Venus AUEB Forum

A reclusive Russian genius has refused to accept $1m (£667,000) in prize money for solving the Poincare Conjecture, one of the most difficult puzzles in mathematics.

Dr Grigori Perelman, who has been dubbed "the smartest man in the world", refused the money, despite living in poverty in a cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg.

When told of the prize, which was offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts to anyone who could solve the conundrum, the Daily Mail reports that he refused to open the door, saying only: "I don't need anything. I have all I want."

The Poincare Conjecture basically asserts that any three-dimensional space without holes in it is equivalent to a stretched sphere and had confounded maths experts for more than a century.

But in 2003 Mr Perelman, who was working as a researcher at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St Petersburg, began posting papers on the internet suggesting he had solved the puzzle.

Rigorous tests proved he was correct.

But the bearded genius, 44, is known for his hatred of the limelight.

Four years ago, after posting his solution on the web, he failed to turn up to receive his prestigious Fields Medal from the International Mathematical Union in Madrid.

At the time he stated: "I'm not interested in money or fame. I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo.

"I'm not a hero of mathematics. I'm not even that successful, that is why I don't want to have everybody looking at me."

His friends now say he has given up mathematics.

After performing some teaching in American universities in 2003, Perelman has apparently given up on mathematics, dismayed at the intellectual and moral failings of his peers. Instead, according to reports, he likes to play table tennis against a wall in his apartment. “You are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms,” he told a journalist who managed to get in touch with him.

chriskin wrote:πως παιζει κανεις table tennis αντιπαλος με εναν τοιχο;
δεν προκειται ποτε να του βαλει ποντο, προκειται;

Shocker wrote:

chriskin wrote:πως παιζει κανεις table tennis αντιπαλος με εναν τοιχο;
δεν προκειται ποτε να του βαλει ποντο, προκειται;

off topic
όποτε θες μπορώ να σου μάθω :P
single strategy for home alone training (για χρόνια εμπειρίας μιλάνε )
μην είσαι τόσο ηττοπαθής,ίσως μια μέρα του βάλεις κ συ εναν πόντο

/off topic

Ο τυπάς ,ΠΑΡΑ πολύ μπροστά
τον ζηλεύω κατα έναν τρόπο

chriskin wrote:
(οπως προφανως, αμα μπορουσα να βοηθησω να προχωρησει μια επιστημη, ενω επαιρνα πολλα λεφτα, βοηθαγα κοσμο και εδιωχνα και τις κατσαριδες απο το σπιτι - ειπε οτι εχει, αηδια - και προτιμουσα να παιξω τεννις με τον τοιχο μου, τοτε νομιζω οτι κατι θα πηγαινε στραβα)

Shocker wrote: Ο τυπάς ,ΠΑΡΑ πολύ μπροστά
τον ζηλεύω κατα έναν τρόπο

Loner wrote:Το θέμα είναι πως δεν το έκανε για το έπαθλο/βραβείο, το έκανε απλά επειδή γούσταρε... Δεν έχει νόημα να πεις ότι είναι προσβολή, απλά δε τον νοιάζει, είναι στο δικό του παράλληλο σύμπαν

Loner wrote:Το θέμα είναι πως δεν το έκανε για το έπαθλο/βραβείο, το έκανε απλά επειδή γούσταρε... Δεν έχει νόημα να πεις ότι είναι προσβολή, απλά δε τον νοιάζει, είναι στο δικό του παράλληλο σύμπαν