Long hair? Check. Beard? Check. Unibrow? Check. Looks crazy? Check plus plus. Grigori Perelman is either a genius or a homeless person. Given that he managed to solve one of the world’s most difficult math problems, he’s a genius. Now he’s unsure as to whether or not he wants to claim the $1 million dollars in prize money that comes with his incredible feat. (That’s why I called him crazy above.)
Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture, a problem about the geometry of 3-D shapes first proposed in 1946 by French mathematician Henri Poincaré. It’s widely considered one of the most difficult math problems ever, and is one of seven problems to carry the Millennium Prize designation, which comes with a serious cash prize. Why Perelman might refuse the money is a mystery, but this is the same guy who turned down the Fields Prize (the Nobel Prize of math) in 2006, so he’s got a few screws loose. He might be a genius, but he doesn’t seem very smart.
Tags: Grigori Perelman, Russian wins [tags]Grigori Perelman, Russian wins $1 million dollar math prize, mathematics, mathematician, geniuses, Millennium Prize, Henri Poincaré, Poincaré conjecture[/tags]