World's cleverest man turns down $1million prize after solving one of mathematics' greatest puzzle

Ha ha, what a gangster!

An impoverished Russian who has been called the world's cleverest man today said he does not need a $1million prize awarded by a prestigious American institute for solving one of the most intractable problems in mathematics.

Dr Grigory Perelman prefers to live as a recluse in his grim cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg. Told about the financial prize for solving the Poincare Conjecture which had confounded mathematicians for a century, he said through his closed front door: 'I don't need anything. I have all I want.'

www.mailonsunday.co.uk...

This is the guy. He solved it back in 2006 and no one has been able to find any fault with it. Anyone who solves the puzzle is entitled to $1 million prize by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He turned it down.

Legend. Would you do the same?!










[edit on 22-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk

If a picture is worth 1000 words, frankly, the picture says it all.

They probably said "Hey, here's a million dollars." and he said "No thanks, all I need is my Sudoku"



[edit on 22-3-2010 by groomlake9]

your link is no good, are you sure this wasn't a hoax?

reply to post by groomlake9


Ha ha. Yes he does look quite psychopathic. And he seems to prefer the company of Cockroaches to that of humans.

Fairplay to him i say. It really illustrates how for some people it really isn't about the money.

reply to post by joey_hv


I found this link:

An impoverished Russian who has been called the world's cleverest man today said he does not need a $1million prize awarded by a prestigious American institute for solving one of the most intractable problems in mathematics.

Dr Grigory Perelman prefers to live as a recluse in his grim cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg.

- DailyMail

Wor ld's cleverest man turns down $1million prize after solving one of mathematics' greatest puzzles

reply to post by joey_hv


Sorry. The link is fixed now. There are other links to the story as well stretching back to 2006 so it does not appear to be a hoax.

www.guardian.co.uk...

english.pravda.ru...

I understand if he didn't want the money for himself....

....but surely there was some way to use it for the better good of others? Set up a scholarship for students, fund an orphanage,

heck, donate it to me.....

He might of wanted it in Euro's?

He might have heard that a Million Dollars isn't really worth all that much unless it's in Euro's. After all, he's a Clever Person...

Hm, reminds me of something one of my mates said to me once....

"Kiwifoot, you're the smartest guy I know, but man you haven't got a grain of common sense in that head of yours...!"

I'm not that smart by the way, but he was right about the second part....but this bloke may just take the cake!

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by groomlake9

 

Ha ha. Yes he does look quite psychopathic. And he seems to prefer the company of Cockroaches to that of humans.

Fairplay to him i say. It really illustrates how for some people it really isn't about the money.

I never could figure out why people are so quick to pass judgement on others based on looks, maybe he just enjoys living a simple life that doesn't revolve around materialistic values. Look at people that are rich and have lots of money at their disposal are there lives any better than someone that lives a simple life? The problem with most people today are they judge others based on looks and material items that are really unimportant in the big picture of life, I have seen ugly people that have the best personalities and good looking people that are as exciting as watching paint dry, don't be so fast to judge a book by its cover.

he is not that smart

he worked for free or what, I mean, for the satisfaction to have his name in the end of some book or whatever?

I would take the money, if you dont need now, maybe you will need someday, otherwise you can always donate to someone who you know and needs

[edit on 22-3-2010 by Faiol]

reply to post by Aliensdoexist


I am only messing about man. I fully respect him for his decision and way of life as my later comments in the post suggest.

I wonder if anyone else will be able to work out the puzzle? And if so will they accept the money? Its almost like a poisoned chalice now...

Sorry my bad

[edit on 22-3-2010 by Becker44]

[edit on 22-3-2010 by Becker44]

Wow. If I managed to solve one of those problems, I'd definitely take the million dollars for it. Those are NOT easy problems; I looked at those one time, and I'd barely even know where to start working on them, much less actually solve one.

While I don't really understand his decision to reject the money, I do admire that he has somehow managed to find a life that he is completely satisfied with. Maybe he knows something the rest of us don't?

reply to post by Aliensdoexist


That's just silly because "don't judge a book by its cover" refers to making a judgment of a person based on looks rather than knowing any prior information of the person.

This article completely contradicts that statement. We know for a fact that he tuned down a $1 million offer, which smyleegrl made the good point that if he didn't want the money, he could have easily given it to a trust, scholarship, charity etc....

I had a look at his bio on Wikipedia. Some interesting quotes from the man in The New Yorker.

Although Perelman is quoted in a The New Yorker article that he is disappointed with the ethical standards of the field of mathematics, the article implies that Perelman refers particularly to Yau's efforts to downplay Perelman's role in the proof and play up the work of Cao and Zhu. Perelman has said that "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."[6] He has also said that "It is not people who break ethical standards who are regarded as aliens. It is people like me who are isolated."[6]

He has said that "As long as I was not conspicuous, I had a choice. Either to make some ugly thing or, if I didn't do this kind of thing, to be treated as a pet. Now, when I become a very conspicuous person, I cannot stay a pet and say nothing. That is why I had to quit."[

en.wikipedia.org...

He seems to be quite the maverick, moral, mathematician. My respect for the man continues to rise.

He looks Klingon . I didn't know they were That smart ! .......Go Figure....

reply to post by Becker44


Hey Becker. What was that link you were trying to post? I felt it was going to make me laugh quite heartily.

People always think they want a child genius or the next prodigy. But most end up with problems, and kinda like that guy.

Since it is Russia, he maybe worried about the government hitting him up. People coming after him. Look what happens to most lottery winners. Many end up wishing they never won the money.



[edit on 22-3-2010 by nixie_nox]

Originally posted by smyleegrl
I understand if he didn't want the money for himself....

....but surely there was some way to use it for the better good of others? Set up a scholarship for students, fund an orphanage,

heck, donate it to me.....

Well.. he doesn't seem like the most social of people, so I could hardly see him thinking "well, I think I will start a charity to help those less fortunate!"

At the very least, the institution could leave a box of bug bombs outside his door as a nice gesture.