Written by Brandy Smith
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
In 2006 Russian Mathematician Grigory Perelman solved a math problem that scientist had been trying to figure out for over a century. After disappearing for years, the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) of Cambridge, Massachusetts finally decided to provide the 43-year-old mathematician monetary compensation for his work in the sum of $1 million , but he declined. If thats not strange enough, after solving one of the most difficult math problem in the world, aka the Poincare` Conjecture, Perelman disappeared for years and was found living in poverty with his mother. It is reported that he has also rejected several job offers from major universities.
On Thursday CMI offered Perelman the $1 million but he simply refused it. A spokesperson for CMI said, “CMI will make an announcement of how the prize money will be used to benefit mathematics.” Perelman was also awarded the Fields Award, the most prestigious award in mathematics but never showed up to accept. A three day symposium in Paris celebrating the proof the Poincare` Conjecture went on with no sign of Perelman.
“I have refused,” Interfax, a Russian news agency, quoted him as saying. “You know, I had quite a lot of reasons both for and against. That is why I took so long to make up my mind.”
While researching this topic, I couldn’t help but to think about the movie “A Beautiful Mind”. The main character of that movie was a genius but suffered from schizophrenia. I can’t assume that Grigory Perelman is dealing with that same mental illness but it makes me wonder how much a person has to give up if anything to be a genius. Do they focus so much on one particular aspect of their life that they lose touch with reality? When I think of people that are considered geniuses in their field of work, I think of people that have had major mental breakdowns at some point. Idk…it’s just a thought.
I’m sure that whatever his reasons for not accepting the money are reasons that make a lot of sense to him. Hey… if everyone thought the same the world would be a boring place.
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