Chapter 28: Genius
"There's another thing, Jay," I looked at him.
He poured more whiskey, this time into two glasses. "Here," he handed me one, "I think you're mature enough."
I took it, and we clinked glasses before taking a sip.
"Tomorrow, I'll show you how intelligent I really am. Gerald Lambeau and James Arthur are coming here," I revealed. "They're professors from Caltech and Toronto."
As expected, James was the first to contact me by email - he's the name most associated with the problem right now.
Gerald reached out because he's closer geographically. He had invited me to visit Caltech, but I politely declined (saying I was busy) and suggested we could meet here instead.
The others will come soon as well, especially if James and Gerald spread the word.
"University professors? Are you thinking about trying to get into college now?" Jay looked at me strangely, since I was the one who insisted on enrolling in high school. Maybe because of what Brenda had said, Jay trusted that I could get into a good university.
"No, not really. I still want to be in high school," I shook my head. "I solved a math problem, Jay. They're coming here so I can explain it to them."
Even the most brilliant among them would need months to fully grasp the solution.
He frowned. "Explain it to university professors? How intelligent are you?"
"I'll show you tomorrow. Let the professors be the ones to say it," I smirked. He didn't think much of it (Jay was never very academic, but he did value the idea of good universities).
We talked for a while longer about other things, mainly money and business.
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The next day, Manny had gone to another sleepover (along with Luke, much to his dismay).
The doorbell rang.
"Hello, James Arthur," said the first man as he shook my hand. I recognized him immediately; in my previous life, he had been one of my professors.
"Gerald Lambeau," said the other.
"Jake Pritchett," I introduced myself. "Come in. We have plenty to discuss."
"Are you really sixteen? And the one who wrote that book?" James blurted out, perhaps judging me because I didn't look anything like a mathematical genius
"Yes to both. Isn't that why you're here? We're mathematicians - it only takes a few minutes to see if I know what I'm talking about." We sat down on the living room couch and began our discussion.
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"Ay, Jay, he looks like he's writing in… what is that, in pyramids?" Gloria whispered, watching the equations I was scribbling on the small board I had bought.
"Hieroglyphs," Jay helped her, though he was frowning as he stared at everything.
"…That's impossible - or at least it was," James exclaimed. "Arthur-Selberg collapses when the spectral terms diverge. You're saying your framework realigns them?"
"Only if you treat them as distributions over automorphic sheaves instead of fixed measures," I explained. "Think of it as turning the representation space inside out. Once you do, the coefficients behave like harmonic forms on a connected dual group. The trace stabilizes naturally"
We debated for over four hours before I finally had to wrap it up - otherwise, they might have stayed all night.
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The five of us sat down in the kitchen. Gloria made coffee for everyone.
"So, can Jake go to college or what?" Gloria asked, looking at the two professors.
James let out a frustrated laugh. There was a mix of emotions on his face: awe, fascination, frustration, eagerness.
And it was to be expected. Even though it would still take months to prove the solution was correct (even with my help), it only took him a few minutes to realize I was the real deal.
"If the solution is right, there may be only a handful of people on Jake's level in the world - none as young," Gerald explained. "About college, I can offer him an adjunct teaching position and a PhD program already, at Caltech."
"A handful??" Jay's jaw dropped.
"He certainly knows a lot," James said. "He could teach mathematics at any college he wants."
"So he's like Einstein?" Gloria asked.
"If you think in the field of mathematics, he could very well be the next Einstein, or Gauss to be more precise" Gerald agreed with a hint of awe
"I don't want college right now. I want to enjoy my high school life and have some fun. I sent a copy to Tao - I think he wouldn't mind having a few chats at UCLA," I said. "Caltech is too far from here."
"High school?!" James looked at me even more incredulously.
"Yep. I need your help to write me a recommendation letter and send it to Brentwood High School - but restrict that information to the Principal only," I requested.
Jay groaned. "You're gonna stir up trouble again, aren't you? You got expelled from your last school - what did you even do?"
"Libidinous act," I answered nonchalantly.
"Oh Jesus, Jake…" Jay sighed, rubbing his temples.
"But I was wronged," I added quickly.
"You didn't do it?" Gloria raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I did. But I was expelled only because it was with the principal's twin daughters. Otherwise, it would've just been suspension."
"Twins?!" Jay shouted. "Great. We've got Einstein and Caligula under one roof."
"How could the same kid who reformulated the Arthur-Selberg theorem be expelled for… that?" James looked at me with even greater disbelief
"Biology, professor. It starts with dopamine - that's motivation and pleasure. Then testosterone joins in, noradrenaline speeds up your heart, estrogens amplify attraction, and oxytocin bonds you to the wrong people"
I concluded, "finally, a desire to prove the other person wrong. The principal always lectured me on how I should behave like her two good daughters."
"It just a hormonal teenager who thought with his small head," Gloria smacked my head - the big one, obviously.
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