“Can Mathematicians Connect the Universe?” Full Version

I watched it on NHK On Demand. 220 yen.

数学者は宇宙をつなげるか? 完全版 abc予想証明をめぐる数奇な物語 -NHKオンデマンド

The story is much the same as the 60-minutes version I saw the other day, but the addition of the story about Scholze and Faltings not being happy about the “popularization” of the disturbance that has spread outside of the mathematical community is significant.
Faltings explained on Scholze’s behalf why he did not agree to be interviewed this time.

Some screenshots of the comments on Peter Woit’s blog were quoted along with the narration, “Since the Mochizuki and Scholze seminar in Kyoto in March 2018, there has been an increase in online slander (against the Mochizuki camp).”

  • The comment saying “… should ignore what is coming out of Kyoto,” is this.
  • The comment that calls Mochizuki’s proof “a hoax” is this.

However, the second comment was written on December 17, 2017, before the seminar, so it is not an example of “increased slander after the seminar”. TV shows, as usual, tell these little lies, thinking they won’t be found out anyway.

Anyway, Faltings said that Scholze decided not to get involved when he saw these amateurs who had never read the paper criticizing Mochizuki in ugly terms. I can understand that feeling.

On the other hand, however, the fact is that Mochizuki himself and others in the Mochizuki camp, such as Ivan Fesenko, have also continued to heap ridicule and disrespect on Scholze-Stix. It is not fair that the program does not mention this point. I have written in the past about how Mochizuki’s group has described and treated Scholze-Stix.

If there is one thing that can be appreciated in this full version documentary, it is the statement by Fumiharu Kato, an evangelist in Mochizuki’s camp, that “There are parts of the IUT that are not yet fully in the language of mathematics. We must create a new language system as soon as possible.” It is important that a member of Mochizuki’s group acknowledges that the IUT contains unfinished parts.