Math is a complicated field, but not for Yu Jianchun. (Photo : Getty Images)
A Chinese University recently discovered a parcel delivery guy could solve complex mathematics. This individual did not get any form of college education.
Yu Jianchun is the delivery man from Henan Province. He surprised many Chinese experts with his unique math ability.
Mathematics professor Cai Tianxin from the Zhejiang University said, "He has never received any systematic training in number theory nor taken advanced math classes. All he has is an instinct and an extreme sensitivity to numbers."
Yu is then compared to the character of Will in the movie "Good Will Hunting." In the movie, the character played by Matt Damon is a janitor who turned out to be a math genius.
The delivery man is now involved in Carmichael numbers, or also known as pseudoprimes. The numbers are not really prime numbers because they are divisible by other factors than 1 or themselves.
The application of these numbers are used in the RSA algorithm, named after their designers Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman, and applied to online shopping.
What is remarkable with Yu is that he does his calculations solely on memory.
"I made my discoveries through intuition," Yu said. "I would write down what I thought when inspiration struck about the Carmichael."
Forerunners of the study of pseudoprimes are amazed by Yu's talent. For two decades, there has not been any development in this field of study.
"There have been additional theoretical results in this area--including several by myself and my co-authors--but these are all variations on a theme," he said.
According to Chris Caldwell, a professor from the University of Tennessee, "It's sort of like finding a diamond."
For Yu, who has been offered a job to work in mathematics, he would like to build a family first.
