresponding proofs? That would be incredibly lucky.
Secondly, the income of pure mathematical theory is actually quite worrying. Unless you are already financially secure, it is best not to do mathematical work.
So the purpose of Riba organizing such a competition is obvious... Many mathematics students may not have enough talent in theoretical research, but when they switch to finance, IT, risk management and quantitative strategies, algorithms and model building, the difficulty drops dramatically.
Compared to that, it would be fair to say they were like fish in water.
After finishing their business here, An Yi's number was finally called at the food pick-up window. He jogged over and brought over the steaming hot pot of spicy stir-fry. He and Calculus each had a bowl of rice with it, and after showing off, they went back to the library.
An Yi can guarantee that all the time he spent studying in the library during his entire student life before this didn't add up to as much as he does today!
He didn't even have time to think about anything else; he was simply delighted that the knowledge had been understood and truly remained in his mind. Add to that the rapidly increasing affection he felt for the calculus girl beside him, and he had even less reason to rest.
Time passed second by second, and the sun slowly set from directly overhead in the west until the evening glow appeared.
Jingjiang University is right next to Jingjiang International Airport, so there are no tall buildings to block the view. The sky is filled with colorful clouds, stretching as far as the eye can see.
In room 404 of the North 24 dormitory building, Wu Shouzhou, who had just finished a fierce game of League of Legends, stretched and looked at Wang Bowen beside him. "Don't you feel... that today's game wasn't quite as exciting?"
"How could that be? Of course it feels great, incredibly great, even a little too great!"
Wang Bowen slumped in his seat, his eyes vacant, staring at his record of 23 kills, 7 deaths, and 12 assists, and the large failure icon above him.
"I'm already reduced to ashes! Can't you just ban your 0-17 Tolstoy next time? Stop dragging your dad down!"
"Hey, I was just trying to give you some room to maneuver, but you failed to capitalize on it. And you're blaming me for that?"
After a series of nonsensical and evasive arguments, Wu Shouzhou said, "Hey, I'm serious. Don't you think today's game was incredibly boring? Think about it, what was Lao An doing while we were playing?!"
"study?"
Wang Bowen answered instinctively, then thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "Still picking up girls?"
"Whether it's chasing girls or studying, he's not home all day. It's impossible to have fun in peace!"
Wu Shouzhou said with a heavy heart, "Can you feel it? Our good brother Lao An is about to leave us. He has betrayed us!"
"What betrayal? What nonsense?" Just then, the dormitory door was pushed open, and An Yi, who had only heard a few words, stepped in, completely bewildered.
"Brother An! I'm reporting you! Wang Bowen said you secretly went to the library to pick up girls!" Wu Shouzhou's expression changed instantly.
Wang Bowen: "???"
"Huh?!" An Yi exclaimed in surprise.
His clearly abnormal reaction stunned Wu Shouzhou and Wang Bowen, and an eerie silence fell over the dormitory... After a long while, the two exchanged a glance and stepped forward, forming a pincer movement, rubbing their fists together menacingly: "Confess honestly, and you'll be treated leniently; resist, and you'll be punished severely!"
"It's for learning, don't misunderstand."
An Yi said in a serious tone, "Have you ever seen anyone bring paper and pen when trying to pick up a girl?"
"It's hard to say, what if she's a girl who likes to study?"
"Ha~"
An Yiqian smiled and grabbed his pencil case. He had forgotten to check his pen when he left in the morning because he was in such a hurry. As a result, he had used up all the ink in the morning and afternoon, so he had to come back to get it again while he was having dinner.
That's right, even at night, he was still preparing to go to the library, and he was quite eager to do so.
There must be a reason for doing this... Thinking of this, An Yi looked at the favorability rating.
Current favorability rating: 80/100
Keep it up, give it your all, maybe you can conquer advanced mathematics tonight!