2010’s Happenings

I know people usually make these retrospective/prediction posts before the end of the year, but you’ll have to forgive me—I’ve been in a food-induced coma for the past two weeks or so, and I haven’t been able to produce any fruitful writing since.  With the soporific effects of indulgent family dinners and excessive dining out  only now starting to wear off, I’ve finally gotten around to ruminating over the past year and speculating about what’s to come.

2010 was definitely a milestone year for OneVietnam Network, but it was also a big year for the Vietnamese community at large.  I’d like to present my favorite three Vietnamese happenings of 2010.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, and it’s obviously skewed by personal interests, but here they are in no particular order.

Ngo Bao Chau receives Fields Medal

Many of us often bemoan the lack of Vietnamese (and other Asians) in the media, but to me, the lack of recognized Vietnamese academics is equally, if not more, troubling.  I know Vietnamese as students have become a noticeable presence in higher education, considering the proliferation of Vietnamese student associations across universities, but outside of my area or ethnic studies classes, I hardly hear of anyone quoting or citing a Vietnamese intellectual.  So, even though any math beyond derivatives/anti-derivatives is incomprehensible to lit-major me, I was pretty ecstatic when Ngo Bao Chau was awarded the Fields Medal in mathematics.

To me, his recognition establishes two things: First, it shows that Vietnamese people are smart. Yeah, that’s nothing new; Vietnamese people are smart, everybody’s smart.  But, Ngo Bao Chau’s case serves as empirical evidence: Vietnamese people can and are contributing to academia in a meaningful, impacting way.  The man did prove the fundamental lemma, after all.   Second, Ngo Bao Chau proves that genius, contrary to popular mad scientist imagery, does not come at the cost of beauty.  Just look at his boyish charm!

In all seriousness, I’m really happy for Ngo Bao Chau.  I hope that Vietnam can grow into a country conducive to intellectual growth and creativity.  Even though Ngo Bao Chau received the award on behalf of both Vietnam and France, and he was also working out of universities in France and America, it’s still score one for the home team, right?  Kind of.