There is a strange pair in Princeton.

That's Paul Krugman and Professor Albert Laszlobara, Brazil.

The reason why this pair is strange is not because of what happened between the two people, but because the subject they studied is simply difficult for ordinary people to understand. Even the forward-thinking Headmaster Isgrub only gave a wordless look after hearing it, and did not make any comments.

Speaking of the experience of the two acquaintances, it is also full of many accidents.

Initially, it was because of the exchange of business cards at a dinner party after an academic conference, and then because of the unexpected agreement between the two on the big proposition of discussing where humanity will go in the future, and thus the brain hole of "quantitatively analyzing this evolutionary process through mathematical models" was born.

It just so happens that one of them is an economist who is passionate about the natural sciences, and the other is a physicist who is passionate about sociology, and they can complement each other in their respective fields of expertise.

Although when they were in St. Petersburg, they unfortunately did not succeed in pulling Lu Zhou together to work on the mathematical model that predicted the future, but even without the help of the world's best mathematician, the two of them still did not give up and continued to work in this direction.

Although there has been no significant progress in the relevant research so far......

In a café near the school building.

As usual, the two sat opposite each other, enjoying the afternoon tea time while chatting about some difficult topics about some recent events.

“…… For interstellar high-speed travel, the theory of relativity dictates the existence of time dilation in different coordinate systems. Suppose there are twin brothers, and one day the elder brother takes a spaceship to go on a long-distance space trip to civilization A, while the younger brother stays on Earth. When the elder brother returns to Earth, we will find that he is younger than the younger brother who remained on Earth...... I don't have a problem interpreting it that way. ”

Listening to Professor Krugman's speech, Albert nodded with interest and said, "No problem...... But what does this mean in economics? ”

"It doesn't mean much if we just say that, but if we swap the twin brothers for two speculative businessmen, the result is very different. You know, time is a very important cost in business, and if a trade route is not as profitable as the regular interest of the bank on the home planet, then the flight is not profitable. ”

"There's a formula here," scribbled a line of equation on sticky note, and Krugman shoved it with his index finger in front of Professor Albert, "and it's where it all began." ”

【pe*qepa/pa*≥(c+peqe)(1+r)2n。 】

Leaning over and glancing at the formula on the sticky note, Albert involuntarily raised his eyebrows.

“…… Very strange formula. ”

"It's strange, but there's a very important theory in it, and that's my first theorem of interstellar trade," Krugman smiled boastfully and continued, "When trading between planets in the same inertial coordinate system, interest should be calculated using the clock of the planet's inertial frame, not the clock of the ship system. At the same time, assuming that the interest rate of the Earth Bank is r, the trip will not 'lose money' if and only if the inequality holds. ”

Albert: "Very interesting point...... Speaking of which, if there is a first theorem, is there a second theorem? ”

"Of course, due to the existence of trade competition, planets with the same inertial coordinate system will gradually converge to the same interest rate, which is the second theorem...... But they're all out of whack now," the old man chuckled, and though it was a regretful result, his voice sounded rather pleasant, "and these theories are all based on the infallibility of the theory of relativity, i.e., we have not found a standard beyond the speed of light. ”

"Now the theory of relativity is still correct, but we have found a shortcut to an alien planet...... At least in theory, there are shortcuts. When time doesn't swell and the time to fly is shortened, we don't have to think about how long journeys can wipe out simple arbitrage. ”

"Actually, what I'm really trying to say is...... Didn't you notice? That hyperspace theory influenced not only physics, but also economics. ”

Hearing this, Professor Albert fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he sighed softly.

"You're right, scientific advances have created great uncertainty in mathematical models, and even the most perfect and rigorous calculations are difficult to predict this nonlinear leap. Even if our mathematical model succeeds in predicting what is likely to happen in the next 100 years, a 'Professor Lu' in the next 100 years can overturn all of our predictions. ”

Krugman nodded slightly.

"What worries me is that the study of the overall change of civilization must weaken the role of the individual in the process of civilization, but when the role of the individual cannot be ignored, the process will no longer be so in line with objective laws."

At this moment, a young man walked quickly outside the café.

He was dressed in a gray suit, and he looked a little unusual, as if he had just seen or heard something unbelievable. I saw this man walk straight to the two professors and speak in a tone as if he was dreaming.

"Professor......

"Good afternoon, Dr. Milson," Professor Krugman said with a friendly smile as he glanced up at his assistant, "what makes you look so surprised." ”

"You asked me to gather information about the Tencang Five Alien System Colony Fund......"

"Any news?"

"Yes," nodded Mumudi, and the assistant hesitated for a moment before speaking in a difficult tone, "The fund...... It seems that Xiaotong is in charge of management. ”

“…… Xiaotong? ”

Krugman was stunned.

After a long pause, he came back to his senses, sat up straight from his chair, looked at his assistant in disbelief, and asked, "Wait, what do you mean...... Your junior sister? That Xiaotong? ”

The assistant said with a wry smile.

"Yes...... This is already a public thing. ”

His mouth opened blankly, and after a few moments of silence, Krugman spoke.

"I see...... That's it for now. ”

The assistant nodded, turned and walked away.

Leaning back in his chair, Krugman pinched his eyebrows a little sadly.

Originally, in his plan, he also planned to find a way to get in touch with the manager of this fund, which has recently been in the limelight in the field of economics, to have an afternoon tea or something, and to exchange academic problems, so as to complete the project he was conceiving.

And yet now......

He really didn't expect that this person would be his student.

"I can't believe it......" Albert, who was sitting across from him, opened his mouth and looked at Professor Krugman with a bewildered expression, "It's actually ...... That student of yours is running the fund. ”

That's 10 billion!

And not something as casual as a graduation thesis!

It's not that I doubt Xiaotong's ability, it's just that a normal person would give so much money to a doctoral student who has not yet graduated to manage it?

"That does sound a bit unbelievable......" Lowering his index finger and thumb pressed against his eyebrows, Professor Krugman's face with a complicated expression, "...... However, it does seem like something he can do. ”

In fact, Xiaotong's ability is good, and he is usually quite hardworking.

The only thing that is lacking is probably the practical experience.

In fact, according to his mentor's point of view, maybe it would be better for her to start with a small assistant, and it would be too risky to start such a difficult job directly......

But how to say it?

If you don't care about the gains and losses of hundreds of millions, you can ignore these problems.

has such a brother who is not bad for money, which can be regarded as one of her advantages......

“…… Unlike other students I've taught, she's one of the few people who can strike a balance between theoretical and applied economics, especially in a place like Princeton, where it's hard to do both and stand out for both. ”

Albert asked curiously, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Is she talented?"

"Not the most talented," Krugman shook his head, "but she's probably the hardest-working." ”

Moreover, the starting point is much higher than the average person.

With the aura of the Nobel Prize winner's own sister, even if Lu Zhou does nothing, just by virtue of his prestige in the academic world and his relationship with many professors at Princeton, he can win the greatest resources for her.

It's like a letter of recommendation from a celebrity.

Her surname itself is a very, very awesome letter of recommendation, and it is also the kind that is common in the academic world and does not need to be actively revealed.

In such a situation, even if she doesn't work hard, she won't mix badly, not to mention that she is still a girl who is not inferior to her brother in terms of diligence......

"The future of economic modeling is a very promising direction, and we have very little research in this field compared to other fields. And now we happen to be in an era of rapid development, and it is difficult for old theories to adapt to new changes, even if they seem very ahead of their time...... It's like the "Interstellar Trade Theory" I said earlier. ”

After a pause, Professor Krugman continued.

"I've learned about the topic of her recent paper, which happens to be related to the recently popular 'Alien System Colonization Fund'. Whether it's applied economics or theoretical economics, this is an opportunity for her. ”

Professor Albert: "Opportunity? ”

Krugman nodded.

"An opportunity to combine theory and application and find some kind of balance in it."

"The entire economics community is taking the 'Tiancang Five Outer Galaxy Colonization Fund' as a sample for studying the future social and economic activities of human civilization, and as the manager of this sample. I believe that with her insight, it should not be difficult to find something from this...... After all, she is the closest person to the 'truth', and even I have no more information than she does. ”

"What if...... I mean, if she can summarize the laws and find something different about human socio-economic activities after the theory of hyperspace. ”

Facing Professor Albert's expression of surprise, Krugman said in a tone that did not seem like a joke.

"Maybe in her lifetime, she really hopes to touch the Nobel Prize......"