2006 Fields Medals Awarded at ICM2006 in Madrid

All these folks are GENIUS!

Fields Medalist: Andrei Okounkov

Citation: "for his contributions bridging probability, representation theory and algebraic geometry"
IMU news release about the work of Andrei Okounkov

Fields Medalist: Grigory Perelman

Citation: "for his contributions to geometry and his revolutionary insights into the analytical and geometric structure of the Ricci flow"
(Note: IMU president John Ball announced at the opening ceremony that Perelman had turned down the Fields Medal.)
IMU news release about the work of Grigory Perelman

Fields Medalist: Terence Tao

Citation: "for his contributions to partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory"
IMU news release about the work of Terence Tao

Fields Medalist: Wendelin Werner

Citation: "for his contributions to the development of stochastic Loewner evolution, the geometry of two-dimensional Brownian motion, and conformal field theory"

IMU news release about the work of Wendelin Werner

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For more information, please see
http://www.ams.org/ams/press/fields-2006.html

庄敬日强

庄敬日强

北京四中06年新生教育发言稿

王晓峰[1]

　　大家好，我是四中98级的学生，2001年毕业考上清华。在最近的五年里，我十几次回到四中，亲眼看见了四中日新月异的变化。今年我们四中第一次把军训安排在高一，看见大家精神抖擞的面貌，我感觉非常振奋。杨老师希望我和大家一起谈谈人生的话题，我想了一个礼拜，感觉这确实是一项艰巨的革命任务。我们在座的同学都是全国中学生的精英，未来杰出的中国人的代表，应该说我们的使命是创造历史，而不是被历史牵着鼻子走。我们很幸运地来到四中，有全国最优秀的老师为我们提供指导，我想我们每个人都会充分地相信老师，听老师的话。另一方面呢，我们也会有很多的机会和校外的人士交流，所谓成一家之言，应该说他们的话仅供参考。在我和大家交流的时候，我想我们每个人都不妨忘记自己和别人所做的一点点工作，也就是所谓的光辉历史。第一不迷信权威，第二不迷信成功案例，把命运牢牢地掌握在自己手中，我想，这是我们做人应该学到的第一课。

现在市面上有很多讲人生的书，包括所谓的励志书籍，我想很多同学都和我一样，虽然觉得它们讲得可能有道理，但是实际上不听、不看、不想。为什么呢？这是因为对于我们生活当中实际的追求，实际的需要，这些泛泛而谈的书是没有多少帮助的。我想在座的同学，都希望在四中拿年级前几名。刚上大学的时候，我听北大的一位学长讲，只要用三分之一的力气，就可以在北大当年级第一。大概到大学四年级的时候，我才彻底想明白其中的道理。人生的每个阶段有每个阶段的任务，一个成年人需要面对来自社会、家庭、同事，方方面面的压力。成年人不光要学习知识，还要积累经验，还要履行自己的社会义务。而我们高中呢，应该说是一个很纯粹的环境。我上高中的时候是非常刻苦的，平均每天学习十几个小时，还要用三个多钟头的时间看课外书，睡觉的时间一般不超过五个小时。虽然听起来比较夸张，至今我对高中打下的方方面面的知识基础，还是非常满意的。总的来讲，高中和大学本科的任务都是打基础，读研究生以后，最好就不要考虑取长补短了，因为到了那个时候，有特点远比没有弱点重要。所以说，时不我待。龚自珍在《己亥杂诗》里有非常中肯的话："虽言大器晚年成，卓荦全凭弱冠争。多识前言畜其德，莫抛心力贸才名。"意思就是说，年轻的时候要刻苦，不要贪图别人的赞赏和名利。我想我们每一位同学都应该牢记这个说法。

笃学，或者说踏踏实实的学习，应该是我们高中生活当中最重要的部分。不过呢，我不希望大家钻牛犄角尖。我的这句话不是空话。八年以前，我中考以后去山东旅游，碰见几个乡下人，问我中考多少分。我说，我考了625分。他们从来没见过我们四中同学的成绩，所以跟我说："你能当国家主席了！"我想在座的很多同学，听他们这么讲，都感觉有点奇怪。应该说，官本位是我们国家流传了几千年的观念。所谓"学而优则仕"，学习好就可以当官，反过来，当官就意味着学习好，有更多的财富，等等等等。这种把大家的理想，拴在一根绳子上的做法，应该说，很严重地加剧了我们社会的内耗。我们四中的同学，才能都是最优秀的，不应该像一串蚂蚱一样拴在年级排名上。我们应该勇敢地扮演属于自己的角色。第一，我觉得，比，要和天下人比。我们永远不要把超过身边的人当作追求和快乐。如果把朝夕相处的同学当作对手，我们就很容易把自己放在孤立的位置上。我们不妨每天都用吃饭、睡觉的时间想一想，今天老师、家长和同学都说过什么，做过什么，他们为什么能把我们组织起来，为什么了解我们的需要。一个人只有学会自我总结，欣赏别人的长处，才能进步，才能适应将来角色的转换。第二，我觉得，我们应该充分信任和施展自己的才华。一方面，如果我们有组织才能，就不要完全把自己摁在课桌上；如果我们是研究型的，就没有必要在奥赛上对自己苛求。另一方面，不在其位，不谋其政，如果我们不是领导者、决策者，就积极处好和同事们的关系，不做越俎代庖的事。第三，我觉得，我们应该在这样的过程中，逐渐悟出自己在社会上应当扮演的角色。我的朋友们，无论是科技竞赛还是创业，都喜欢找我讨论，因为我是在项目开发、技术管理、知识创新方面都有经验的复合型人才。这就是我在社会上扮演的一种角色，如果现在有人让我去当大老板，脱离了知识，我肯定不干。现在社会上浮躁的风气，引导着一些人片面向出国看齐，向明星看齐，向商务精英看齐。我不是说这些道路有任何不好，但是它只适合我们当中一小部分人。人生的闪光点是无处不在的。

我们的父辈，在和我们一样大的时候，接触的信息面比较窄。而我们今天呢，处在一个信息爆炸的时代，应该说我们的知识和观念，每天都在更新。这几年我和四中的同学接触，明显感觉到大家的素质，无论是知识水平还是接人待物，都和我们那个时候的平均水平不可同日而语。应该说，大家的素质都是非常高的。另一方面呢，我也观察到一些同学，好像有说不完的炫耀的资本，今天道听途说的一个名词，明天就要跟十个朋友讲。可能我们的同学太希望获得别人的首肯，从小到大的三好学生、各种标兵和评比，对我们产生了一定的误导。我觉得，无论是评优，还是评比，主要针对的都是不够勤勉的人，不够自觉的人。我们在座的同学，应该说基本具备评优的素质，我觉得我们完全没有必要再去吝惜别人口头上的一点赏赐。做人的关键在于养成。如果我们把一百六十多条校规看作一种约束，出了校门就解放，那么我们就失去了校规举一反三的本义。事实上，生活当中有很多细节，不是规矩可以涵盖的。我不清楚大家在街上走路，碰见老年人的时候，会不会把头低下一点，也不太清楚是不是我们的每一位同学，看见清洁工打扫教学楼的时候，都会说一声谢谢。一个有修养的人，不会为自己的修养提心吊胆，也只有这样，我们才能从生活当中，真正地汲取营养。们国家有一位非常有天赋的小提琴手，叫李传韵。他练琴很刻苦，但是生活经验很少。后，他去美国留学，他的美国老师让他多玩儿，水平反而有了很大长进。在我了解的范围之内，至少艺术和科学两个方面都是如此。如果说我有一些别人不容易学的特点，那么它应该包括我从不同的角度，不同的专业思考问题的能力。当然，我这么说，并不是鼓励大家在生活上吹毛求疵，或者学成大杂烩。朱子说："人之为事，必先立志以为本。"对于志向而言，误的引导是不可取的，三心二意也是不可取的，我们大家都会理解。

在以上三个方面之外，我想，在我们的发展当中，还有两点应该是非常重要的。第一，是言辞表达的能力。在公开场合的言辞、仪表和应变的水平，代表着一个人对外的形象，有时候，甚至比我们具体会什么更重要。第二，是对国家大事的关心。我想我们都听说过"时势造英雄"的说法。对于我来说，不管多忙，我每天都会至少抽出一个小时的时间来了解时事。"冰冻三尺，非一日之寒"，我们的很多素养都出自平时一点一滴的积累，人的素质不是临时抱佛脚可以改变的。

今天我和大家主要讨论了为学、为人和个人修养三个方面，我觉得不光对我们的高中生活，对我们日后的发展，还有人生观的形成，应该都有一定的参考价值。《礼记》里有一句话："庄敬日强"，意思是我们要有庄严持重、敬慎严谨的态度，才能进步自强。我觉得，这是我们民族缺失了很久的一种精神，一个国家发展到一定水平，会重新寻找它的根本，也就是让它在过去国家繁荣，文化昌盛的根本。我相信，我们的同学，不光在今天，在十年以后也是最棒的，我们都应该成为杰出的中国人。谢谢大家！

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[1]清华大学电子系王晓峰同学在回北京四中母校的迎新发言稿

C++ Language --- I need to learn more on that

I am re-writing my simulation code recently, for the research I worked on last year. The code is written in C++ and I am trying to apply what I learn in the company and Design Patterns to make it more efficient, maintainable and secure.

During this process, I further discovered many interesting aspects of C++. For example, to prevent memory leak due to the use of pointers, C++ provide auto_ptr, which is a simple kind of smart pointers. It could be very useful and I will read further into this.

In addition, I found various good reference websites for C++, they are:

Guru of the Week: http://www.gotw.ca/
Dr. Dobb's Portal: http://www.ddj.com/
C++ Guides @ InfomIT: http://www.informit.com/guides/guide.asp?g=cplusplus&rl=1
Boost C++ Libraries: http://www.boost.org/

Though I am more interested in academia and won't pursue a career as a software developer, it is important to write good programs, as it is an important tool for research. When I was re-writing my program, I discovered that something I was proud of last year actually is crappy somewhere and had quite a few defects. I wish I could have less this kind of feelings next year when I looked back to the code I wrote.

p.s. Today I talked to Cathy's friend Xiaoxiao, who is studying law at Stanford. And recently I have also been monitoring the Quantitative Finanaical Board on mitbbs.com and get to know the life about a Quant. I may make a partial and bias summary about these two fields later, as these are also possible careers for engineering students.

Weekly update

This week is a tiring week for me. The thing I am working on this week is extremely tedious and detail-oriented, so it tired me quite a bit.

I began to learn driving since last week. I tried my first 45 minutes on the road last Sunday and was quite nervous. Anyways, I am confident that I will get used to this.

I have pretty much done with my course selection. During the PEY year, I will take Introduction to Economics as my complementary studies. Hopefully it won't be too boring. And I also plan to take Topology and Real Analysis I, however, as the class time is during day time, I need to talk to my boss and get his approval. So, I will see.

Quite a few of my classmates in Tsinghua has arrived in the U.S.  --- bluepine, angelling, eeyy. I hope they will enjoy their lives on this continent in the following years. And I will definitely find a time to CALL them :P

That's pretty much for the past week. Hope my work next week will be more interesting...

A pleasant day

Today I got up early, intended to do some work on simulation, which is some unfinished work from my last summer's research. However, the progress is haltd by some factors so I need to delay it for a few days until I download a new tool. And after a busy week, it is not a bad idea to take a few hrs off .

SO, I open QQ, an IM I haven't used for a long while and, as I expected, I came across quite a few of my high school friends online. I had a very pleasant chat with them. In brief, most of them are doing very well and I also feel proud, as I was part of this group of people --- they have all got their Bachelor's Degree now and some will go forward for higher ones, either in domestic or oversea ones. Some others have landed decent jobs and begun their careers. I wish them all the best here for their future endeavors.

Most of my high school classmates asked me when would I came back, so far my best estimate is the summer I graduated. I hope I can achieve that. When you achieve something, you also, inevitably, lose some other things. And, I feel, the concept of Opportunity Cost is not sufficient for some situations.

In the afternoon, I went to my company to check some the test result I ran last night, and stayed there for a while to read some tech documents. As some deadline is coming closer, some of my colleagues went to work too.

After that, I went to swim, but the pool at Hart House is closed today... so I had my dinner at Hart House directly. Then I went to Taste of Danforth with Cathy. There are many people there, but frankly, far fewer kinds of food than Chinese food. We tasted some souvlaki and ice cream there, and then went home with joy....

Haven't written a diary for a very long while, this may not be a beginning, but I don't think it is an end either.

Casablanca

There exists such a beatiful love song...

In casablanca the sun is shining
The desert flower is blooming there
In casablanca my love lies waiting
My heart is burning to meet her there
Casablanca casablanca

We met one lazy moroccan summer
We came together just like a dream
And then one lonely moroccan winter
The desert took her away from me
Casablanca casablanca

Casablanca I’ll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we’ll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

The nights are colder, the days are longer
'cause I'm still living in yesterday
And I'll be lonely again tomorrow
I can't believe how she went away
Casablanca casablanca

Casablanca I'll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we’ll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

The wind is blowing, the streets are empty
The moon is kissing the midnight air
The great sahara beyond the city
Is holding someone a prisoner there
Casablanca casablanca

Casablanca I'll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we'll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

Casablanca I'll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we'll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

Casablanca I'll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we'll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

Casablanca I'll wait forever
Casablanca until I die
Casablanca we'll be together
Underneath the blue moroccan sky

This long weekend

I am still not feeling very well, as I suffered another fever, a ulcer in my mouth, stomachache and a heavy-head. It is the first time that I become so ill after I came to Canada. So I mainly stay at home to rest. It is probably because I didn't have enough sleep recently and was concerning about quite a few things.

So, all my friends, please have enough sleep. A good health is the most important thing for a good life.

One intersting quote from my colleague

I am complaining about those people who complains.

-- I. B.

Weekend Update

It is a long weekend but I currently don't have any special plans. Rest, relax. I will probably just do simple things, such as reading, programming, and do some light sports (due to my ankle injury).

I had a fever last night, with quite a few potential reasons --- so I don't know what exactly the reason was. I went to the Doctor's Office this morning and got some medicine. I am feeling well now, except that my throat is still a little bit sore.

I got two mails tonight and one was from engineering's admission office, informing that I got some scholarship for my academic performance in the last school year. Naturally, I am quite happy with that :) Now my awards can cover my tuition without any problem.

I am intentionally not writing much about my work life here, but overall I enjoy it. We have get great wrok environment, people who are very intelligent and play table-tennis well! It is indeed a great joy to work with smart people!

Finally, I think I should at least keep this blog update weekly by this weekly update format.. hope I can do that.

Comment Issue of my blog

Due to some mis-operation, the comment setting of my blog was set to "Moderate" so all the recent comments are not shown immediately. I am sorry for the incovinience and everything should work smoothly now :) --- you can see your comments immediately!

As always, please feel free to leave comments on my blog, because I really ENJOY reading them!

Busy recently

Because I am busy. Busy with work, and need to wrap up the research I did last year. And there are also a lot of misc. stuff to handle, such as taking driving lessons.

One thing worth mentioning is that my ankle almost recovers and I can play table-tennis now with an ankle wrap. I enjoy the game a lot~ I should try to make some improvement on this sport during my PEY time.

Another interesting story is that quite a few guys in my office drive BMW, which sounds cool.

More to update later :) Stay tuned!