Comments on: Influential Vietnamese: Ngo Bao Chau and the Fundamental Lemma

By: Vietnamese Men In General – Good or Bad? | Vietnam Talking Points

Vietnamese Men In General – Good or Bad? | Vietnam Talking Points — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:08:12 +0000

[...] or sometimes both (the scary ones). We have recently read about the infamous mathematician Ngo Bao Chau, who successfully proved the impossible Langlands’ Fundamental Lemma. The world history has [...]

By: Vietnam the Baby Asian Tiger | Vietnam Talking Points

Vietnam the Baby Asian Tiger | Vietnam Talking Points — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:19:34 +0000

[...] A lot of young, fresh minds in a culture that emphasis education. It’s a country of great mathematicians and engineers. I think they can do amazing [...]

By: VinhD

VinhD — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:15:14 +0000

One word from me: Respect!

By: jhbao

jhbao — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:30:39 +0000

At 37, I imagine he has a lot of time left in his career. It will be great to see what he comes up with next.

By: Vinh Dang

Vinh Dang — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:20:00 +0000

I'm not gonna attempt to explain what the Fundamental Lemma is to the general audience as I already know that I will fail in doing so. Even when I was reading the proof of the Lemma, I wasn't even sure if I was able to digest half of it as it didn't make much sense to me. But I trust the society of Mathematicians that it is indeed valid. To my knowledge, Chau's proof was submitted in 2004, but it has not been validated until 2009. It could be that the process was very laggy or the proof was too difficult to digest for the board members as well. (?!) =PMore onto why his proof is so famous. Usually, lemma is a small problem that someone would have to prove in order to use its result in proving a bigger proposition, such as a theorem. Langlands (still alive) was able to prove the small version of this Fundamental Lemma, which is a one-single case of the lemma, and used its result in proving one of his discovery. However, when asking if the general case (the bigger version) of the lemma, which is the Fundamental Lemma itself, is indeed valid. None of the mathematicians including Langlands was able to prove this lemma for the past 20 years. This brings some questions about whether Langlands' discovery is true in general. As you can see, this lemma is not a small problem, so the person who named it back then has underestimated its difficulty. It is a huge problem to be solved, and Chau was the person who proved it based on many incomplete works of other mathematicians who have tried.Disclaimer: If you are a math guru and happen to read this, please pardon the shallowness of my knowledge. I may not understand the matter completely but eager to learn more if you're willing to share.

By: vnmath

vnmath — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:46:04 +0000

I would put Ngo at least in the same league with Terry Tao ( if not better ! ). Watch out for Ngo's math striking power . He is probably among the very very few mathematicians who will prove those decade olds or century old math problems. The fundamental lemma is just ONE example of his discoveries. It is his FIRST proof. He surely will capture the fields medal this coming august in Hyderabad, India.

By: Neil Nguyen Huu

Neil Nguyen Huu — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:38:00 +0000

one day, you're gonna see me on the list of economists.

By: David Regenold

David Regenold — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:06:00 +0000

Excellent accomplishment! I teach math on the side . . . but won't even try to tackle the "what is it" question. I do have a more fundamental mathematical question that arises from the statement "Ngo is 37 years old (Despite his youthful appearance)." What are you saying? 37 is old?Excuse me while I go get my walker.(just kidding.)

By: OneVietnam Network

OneVietnam Network — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:10:00 +0000

@Vinh Maybe you can help explain what the Fundamental Lemma is? Can anyone??