关于朱－曹对庞加莱猜想的封顶证明的消息，其实好几个月前就传了出来，丘成桐对此是喜形于色，反复宣传，并钦定把这证明发在他自个的亚洲数学杂志上。

当然对这个猜想是什么，我一无所知。这个猜想到底有多重要，我更是不懂。但是从丘的兴奋状态看，这个猜想的证明至少是他一直在寻找的东西，而且这个猜想至少在他的微分几何里有举足轻重的意义。

这是世界华人数学家的骄傲，这是中国人的骄傲。

有一些人，主要是俄国人，也有一些不知大义的中国人，刻意贬低这个证明的重要性。他们认为hamilton, 尤其是perelman的先期工作是最重要的，朱和曹的证明不过是打补丁，衍生一下而已。我认为这些论调是一种无耻的论调。确实前人的工作给后人打下了基 础，指明了方向，甚至克服了一些关键的难点，但是如果说后面的封顶工作很简单或者不重要，那么俄国人perelman为什么不自个封顶？

事实上，在数学证明中，前面步骤的证明不管有多漂亮，不管克服了多少困难，只要没有达到最后的结论，前面的东西很有可能是走弯路甚至白费劲。当然 走弯路的过程中也会有一些不错的收获，但对最后的证明也许是一种误导。怀尔斯在证明费马大定理时也是走了不少弯路，但最后的解决还是基于前人很重要的工 作。

现在朱－曹的这个证明是坚持了丘一贯坚持的思路，延续了前人的成果。他们的成功只能说明丘的正确性，前人没走错路，朱－曹也没走错路。

这种封顶的证明工作就如攀登珠穆朗玛峰，很多人登上了第一级平台，也有一些人登上了第二级平台，甚至有人在最困难的地方架了个小梯子，他们也许都看到了顶峰，但是最后的１００米却最艰苦。朱和曹就是第一个克服这最后困难的人。

让我们为中国人的成功鼓掌！

Time starts with the Big Bang and goes on forever. Theoretically, you can travel backwards along the time axis if you can run at a speed faster than the light. I simply don’t believe that. It is a mathematical trick for self-entertainment, not for my daily life.

Although in particle physics time is measured in milliseconds or smaller, the second, arbitrarily set by ancient scholars, is the smallest unit we human beings can physically sense it. Unfortunately, every day has only 86400 seconds, no less, no more.

Thus, it is a secret art to manage this limited time that God mercifully allocates for us. I have tried numerous ways and used all sorts of gadgets to master this art. But I am still the old me. Time is not a concrete concept in my mind.

Maybe, something is wrong within my skull. No, I am not scratching my head.

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This evening, I stopped by the BN bookstore just for an after dinner relax. While my son was busying himself about all sorts of bionicle and other legend books, I walked around the bookstore and randomly read some books. In the English writing corner, I picked up a book with a catchy title “Writing Alone and With Others” by Pat Schneider.

A quick browse revealed that it is a good book. But the book is quite heavy with tiny letters printed on 400 pages. I didn’t buy it.

The first major claim in this book is very appealing to me—“writers are people who write.”  Since I write, though not very well, I am a writer too, literally.

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Medicare part D—the prescription drug coverage plan of Medicare has been on show for several months, and the enrollment deadline, May 15, has been passed. More than 31 million beneficiaries have enrolled in one of their local plans or government standard plan, though more than 8 million people are still left behind.

Given the pessimistic prediction mostly by democrats that many beneficiaries will have trouble in enrolling in the drug program, the above news is great. The new drug plan is, by and large, rolling on.

So in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, the administrator of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) presented an optimistic report to cheer the American public[ref 1]. The figures, numbers, and phrases are as encouraging as one can get. However, in the same issue, state-women Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) reviewed the struggles during the unforgetable drug bill fight, and harshly criticized the republicans in abusing the legislation process[ref 2].

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