On September 5, 2019, the freshmen from the School of Mathematics attended their first professional course taught by Lin Qun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Lin was once an adjunct professor at Tianjin University in the 1980s. Academician Lin discussed the fun of learning mathematics, showing the freshmen how to learn calculus using plain language and vivid examples during the lecture.

Academician Lin Qun is a famous mathematician in the field of functional analysis and computational mathematics in China who has devoted himself to the popularization of calculus. In the lecture, he pointed out that we should not only recite formulas, memorize theorems and verify proofs, but also understand and innovate when studying mathematics. Lin explained with everyday examples that it would be difficult to do mathematics research if one only recited and applied theorems.

“There are many directions and branches in mathematics research, and students can’t explore them all, so it was very important to choose the right direction. With the right direction and tireless effort, we will succeed eventually” said 84-year-old Lin.

Lin advocated a principle of minimalism to all math learners and advised students to grasp basic theorems like calculus as well as they can since they are easy to understand and fundamental to understanding all complicated notions in math.

Sun Xiaotao, Dean of the School of Mathematics called on students to learn from Academician Lin , using simple methodologies to find fun and achievement through the study of mathematics.