Mathematics — the language of eternal truths
Fields Medalist Martin Hairer, in an interview with China Media Group (CMG), emphasised the role of mathematics as a timeless foundation and a common language for various disciplines, highlighting its ability to express universal truths. When the square root of two, discovered millennia ago, remains as irrefutable today as on the day it was born, humanity gains a rare anchor in a world where everything else changes.
Mathematics, according to Fields Medalist Martin Hairer, is not just a computational tool but a universal language spoken by physics, biology, economics and even art. In an era when knowledge becomes obsolete faster than it can be published, mathematics remains an anchor of stability, a bridge between cultures and generations. And it is curiosity – pure, disinterested wonder – that drives this science forward, even if some of its discoveries will find application only centuries later.
Hairer shared these thoughts on the sidelines of the 2026 International Congress of Basic Sciences, being held in Beijing from 9 to 21 August. Beyond eternal truths, he stressed, mathematics provides a common ground that allows scientists from different disciplines to interpret, connect and build on each other's work. "I think one of the important advantages of mathematics is that you really try to find universal truths, right?
There are things that remain true forever, which today is very rare, isn't it? And that provides a really solid foundation, for example, the fact that the square root of two is irrational was discovered thousands of years ago. And it is still true today. So it gives you a really solid foundation and a language in which we can express and understand science and build on it," Hairer said.
He also noted that the development of mathematics is driven by curiosity – a force that has brought humanity to where it is today, even though some mathematical discoveries have not yet found direct application. "I think it's important to note that many areas of mathematics may not have immediate practical use or immediate application. One of the reasons why we do it is mainly curiosity. Humanity has achieved what it has achieved because of the thirst for knowledge, right? We just want to know. We have this curiosity," he said.
The Fields Medal, often called the "Nobel Prize of mathematics", is awarded every four years to up to four mathematicians under the age of 40 for outstanding achievements. Hairer, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and Imperial College London, received the Fields Medal in 2014 for his contributions to the theory of stochastic partial differential equations, particularly for developing the theory of regularity structures for such equations.
The 2026 International Congress of Basic Sciences in Beijing has become a platform where the world's leading minds discuss the role of fundamental science in addressing global challenges. Hairer's address, one of the most prominent mathematicians of our time, once again reminded that fundamental research, even the most abstract, eventually finds application, but its main purpose is to expand the horizons of human knowledge. As Hairer himself noted, the thirst for knowledge is what distinguishes humans from other creatures, and it is what drives civilisation forward, even if the path is not always clear.
As CCTV+ reports, Martin Hairer's words on the timeless nature of mathematics became one of the congress's most striking moments, underscoring that in a rapidly changing world there are truths that remain unshakeable, and the pursuit of them is the noblest of endeavours.
