

Perelman declines 1M prize: "I have everything I want" - helwr
http://www.gazeta.ru/science/2010/03/23_a_3341933.shtml

======
dimitar
Good story, but in Russian. Most of the audience might want to read the
original, from the Daily Mail, which is in English:
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1259863/Wo...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1259863/Worlds-
cleverest-man-turns-1million-prize-solving-mathematics-greatest-puzzles.html)

Another article in English, from Pravda:
<http://english.pravda.ru/russia/kremlin/84114-0/>

~~~
dschobel
_Said to be the world's cleverest man, Dr Grigory Perelman, 44, lives as a
recluse..._

Leave it to the daily mail to add an extra layer of hyperbolic bullshit. As if
it weren't a fascinating story already, he now has to be "the world's
cleverest man".

~~~
bruceboughton
"The topological conundrum essentially states that any three-dimensional space
without holes in it is equivalent to a stretched sphere."

I love how they throw that in as if any of their readers will understand it*

* FYI, the Daily Mail is one of our tabloids, famous for claiming that just about anything causes cancer: <http://thedailymailoncologicalontologyproject.wordpress.com/>

~~~
netcan
Possibly moving to the UK in a year. Tabloids are the thing I'm most looking
forward to.

~~~
Quarrelsome
No, seriously no. They are pollution. If you read them no matter how cynical
you are your subconscious will gobble up the "facts" only to spew them at you
later as "truth" without the association with the source.

IMO tabloids make people dumber. So just _don't_ read them, its bad for you.

~~~
petercooper
There are differing _levels_ of pollution, though. The Daily Mail is, IMHO,
almost "evil" in its level of ridiculousness. It exists mostly to rile up the
darker sentiments held by middle England. It's Fox News in paper form.

The Sun, on the other hand, is the ultimate tabloid (in terms of sales) but is
more playful and aware of its role as a form of entertainment. The Sun and the
Daily Mail couldn't be any different.

~~~
netcan
which ones have aliens and suburban housewives raising bears as children?

~~~
pmjoyce
You're thinking of the Sunday Sport
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunday_Sport>

They were famous back in the '80s for ludicrous headlines like "London Bus
Found On Moon" and "Aliens Turned Our Son Into An Olive". I can't recall
seeing it on the news stands lately.

------
alexandros
When we think back on Newton or Einstein, we don't say 'he won an Nobel and
pocketed a cool million'. We remember them for their results, which changed
the way humanity sees the world. Granted, if it was me I probably wouldn't
have declined, but then, I wouldn't have found the proof either. In 40 years
nobody will remember all this circus around medals, awards, and money, just
his result, which is the way he wants it. Feynman also cursed the day he
received the Nobel and wished these awards bodies were more discrete and
privately gave an opportunity to decline without all the publicity circus.

I hope he is secretly at work doing what he does best, away from all these
distractions.

~~~
shadowsun7
I get the feeling that Perelman's a purist, in every sense of the word. He
gets the math done, and then he steps away and feels happy that he's
contributed something to humanity.

Maybe he's not as obstinate as we think he is. (Frying pan to the head
notwithstanding)

------
piramida
The thing he tries to avoid is extra attention to his persona. With all the
media buzz, I feel sorry for him, tabloid "journalists" will keep distracting
him for a while now. Let the man live his life the way he wants to; leave him
alone. People should respect his decision however impossible it may be to
comprehend for an average money-driven individual.

Don't turn him into a lab rat for own amusement; don't visit that tabloids
linked above.

~~~
Rauchg
If he understood how other social human beings behave, he'd realize this only
brings _extra_ attention to his persona.

~~~
skarlath
It's very similar to something Feynman said when he found he won the Nobel
Prize. I can't find the quote specifically, but he essentially said "is there
any way to turn it down?" But he recognized that he couldn't and it was easier
to just accept it. But he bemoaned that forever afterwards he was no longer
Richard Feynman, he was Richard Feynman Nobel Prize winner. That is all from
his book "What do you care what other people think?"

~~~
maximilian
I read that, when he gave technical talks away from Caltech, he would have to
use a pseudonym, so that the room wasn't packed full of people wanting to see
"Famous Nobel Prize winning Feynman" give a talk. This way only the
appropriate people in the physics dept would come to see his latest results.

~~~
mhartl
Both this anecdote and the parent comment can be found in _"Surely You're
Joking, Mr. Feynman"_. (N.B. The quote marks are correct: the title itself is
a quote.)

------
raganwald
It isn't like the money will vanish, presumably it will go to more work to
further research in Mathematics.

------
herdrick
That's an old but cool story.

Here he is on the subway in Moscow:
[http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/15/perelman-
in-a-...](http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2007/06/15/perelman-in-a-subway/)

~~~
helwr
the story is actually pretty recent, he was awarded the Millennium prize last
Thur, the previous one he declined was back in 2006. but figuratively speaking
this story goes back to Diogenes, so yes, it is old

~~~
herdrick
Ah, thank you. The Millennium prize people might have been confident they
wouldn't have to pay out, eh?

------
roundsquare
A while ago I read through a book called "The Millennium Problems[1].

According to the author, its unlikely that anyone driven by the money would be
the ones solving the problem. If you really want money, and you are good
enough to solve these problems, there are much easier ways to make a million.

Of course, that doesn't mean that whoever solves P vs NP wouldn't take the
million, but looking at it this way, Perelman's decision doesn't surprise me
too much.

[1]
[http://books.google.com/books?id=Ofw6ru8cHOUC&dq=the+mil...](http://books.google.com/books?id=Ofw6ru8cHOUC&dq=the+millenium+problems&source=bn&hl=en&ei=X-KpS9rHJ4PCrAfqrfmdAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-
thumbnail&resnum=5&ved=0CB4Q6wEwBA)

P.S. I wouldn't recommend this book. It attempts to explain the problems but I
didn't feel that it did a good job. Reading the P vs NP section (the only
problem on the list I understand) I was depressed at how poorly it described
the problem.

------
tlb
Good for him. Having money would disrupt his life and set back his work. I'm
waiting to see what he comes up with next.

~~~
rdtsc
He has abandonded mathematics. I don't know what he works on now.

Currently he mentions that he has everything he wants and doesn't want to be
paraded like an animal in the zoo for everyone to see. He doesn't want money
and honors.

What has alienated him from mathematics is others dishonesty. Read the
"Manifold Destiny" article from New Yorker by Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber
(<http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/08/28/060828fa_fact2>). In there
you'll find a reference to Shing-Tung Yau. Quote from the article:

 _As for Yau, Perelman said, “I can’t say I’m outraged. Other people do worse.
Of course, there are many mathematicians who are more or less honest. But
almost all of them are conformists. They are more or less honest, but they
tolerate those who are not honest.”_

~~~
caxap
Next time when I want to publish a paper, I will take the work of someone
else, claim that it's unreadable and difficult to understand, "clarify" parts
that were unreadable, and put my name on it. I just cannot believe that things
like that are common practice for some researchers. That was a great read,
thanks.

~~~
raganwald
And then use your ill-gotten fame to seek out grants and funding from
governments and philanthropists to further your goals.

------
tsally
I wonder if his parents have everything they want, like a reasonable
retirement.

~~~
jrockway
If his parents wanted that, they should have been geniuses solving million-
dollar prizes.

That said, I agree that a lot of good could be done with the money. He should
take it and ensure that it does good.

~~~
tsally
Seems your forgetting the part about where his parents provided him with a
place to live, food, and security while he got the education that allowed him
to win a million-dollar prize. Not to mention the fact that they probably paid
for his tuition, textbooks, and anything else he needed to learn mathematics.
According to Wikipedia: "his early mathematical education occurred at the
Leningrad Secondary School #239, a specialized school with advanced
mathematics and physics programs. In 1982 [16 years old], as a member of the
USSR team competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad, an
international competition for high school students, he won a gold medal,
achieving a perfect score." You don't get to do all that as a kid without the
monetary support of your parents. I wonder if Perelman's parents had forced
him to work in a factory instead of enrolling him in advanced mathematics
programs, would he have achieved the same results?

Do the parents deserve a comfortable retirement for their efforts? I say yes.
I say every parent that supports the education of their children does. It's
just that most kids don't have a million dollars lying around that they can
give to their parents. Personally I think it's unconscionable not to secure
the financial stability of your family given the opportunity. If anything,
just keep the money lying around for medical expenses and college tuition.
Perelman should have used the money to support his parents and lay the
groundwork for the educational success of his kids. I can't think of an
ethical justification not to do so.

~~~
impeachgod
This is the Soviet Union - where public education is free, free, free, as long
as you're getting good grades and staying out of trouble.

~~~
tsally
Public education is free in the United States too if your parents or guardian
pay taxes. Whether the parents directly pay for tuition or not is not really
the main thrust of my argument. The point is that supportive parents are
critical for the academic success of children. If (when) I had the opportunity
to ensure my parents would never have to worry about their mortgage or an
unexpected medical bill I would take it. I'd send them on a nice vacation too
while I was at it. Personally I think it's the least you can do in return for
having supportive parents.

Of course, there's a possibility that Perelman's parents were not supportive.
But in my experience the majority of gifted children have supportive parents.

------
aresant
Choosing to live in squalor and denying an earned $1m prize suggests that
Perelman is suffering from clinical depression.

The sad part is he’s probably going to be written off as eccentric and never
receive help that could change his life substantially from the better.

~~~
scorpioxy
Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame.

Don't be so rash in passing out judgment.

I once asked a mathematician what he says he does when people ask him. He said
that "I do math, teaching is my job, the way i make my living but what I do is
math". Didn't quite expect that answer, and he's internationally known for his
work too.

~~~
aresant
"Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame."

There's a big difference between not interested in money or fame, and living
in a 1 bedroom apartment, sleeping on a dirty matress, and living with a roach
infestation.

~~~
scorpioxy
I see his choice comparable to the one often taken by start up founders when
they realize that all they need is a computer and decide to be frugal and live
off somebody's couch or work from their smelly garage.

I completely understand his decision. To an intellectual, a lot of the things
that you would consider necessary, aren't.

~~~
aresant
You are attempting to fit a square into a circle here.

Working in a "smelly garage" or from a "friends couch" as a founder in the USA
dreaming of success is Apples to Oranges vs. living in a roach motel, on a
dirty mattress, turning away visitors from behind a closed door, in Russia,
since 2003.

One is the romantic prototype of an entrepreneur, one is an unimaginably harsh
and depressing life from which this guy has completely denied himself
sanctuary.

~~~
raganwald
You have zero idea of what he thinks. If he is depressed about living with his
mom, he hides it well. He is depressed about teh state of politics in math,
not about his lifestyle. He didn't say, "I have no choice," he said, "I have
everything I need." Those are not the words of a depressed man.

Furthermore, a founder couch surfing does not hate their existence and only
endures it because they hope to strike it big. A founder is having fun working
on their dream and will later have a different kind of fun when they later
strike it rich.

lA friend of mine hit it out of the park. When I was living in Parkdale (a
poor neighborhood in Toronto that is fighting gentrification tooth and nail),
he visited my apartment. His words? "This reminds me of my college days in
Montréal. Those were good times!"

I later asked him whether money changed anything. He said, and I kid you not,
that he and his wife used to drive to Grateful Dead concerts, now they flew
and could take friends with them.

I am not so sure Perelman needs anything else. His mathematical achievement is
on par with anything else done in the last century. If this were business, he
would be Gates or Ellison or Buffet. If one of those guys declined an award
that had no cash value, we wouldn't blink. Why should Perelman desire an award
that has no mathematical insight attached? It literally has nothing to offer
him, nothing.

Money is your currency. Knowledge is his. Don't accuse him of a harsh and
depressing life until you can make a case that his life lacks the things that
matter to him.

~~~
aresant
You disagree with me making a generalization, yet you sling one right back at
me in your "Money is your currency." comment above, which I guess brings us
sort of full circle.

Beyond that, well argued.

Let me clarify my original comment, and then I’ll shut up on this:

There is, in my experience, a flat acceptance of eccentricity in brilliant
minds.

Yet, when those of less accomplishment display similar eccentricities, peers
may be more apt to question behavior.

The evidence in that article, when measured against a "normal" man suggests to
me depression, or mental disease.

My comment was made in earnest, I hope that somebody along the way has made
that consideration - ultimately we're arguing the same thing, don't make
assumptions.

~~~
raganwald
You are right, the "money is your currency" line was inappropriate, I
apologise.

------
known
Had Perelman knew <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequence> he
wouldn't have declined the prize.

------
nearestneighbor
It's safe to assume that Perelman could probably make as much every year or
two (on Wall St. and elsewhere). So, cockroaches or not, he really doesn't
need their money (all that much).

~~~
dschobel
Sure, he'd only have to trade 80 hours/week on wallstreet to get it.

This case is exceptional because the $1M is no-strings attached.

~~~
nearestneighbor
I don't think top mathematicians on Wall St. are literally trading.

~~~
dschobel
Trading has nothing to do with it. The most notoriously stressful positions in
finance are that of analyst and ibanker, neither of which entail any trading.

~~~
nearestneighbor
I just realized that your comment was ambiguous.

------
zackattack
Lol.
[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaz...](http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gazeta.ru%2Fscience%2F2010%2F03%2F23_a_3341933.shtml)

~~~
zackattack
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