Finding freedom through mathematics and physics

Editor's note: "However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at it." This is a famous line from "The Theory of Everything", an Oscar-winning film which portrays the inspiring life story of legendary mathematician Stephen Hawking. Although Hawking died five years ago, his spirit lives on. Below, you will read the personal story in his own words of Benjamin Lou, a 20-year-old Chinese American mathematician living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and currently studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. According to Alan Guth, Lou's supervisor at MIT and a professor who once worked with Hawking himself, the two share many similarities.

Although I've never taken a physical step on this planet, in the rich and magnificent cosmos of mathematics and physics I soar.

Diagnosed with SMA, I've grappled with immense physical challenges since infancy. This condition destroys motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away my ability to walk, eat, or use the restroom without assistance. In the past two decades of my life, I have undergone several major surgeries including spinal fusion. However, these limitations and struggles can't stop me from achieving boundless freedom in the realms of mathematics and physics.

I started to take a fancy to mathematics back in my childhood and was brought into contact with calculus when I was a fourth-grader. I'm always fascinated by the biggest questions that I can't yet answer. For example, why can we prove anything meaningful in math? Amid the vast realms of "groups", "measures", "ordinals", "manifolds", and so on, why does a coherent, unified structure emerge? Why is it that, by manipulating abstract mathematical entities, we can make predictions about the world that are verified to extraordinary accuracy? Mathematics could have easily been an intractable enigma, and yet, miraculously, inexplicably, humanity has been able to unravel a myriad of profound truths.

The imagination that mathematics has given me has also won me a few notable academic successes. By fifth grade, I scored in the top one percent on the AMC 10, a competition aimed at high school sophomores. I won a gold medal at the World Mathematics Team Championship in Beijing. In 8th and 9th grade, I qualified for the USA Mathematics Olympiad, being among the top 250 young mathematicians in the nation. A similar qualification for the USA Physics Olympiad soon followed. My love of the mathematical sciences eventually led me to MIT, where I pursue double majors in physics and mathematics, as well as a minor in philosophy.

Now, as a mathematician and physicist, it is clear to me that math isn't merely about numbers or equations. Rather, it is the very language of the universe itself, a symphony of logic and patterns that underlies all of reality. And it is this same language that has allowed me to transcend the physical limitations of my body. As the years have woven their narrative, even as my muscles weakened, my passion for understanding the world has only deepened. If I can understand the language of the universe, why should I worry about my physical limitations?

Therefore, I decided to get myself back to Beijing to join the Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition award ceremony this month, despite a series of inconveniences to overcome and an exhausting 30 hours of travel. On this global stage for math enthusiasts, I believe that not only will my passion for mathematics be recognized, but also my voice be heard by more people.

I'd like to say to all those living with SMA or similar diseases: Society might expect that you won't be able to accomplish at the same level as the able-bodied, but the universe's most profound melodies are perceived not by our limbs, but by our spirit and intellect. Focus there, and you will shine with unparalleled luminance.

When we pursue mathematics, we express our conviction that no matter how intractable a problem may at first seem, a solution awaits. I hope that all of us can echo this sentiment in life, facing every challenge with tenacity, empathy, and creativity. By fighting to create an environment of compassion and perseverance, together we can achieve our dreams.