"Today I'll be teaching you your first theoretical physics class on quantum chromodynamics."
Professor Alicia Harper said with a smile, "So who can tell me what quantum chromodynamics is?"
Little Sheldon immediately shot his hand up.
"You must be Sheldon Cooper."
Professor Alicia Harper looked down and smiled at little Sheldon, who was sitting center front row, hand raised high with a face full of "Pick me, pick me" expressions.
"Yes! I am Sheldon Cooper!"
Little Sheldon stood up and said proudly, "Quantum chromodynamics is a theory of strong interactions developed by Professor Murray Gell-Mann and Professor Harald Fritzsch. It describes the interactions between quarks and their color charge quantum numbers that constitute the strong nuclear force. It can uniformly describe both the structure of hadrons and the strong interactions between them. It's considered the most promising fundamental theory of strong interactions."
"Very good, it seems someone has done their homework."
Professor Alicia Harper smiled and nodded, gesturing for little Sheldon to sit down.
"Here's an interesting fact."
Little Sheldon didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he raised a finger and continued, "The word 'quark' comes from James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake. It's actually the cry of seagulls, so originally there was just the sound with no standard spelling, and it was even written as 'kwork.' Later, it was standardized as 'quark' by Professor Murray Gell-Mann."
"Okay."
Professor Alicia Harper smiled patiently: "Student Cooper, I'm very pleased to hear your contribution, you..."
"I'm delighted to hear you say that."
Little Sheldon completely missed social cues. He ignored Professor Alicia Harper's expression asking him to sit down, and continued, "Professor Murray Gell-Mann is a truly great theoretical physicist, but I disagree with his naming convention. If it were me, I would never name such an important scientific theory after something I despise."
"Professor Gell-Mann doesn't hate seagulls."
Professor Alicia Harper looked at little Sheldon with surprise: "In fact, he's quite fond of birds."
"No, I don't think so."
Little Sheldon shook his head.
"It's actually true."
A classmate couldn't stand watching this show-off kid grandstand anymore, and couldn't help but interrupt: "Professor Gell-Mann loves birds. His knowledge of ornithology puts actual experts to shame. This is common knowledge. Doesn't that prove he likes birds?"
"There's a saying: know your friends, but know your enemies even better!"
Little Sheldon shot back: "No one likes such terrifying creatures as birds, especially a brilliant theoretical physicist like Murray Gell-Mann."
"Then how do you explain Professor Gell-Mann's active campaigning for wildlife conservation and environmental protection?"
The guy was so exasperated he had to laugh.
"Because he wants birds to stay in the wilderness, far from human contact. Once the ecosystem is destroyed, the natural barriers created by wildlife will collapse, and humans will face far more dangerous viruses and pathogens."
Little Sheldon simply turned to face his questioner and explained seriously, "Just imagining that outcome is terrifying, so to prevent this worst-case scenario, it's a very logical strategy to contain and isolate these frightening creatures, including birds, outside urban areas in advance."
"That's completely illogical!"
The speaker was left speechless by Little Sheldon's twisted reasoning.
"The truth is always held by the minority, and clearly that minority doesn't include you."
Little Sheldon delivered the most infuriating words in the most matter-of-fact tone. After shutting down his challenger, he instinctively looked in Chuck's direction: "What do you think, Dr. Chuck Wolfe?"
Although calling Chuck "Doctor" somewhat annoyed him, he realized that Chuck only held a PhD in accounting, and now they were equals in theoretical physics. He'd done extensive preparation over the summer, so he felt confident facing Dr. Chuck Wolfe, who had previously reduced him to tears!
"Doctor?"
The title immediately grabbed everyone's attention. Following Sheldon's gaze, everyone turned to look at Chuck, who was sitting in the far back corner of the lecture hall.
Except for Sheldon, the 11-year-old anomaly, the class consisted mostly of traditionally college-aged students. The sudden appearance of a PhD holder in class was always noteworthy.
Professor Alicia Harper, standing at the podium, glanced over with her pale blue eyes.
She was already aware of this genius from another field who had enrolled in her course.
"Chirp-chirp-tweet..."
Chuck remained completely composed under everyone's stare and Sheldon's provocation, his lips barely moving as he produced a perfect bird call.
Nobody reacted at first.
Little Sheldon's eyes went wide, his body going rigid. His naturally gifted eidetic memory instantly transported him back to when he was two years old.
He remembered it vividly—3:24 PM on May 24, 1982. His Meemaw took him for a walk in his stroller and bought him his favorite apple juice. As his grandmother turned to buy her own drink, a hummingbird swooped down, its needle-sharp beak diving into his apple juice and drinking from it.
He was paralyzed with terror! He couldn't even cry out for help from his grandmother, who was standing right there.
The downside of his eidetic memory was brutally clear. Just as he'd been frozen with fear then, he was instantly transported back to that same feeling now. He could do nothing but stare at Chuck with wide-eyed terror.
"Cooper, are you alright?"
Professor Alicia Harper was the first to notice little Sheldon's condition. She stepped down from the podium, approached him, and asked with concern.
"Uh, uh, uh,"
little Sheldon stammered, trying to speak, but only fragments of syllables came out.
"Dr. Chuck Wolfe, what did you do?"
Professor Alicia Harper was alarmed, her eyes snapping up to Chuck.
The other students in the lecture hall were completely baffled about what was happening, but each one was deeply shaken.
This arrogant little genius had challenged Chuck, and without Chuck even saying a word, he was reduced to this state.
"There's a saying: 'Know your friends, but know your enemies even better,'"
Chuck replied, echoing Sheldon's earlier words. "Mr. Cooper hates birds so intensely, he must be as well-versed in avian knowledge as Professor Murray Gell-Mann, including bird vocalizations. I was answering Mr. Cooper's question in bird language."
"Ha!"
Hearing this, a blonde girl sitting in the middle rows burst out laughing.
Everyone looked over.
"Sorry, sorry," the sweet-looking girl immediately apologized, covering her mouth to show she'd stopped laughing.
But it was obvious she was struggling hard to contain her amusement.
(End of chapter)
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