Figure 1 At that time, the mathematics field in France was full of stars and heroes, and its mathematics level far exceeded that of other countries. Aside from the illusory genetic theory, in fact, the emergence of this phenomenon is a historical necessity. Why did French history produce so many first-class mathematicians?
Figure 2 In this history, a scholar, two monarchs and an institution played a vital role: one scholar was Malan Mei Sen; The two monarchs were Louis XIV and Napoleon; One institution is the French Academy of Sciences. Why did French history produce so many first-class mathematicians?
Figure 3 Initially, all karma began in the middle of17th century, when Malan Mei Sen, a mathematician who is not well-known now, lived in a monastery. French mathematician Malan Mei Sen graduated from Jesuit school when he was young, and was a classmate of Descartes. Mei Sen is talented and approachable. He is not the most outstanding scholar, but he has established contact with scientists from all over Europe, and a group of scholars gathered around Mei Sen to discuss scientific issues in his apartment regularly. This salon of scientists gathered around Mei Sen, later known as Mei Sen College, was the academic exchange center in Europe at that time. Huygens, a later master of optics from a Dutch diplomatic family, was introduced by his diplomat father when he was young, studied under Descartes, and became a disciple of Mei Sen through correspondence. Pascal, a little-known prodigy, was only fourteen years old and showed extraordinary talent in mathematics. Mei Sen accepted him into Mei Sen College and encouraged Pascal to build on Torricelli. Later Pascal put forward Pascal's law. Fermat, another friend of Mei Sen, developed a branch of probability theory with Pascal at the same time, and was praised as the most outstanding amateur mathematician by later generations. Even people who don't understand mathematics have heard of Fermat's last theorem. Mei Sen died in 1648, and his legacy left precious letters to as many as 78 scholars in Europe, covering various scientific fields, including Fermat, Galileo, Torricelli, Descartes and Huygens. His most precious legacy, Mei Sen College, later became the predecessor of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Finally, 1666, the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris was established.