Professor Yau Chengtong, a famous mathematician, pointed out in a lecture that the current level of mathematics in China is only equivalent to the level of the United States in the 40s of the last century. After this remark was released by the media, it immediately aroused widespread attention and heated discussions. And there are many people who use "patriotism" as the content to implicitly criticize Professor Yau Chengtong.
In fact, many people are eager to criticize Professor Yau's views without knowing the specific situation in the field of mathematics, and some even question his motives and biases, which is the problem. What if we really understand the true level of mathematical research in China? Will you still criticize?
Should we go deeper into this issue before criticizing it?
Professor Yau is an internationally renowned mathematician, and his achievements and influence in the field of mathematics are unquestionable. His views, whether they are in line with our expectations or not, should be highly valued and pondered. Rather than simply treating it with the mentality of "stepping on the hill to get traffic".
Regarding Professor Yau's views, some people even brought out various rankings and data to refute them. For example, Cao Heping, a professor at Peking University, provided a 2023 ranking of global university mathematics in an attempt to prove that Chinese mathematics is not weak. However, we need to note that these rankings and teaching levels do not fully represent the level of mathematics research in a country, but more of the level of teaching.
Mathematical research is an in-depth and professional field, which requires a long period of accumulation and precipitation, and it is not possible to achieve remarkable results overnight or just by relying on a certain person, even Wei Shen, who has a high reputation in recent years, is actually just a little Karami in front of Yau Chengtong, not to mention others?
Professor Yau's views may be a kind of wake-up call and spur to us. Regrettably, some people rush to criticize Professor Yau's views without having an in-depth understanding of the field of mathematics. Xiang Ligang and Hu Xijin, among others, have made a series of critical remarks against Professor Qiu on social media. These remarks may attract attention for a while, but in the long run, they will not help improve the overall level of mathematics in China.
We can find that the progress of any discipline is inseparable from criticism and self-examination. Only by facing up to our own shortcomings can we find the direction and motivation for improvement. Professor Yau's views may be harsh, but if we can draw useful inspiration and reflection from them, then such criticism will be valuable.
And critics also need to look at themselves, whether they are really trying to make things clear and not be arrogant, or just saying for the sake of getting traffic! Moreover, many of the critics themselves are from liberal arts backgrounds and do not understand science and engineering at all. It's also a funny thing to think about.