No matter where you are from, mathematics is complicated for people and only a few are gifted enough to do it smartly. Wei Dongyi, a mathematical genius from China, is just one of them.
A report published by the South China Morning Post wrote that a mathematical problem that had left a team of six Ph.D. mathematicians hopeless for four months was solved by a genius from China in just one night.
The genius Wei Dongyi, nicknamed “God Wei,” is a 30-year-old Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University in Beijing.
It’s reported that the team of doctorate mathematicians who were working on the problem reached out to Wei Dongyi for help since they had struggled to build a mathematics model for months.
A few days later, the equations Wei sent helped the team adjust their experiment. The model he created proved to be amazing and had a pass rate of over 96 percent.
The team offered to pay Wei for his help, but he refused the prize saying, “It’s unnecessary to pay me for such an easy problem,” as per the report.
However, after insistence, he allowed them to recharge his transport card as a gesture of gratitude.
Wei Dongyi’s success has made him famous in China. He is particularly known for being admitted to Peking University without taking the gaokao, China’s college entrance exam, notorious for being one of the toughest exams in the world.
His method has been named the “Wei method.”
Wei Dongyi won two consecutive gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 2008 and 2009.
Besides all his success, there’s also a funny story about being mistaken for a student because of his shabby appearance and being given the controversial title of the “ugliest math teacher” at Peking University.
“A friend sent me one, and some unknown people from out of town also sent some bottles,” Wei said. “But I’m worried about the gift-giving issue and how it affects my teaching ethics.”
