The art of being wrong: how a great mathematician turned failure into breakthrough
Veteran mathematician Shing‑Tung Yau recalled the "painful period" he endured in his attempts to prove a complex geometric concept, candidly sharing a rather awkward moment when he realised his research had gone in the wrong direction before he was finally able to make the major breakthrough that earned him the prestigious Fields Medal. When a great mathematician whose name is already etched in the history of science speaks of years of doubt and error, his story becomes not just a biographical episode but a lesson for everyone on the path of knowledge. Shing‑Tung Yau, the first Chinese recipient of the Fields Medal, admitted that three years of his life were filled with agonising work on the Calabi conjecture – and all that time he was certain he was on the right track, until he realised he was wrong. The moment when he announced his results before hundreds of colleagues and then had to publicly retract them was humiliating, but it taught him a crucial lesson: truth is not born in a flash of insight; it is built step by step, often in solitude, against the prevailing opinion of the majority. And today, as he looks back, he smiles – because those very mistakes led him to the breakthrough that changed not only his life but the whole of mathematics.
Born in 1949 in Guangdong Province in southern China, Yau dreamed of becoming a mathematician from an early age. After completing his third year at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yau entered the mathematics graduate programme at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied under the world‑renowned Chinese mathematician Shiing‑Shen Chern, earning his PhD in just two years. Notably, Yau worked on the Calabi conjecture, proposed by Italian mathematician Eugenio Calabi in 1954, concerning the possibility of changing the shape of multi‑dimensional curved space. Yau's bold work laid the foundation for the field of "geometric analysis", and despite some setbacks, in 1982 he was awarded the Fields Medal, often called the "Nobel Prize of mathematics", becoming the first laureate of Chinese origin to receive this prestigious award. One of Yau's major achievements was the establishment of the annual International Congress of Basic Sciences (ICBS), first held in 2023, with this year's two‑week event beginning in Beijing on Monday.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the congress, Yau spoke about the difficulties he faced before gaining worldwide recognition and shared the challenging story of his search for a solution to the Calabi conjecture. "The first major problem I solved was the Calabi conjecture. Everyone was trying to solve it, and everyone thought the same – that it was false. So I worked on it for three years, thinking I could find a counterexample. And then I decided it was false. Because I presented it. I found an example and discovered that what I thought was false was actually not. It was a painful period that lasted quite a long time. I couldn't sleep," he said. Now, looking back with a smile, Yau recounted the rather awkward moment when he realised his calculations were wrong after he had already presented his findings to hundreds of his fellow scientists. "It was really a humiliating situation. I announced it in front of several hundred people. And then my teacher, who was in charge of the conference, said it was the best result of the conference. So when I had to withdraw, I felt very bad," he said. When asked what he learned from this episode, Yau stressed that such conclusive proofs rarely come in a single flash of inspiration. Instead, he said, progress depends on building a carefully constructed framework over time. "When you try to prove something, it doesn't happen suddenly, as if an idea comes to you and you immediately put it into practice, right? You need to build a structure, you need to learn how to build such a structure by communicating with many people, as well as by studying the literature and what was already known in science. So it took me another three years to build this structure, step by step, moving towards the goal. I was alone, because everyone thought it was wrong. So I moved forward on my own," the mathematician said.
Shing‑Tung Yau's story is not only a chronicle of mathematical triumph but also a lesson in perseverance and honesty with oneself. His experience shows that the path to discovery is rarely straight, and admitting a mistake is not a sign of weakness but of strength. Yau, who today is one of the world's most influential mathematicians, continues to inspire young scientists, proving that true genius is not the one who never errs, but the one who can turn his mistakes into stepping stones towards truth.
As CCTV+ reports, Shing‑Tung Yau's candid account of his failures and their overcoming became one of the most striking moments of the International Congress of Basic Sciences, reminding all participants that even the greatest minds go through doubt and setbacks – and that is precisely what makes them great.
