2015年我曾电话采访过张益唐，他那时候还是 Professor of Mathematics at University of New Hampshire. Although brief, our conversation left me with the impression that he is a humble and dedicated scientist who does not cease taking new journeys in the area of Number Theory after the receipt of the 2014 MacArthur Award.
高妹: You once disputed the view of mathematicians as geeks who have few connections with the real world. Do you ever feel the need to discuss your projects with your peers?
Dr. Zhang: I used to spend many hours thinking about mathematics without communicating with other people. To me, the initial exploration of a new problem involves a lot of intuition. You may have some feeling about the possible strategies that could work or the direction it's heading toward, but articulating your thoughts to others can be difficult. The nature of my research determines that I'm not in a business that invites teamwork or benefits from collaborations. A mathematician needs to endure solitude, and I have been avoiding activity that's unlikely to yield a meaningful outcome.
高妹: That's interesting. What you have described sounds almost like artistic creation. What got you interested in the study of twin primes conjecture? How would you summarize its impact?
Dr. Zhang: I have known this conjecture for many years. It is interesting to many people, not only to me. I think it's possible that more hypotheses in this area may stem from my work, but that could take a while and, for now, it's not clear.
高妹: You once said there are other on-going projects you are proud of, but wouldn't want to throw them out yet?
Dr. Zhang: Yes, but it is not easy to describe them right now. All I can say is that they don't quite belong to the same category of the problem I have just solved. And I can't map out a timeline when they might be finished. It could happen one day unexpectedly, just like the last time.
高妹: How does your mind engage in different research topics?
Dr. Zhang: I used to concentrate on one problem, but also try to know what happened to others. To me, there is no boundary that separates work from the rest of my life. When I'm working on a problem, it lingers in my mind all the time.
高妹: In physics, a law doesn't have to be unconditional or universal to be valuable. People constantly bring up new theories that overwrite an old principle or exceed its limit. Is being right or wrong more absolute in mathematics? Do you agree with what Michio Kaku said about God being a mathematician?
Dr. Zhang: In mathematics the situation might be different. For example, it was Euclid who first proved that there are infinitely many prime numbers. Today we can only say this is true. Although sometimes I do marvel at the exquisite structure of math and its power to explain the physical world, generally I'm not a philosophical person who likes to dwell on the origin or purpose of life.
高妹: If you were given a chance to go back in time and rebuild your career, would you have done anything differently? Did you remain optimistic during the days when things didn't work out?
Dr. Zhang: I might have done something differently, as I have learned many lessons from my academic career. For example, at the beginning, I should have listed all possible methods that could apply to my problem; once I ignored some of them, I wasted time. But I used to be optimistic, as I regarded the difficult time was just the start of a new road.
高妹: You mentioned you don't like the distractions of a large team. Do you plan to recruit students in the near future?
Dr. Zhang: I have been considering this problem, but no decision has been made. In the past few years, I have received several applications from prospective students, most of whom were Chinese. Because those were not full applications but Letters of Interest, with limited mentoring experience, I was uncertain how to judge the qualification of the applicant and whether a match existed.
Of course, I want my students to eventually become masters of the field, not just qualified graduates who could find jobs. In the past summers, I was invited to spend time in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where I saw clear talents in their students. I have been interacting and advising a few of them, but a formal relationship is yet to be established.
高妹: I hope something would work out soon. What is your favorite course to teach?
Dr. Zhang: It is hard to say. I love teaching various courses. Giving lectures in a classroom is different from mentoring graduate students. I have more experience with the former but little with the latter.
高妹: Would you like to say something about the western academia and scientists in their early careers?
Dr. Zhang: What the academia here attracts me the most is the freedom to pursue topics we are interest. I'd like to tell the young scientists: if you really love sciences, do not give up easily.
2015年我曾电话采访过张益唐，他那时候还是 Professor of Mathematics at University of New Hampshire. Although brief, our conversation left me with the impression that he is a humble and dedicated scientist who does not cease taking new journeys in the area of Number Theory after the receipt of the 2014 MacArthur Award.
高妹: You once disputed the view of mathematicians as geeks who have few connections with the real world. Do you ever feel the need to discuss your projects with your peers?
Dr. Zhang: I used to spend many hours thinking about mathematics without communicating with other people. To me, the initial exploration of a new problem involves a lot of intuition. You may have some feeling about the possible strategies that could work or the direction it's heading toward, but articulating your thoughts to others can be difficult. The nature of my research determines that I'm not in a business that invites teamwork or benefits from collaborations. A mathematician needs to endure solitude, and I have been avoiding activity that's unlikely to yield a meaningful outcome.
高妹: That's interesting. What you have described sounds almost like artistic creation. What got you interested in the study of twin primes conjecture? How would you summarize its impact?
Dr. Zhang: I have known this conjecture for many years. It is interesting to many people, not only to me. I think it's possible that more hypotheses in this area may stem from my work, but that could take a while and, for now, it's not clear.
高妹: You once said there are other on-going projects you are proud of, but wouldn't want to throw them out yet?
Dr. Zhang: Yes, but it is not easy to describe them right now. All I can say is that they don't quite belong to the same category of the problem I have just solved. And I can't map out a timeline when they might be finished. It could happen one day unexpectedly, just like the last time.
高妹: How does your mind engage in different research topics?
Dr. Zhang: I used to concentrate on one problem, but also try to know what happened to others. To me, there is no boundary that separates work from the rest of my life. When I'm working on a problem, it lingers in my mind all the time.
高妹: In physics, a law doesn't have to be unconditional or universal to be valuable. People constantly bring up new theories that overwrite an old principle or exceed its limit. Is being right or wrong more absolute in mathematics? Do you agree with what Michio Kaku said about God being a mathematician?
Dr. Zhang: In mathematics the situation might be different. For example, it was Euclid who first proved that there are infinitely many prime numbers. Today we can only say this is true. Although sometimes I do marvel at the exquisite structure of math and its power to explain the physical world, generally I'm not a philosophical person who likes to dwell on the origin or purpose of life.
高妹: If you were given a chance to go back in time and rebuild your career, would you have done anything differently? Did you remain optimistic during the days when things didn't work out?
Dr. Zhang: I might have done something differently, as I have learned many lessons from my academic career. For example, at the beginning, I should have listed all possible methods that could apply to my problem; once I ignored some of them, I wasted time. But I used to be optimistic, as I regarded the difficult time was just the start of a new road.
高妹: You mentioned you don't like the distractions of a large team. Do you plan to recruit students in the near future?
Dr. Zhang: I have been considering this problem, but no decision has been made. In the past few years, I have received several applications from prospective students, most of whom were Chinese. Because those were not full applications but Letters of Interest, with limited mentoring experience, I was uncertain how to judge the qualification of the applicant and whether a match existed.
Of course, I want my students to eventually become masters of the field, not just qualified graduates who could find jobs. In the past summers, I was invited to spend time in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where I saw clear talents in their students. I have been interacting and advising a few of them, but a formal relationship is yet to be established.
高妹: I hope something would work out soon. What is your favorite course to teach?
Dr. Zhang: It is hard to say. I love teaching various courses. Giving lectures in a classroom is different from mentoring graduate students. I have more experience with the former but little with the latter.
高妹: Would you like to say something about the western academia and scientists in their early careers?
Dr. Zhang: What the academia here attracts me the most is the freedom to pursue topics we are interest. I'd like to tell the young scientists: if you really love sciences, do not give up easily.
更多原创作品，见高妹文学城博客：https://blog.wenxuecity.com/myoverview/77469/
更多我的博客文章>>> 采访张益唐 【山东快书】2016美国大选 第195章 前妻的前未婚夫 学术界的恋爱 女强人新论
国内同学时不时会愤愤地说，我们这些海外的都辜负了党和国家，我还记得前年一个同学在同学群里骂在英国的一个教授同学，说他能有今天难道不是国家的培养？骂他忘恩负义
我肯定是。
不是说老张
讨论当然有必要。
我也能理解不好招到学生
别的地方肯定死也不会多说
不管什么国家吧，还是希望给某个人最适合他的环境做科研
好在于不太受外界条件影响，不用很高级的仪器设备这些，脑子+笔就可以搞定。
不好就是太理论太窄懂得人太少，论文不被人看见到死也没戏
因为费马本人的note里说他寻找到一个漂亮的证明，只是没空间写下来
到大学更是铁了心从来没有第二个OPTION当时的问题只是去哪儿
我还记得在大学宿舍开玩笑，共识是，一定要投奔腐朽堕落的资本主义啊
就是身边的朋友都出来的，就跟着出来了。。。。
A mathematician needs to endure solitude, and I have been avoiding activity that's unlikely to yield a meaningful outcome.
这句适用于任何creative process。：）
要是有音频就好了。
我一个朋友,从小环境都很好,整个家族中也都不错,但他大学(上海交大)时就想退学去日本,问他为什么,他说就是因为看了中国这几十年的事情......这种朋友我有好几个,他们的选择他们的所谓"理由",是不是一种"盲目"的非理性呢??
觉得无忧蛮适合国内机关工作的,有一种"纯",善于理解他人的用心良苦,而不能意识到一种本质的恶以及自己所处的一滩泥水......
上次因为donau一句"智力与智慧",我在走廊那里发了一篇小文,其中一句是: 傅斯年张爱玲是不会留在那个地方（论坛）和他们继续“思辨”的！！
仔细想想,傅斯年张爱玲他们俩,并没有吃过gcd的任何苦头呀.......
显见得你并不了解我啊。我相信你肯定不知道，是谁第一个带领人出走那个论坛的吧？：）
我的确没在国内吃过什么苦头，机关一路走过来都很顺利，包括提职，跟同龄比都是快的，所以我说不出什么不好来。当然我也没占到啥机关的便宜。。。
我并非那么纯，只是不愿意相信很多我自己的判断，对人性抱有期望罢了。。。假如不抱有希望，活着该多没劲。而且光亮也总是有的，对吧，即使是一线裂缝的光。。。
刚才我的小兄弟问我现在该不该回国发展，同时呢他又说心里有些怕怕的，我脑袋一拍回道：
你要科学地、综合地、理性地、客观地、全面地、辩证地分析，国内坏的一定有，但任何体制任何国家都是既有好的一面也有坏的一面；人啊，不管到哪里都应该对人性抱有期望，假如不抱有希望，活着该多没劲啊……而且任何黑暗的地方光亮也总是有的，进步也一定找得到，至少现在回国不用在机场当场抽血查艾滋病了，对吧……
接下来，他看了我一眼，说道：你把这话发到微信朋友圈吧，看看有啥反应……