Mr. Van Nhu Cuong and the philosophy of zero

Teacher Cuong humorously said that after he passes away, he will ask his students to make a circular tombstone to remember him for drawing a beautiful circle, and consider his life complete.

Nearly 40 years ago, reader Nguyen Quoc Cuong studied with teacher Van Nhu Cuong and still remembers the circles he drew by hand as precisely as a compass, and remembers the philosophy lesson about zero.

So he passed away, after a period of fighting illness. His passing left many generations of students and colleagues with grief, gratitude and admiration. I have many memories of him when he was teaching at Vinh Pedagogical University and Hanoi Pedagogical University, and those memories still follow me to this day, contributing to the shaping of my life perspectives.

When I was at Vinh Pedagogical University, we were the children of teachers and staff in the school, we often called him Uncle Cuong. When he went out to play football or in any public place, he seemed to have a tremendous attraction to us kids. We knew he was a very good teacher, but what attracted us was his wild and romantic style, along with endless anecdotes about him with his straightforward, self-respecting, sarcastic, witty and realistic statements that many people passed on by word of mouth.

For example, the story of how he did not like a teacher in the same internship group who was a Literature instructor, although not good, he always thought he was good, lacking modesty. One day he confided to the teacher that he would try to have a son and name him Mam. The teacher asked why he named him that, and he replied that if he was Van Nhu Cuong, he would be Van Nhu Mam! After that, the teacher probably became more modest.

Mr. Van Nhu Cuong.

At Hanoi Pedagogical University I in the years 1977-1981, I was his student. His geometry lessons were always awaited by students because of his engaging teaching style and elegant demeanor, with a loose floral shirt tucked outside his pants, a conical hat, a long black beard, cycling to the lecture hall, and sometimes even wearing wooden clogs.

The teacher presented the board very beautifully, from beginning to end in many periods without erasing a single word, with his free handwriting, students often looked at the teacher's board, sometimes lingering to erase when changing periods. In particular, the circle he drew after marking the points was so round, precise and beautiful that anyone who saw it would surely not be able to forget. Even after many years of practice after graduating, I still could not do as well as the teacher.

One time at the end of class, the teacher said: "I drew a circle that many people praised. It was so round that even when I used a compass to trace it, it didn't match at all."". Then the teacher humorously talked about the future, that if he passed away, he would ask his students to make a circular tombstone to remember him drawing a beautiful circle, considering his life complete and perfect.The students kept following the teacher's line of conversation. Just before the break, the teacher said that he wanted to say that a circular tombstone also meant a big zero!

We were surprised by the teacher's modesty that many people did not notice! That modesty was described in a very gentle and humorous way. This round zero, in my opinion, is perfect in conveying the teacher's thoughts. It is perfect, complete as self-satisfaction, but it is also a lingering feeling as if not satisfied, thereby expressing modesty and the desire to contribute, as the teacher advised us through the motto: A wise man begins from the end.

That day passed nearly 40 years ago. Now the teacher has gone far away. Yes, when visiting the teacher, I am sure there will be flowers and tears, and generations of students. This life will mourn and remember the teacher and understand that the place where the teacher just left the podium today will be the place to nurture and start many future generations to enter life.

The ancient Greeks wondered about the number 0: "How can nothing be something?". For me, that's what your number 0 is!

According to VNE