Grigory Perelman has a younger sister, Elena (born 1976), also a mathematician, a graduate of St. Petersburg University (1998), who defended her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) dissertation in 2003 in Rehovot; since 2007 he has been working as a programmer in Stockholm.
Until grade 9, Perelman studied at a secondary school on the outskirts of Leningrad, and then transferred to the 239th Physics and Mathematics School. He played table tennis well, attended a music school. I didn’t receive a gold medal only because of physical education, without passing the TRP standards. From the 5th grade, Grigory studied at the Mathematical Center at the Palace of Pioneers under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Russian State Pedagogical University Sergey Rukshin, whose students won many awards at mathematical Olympiads. In 1982, as part of a team of Soviet schoolchildren, he won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, receiving a full score for the perfect solution of all problems.
He was enrolled without exams in the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Leningrad State University. He won faculty, city and all-Union student mathematical Olympiads. All the years I studied only "excellently". For academic success, he received a Lenin scholarship. After graduating with honors from the university, he entered graduate school (supervisor - A. D. Aleksandrov) at (LOMI - until 1992; then - POMI). In 1990, he defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic "Saddle surfaces in Euclidean spaces", and remained at the institute as a senior researcher.
In 2004-2006, three independent groups of mathematicians were engaged in checking Perelman's results:
- Bruce Kleiner, John Lott, University of Michigan;
- Zhu Xiping, Sun Yat-sen University , Cao Huaidong, Lehigh University;
- John Morgan, Columbia University , Gan Tian, .
All three groups came to the conclusion that the Poincaré conjecture was completely proven, however, Chinese mathematicians, Zhu Xiping and Cao Huaidong, along with their teacher Yau Xingtong, attempted plagiarism, claiming that they had found a "complete proof". They later retracted this statement.
In September 2011, it became known that the mathematician refused to accept an offer to become a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the same year, a book by Masha Gessen about the fate of Perelman was published. “Perfect severity. Grigory Perelman: genius and the task of the millennium, based on numerous interviews with his teachers, classmates, colleagues and colleagues. Perelman's teacher Sergei Rukshin was critical of the book.
Leads a secluded life, ignores the press. Lives in St. Petersburg in Kupchino with his mother. The press reported that since 2014 Grigory has been living in Sweden, but later it turned out that he happens there occasionally.
Scientific contribution
Recognition and ratings
In 2006, Grigory Perelman was awarded the international prize "Fields Medal" for solving the Poincaré conjecture (the official wording of the award: "For his contribution to geometry and his revolutionary ideas in the study of the geometric and analytical structure of the Ricci flow"), but he also refused it.
In 2007, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a list of "One Hundred Living Geniuses", in which Grigory Perelman takes 9th place. In addition to Perelman, only 2 Russians made it to this list - Garry Kasparov (25th place) and Mikhail Kalashnikov (83rd place).
In September 2011, the Clay Institute, together with the Henri Poincare Institute (Paris), established a position for young mathematicians, the money for which will come from the Millennium Prize awarded, but not accepted by Grigory Perelman.
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1 Refused to receive an award
An excerpt characterizing Perelman, Grigory Yakovlevich
One group of Frenchmen stood close by the road, and two soldiers - the face of one of them was covered with sores - were tearing a piece of raw meat with their hands. There was something terrible and animal in that cursory glance that they threw at the passersby, and in that vicious expression with which the soldier with sores, looking at Kutuzov, immediately turned away and continued his work.Kutuzov looked at these two soldiers for a long time; Wrinkling even more, he narrowed his eyes and shook his head thoughtfully. In another place, he noticed a Russian soldier, who, laughing and patting the Frenchman on the shoulder, said something affectionately to him. Kutuzov again shook his head with the same expression.
- What are you saying? What? he asked the general, who continued to report and drew the attention of the commander-in-chief to the French banners taken in front of the front of the Preobrazhensky regiment.
- Ah, banners! - said Kutuzov, apparently with difficulty breaking away from the subject that occupied his thoughts. He looked around absently. Thousands of eyes from all sides, waiting for his word, looked at him.
In front of the Preobrazhensky Regiment he stopped, sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Someone from the retinue waved for the soldiers holding the banners to come up and place them around the commander-in-chief with flagpoles. Kutuzov was silent for several seconds and, apparently reluctantly, obeying the necessity of his position, raised his head and began to speak. Crowds of officers surrounded him. He scanned the circle of officers with a keen eye, recognizing some of them.
– Thank you all! he said, addressing the soldiers and again to the officers. In the silence that reigned around him, his slowly spoken words were clearly audible. “Thank you all for your hard and faithful service. The victory is perfect, and Russia will not forget you. Glory to you forever! He paused, looking around.
“Bend down, bend down his head,” he said to the soldier who held the French eagle and accidentally lowered it in front of the banner of the Transfiguration. “Lower, lower, that’s it. Hooray! guys, - with a quick movement of your chin, turn to the soldiers, he said.
- Hooray ra ra! roared thousands of voices. While the soldiers were shouting, Kutuzov, bent over in his saddle, bowed his head, and his eye lit up with a meek, as if mocking, gleam.
“That’s what, brothers,” he said when the voices fell silent ...
And suddenly his voice and facial expression changed: the commander-in-chief stopped talking, and a simple, old man spoke up, obviously wanting to tell his comrades something very necessary.
There was a movement in the crowd of officers and in the ranks of the soldiers in order to hear more clearly what he would say now.
“Here’s the thing, brethren. I know it's hard for you, but what can you do! Be patient; not long left. We'll send the guests out, then we'll have a rest. For your service, the king will not forget you. It is difficult for you, but you are still at home; and they - see what they have come to, ”he said, pointing to the prisoners. - Worse than the last beggars. While they were strong, we did not feel sorry for ourselves, but now you can feel sorry for them. They are also people. So guys?
He looked around him, and in the stubborn, respectfully bewildered glances fixed on him, he read sympathy for his words: his face became brighter and brighter from the senile meek smile, puckering up in stars at the corners of his lips and eyes. He paused and lowered his head as if in bewilderment.
- And then say, who called them to us? Serves them right, m ... and ... in g .... he suddenly said, raising his head. And, waving his whip, he galloped, for the first time in the whole campaign, away from the joyfully laughing and roaring cheers, upsetting the ranks of the soldiers.
The words spoken by Kutuzov were hardly understood by the troops. No one would have been able to convey the contents of the first solemn and at the end of the ingenuously old man's speech of the field marshal; but the heartfelt meaning of this speech was not only understood, but that same, that same feeling of majestic triumph, combined with pity for the enemies and the consciousness of one’s rightness, expressed by this, precisely this old man’s, good-natured curse, is the very (feeling lay in the soul of every soldier and was expressed in a joyful, long-lasting cry.When after that one of the generals turned to him with the question of whether the commander-in-chief would order the carriage to arrive, Kutuzov, answering, suddenly sobbed, apparently being in great agitation.
November 8 is the last day of the Krasnensky battles; it was already getting dark when the troops arrived at the place of lodging for the night. The whole day was quiet, frosty, with light, rare snow falling; By evening it became clear. A black-purple starry sky was visible through the snowflakes, and the frost began to intensify.
The musketeer regiment, which had left Tarutino at the number of three thousand, now, at the number of nine hundred men, was one of the first to arrive at the appointed place of lodging for the night, in a village on the main road. The quartermasters, who met the regiment, announced that all the huts were occupied by sick and dead Frenchmen, cavalrymen and headquarters. There was only one hut for the regimental commander.
The regimental commander drove up to his hut. The regiment passed through the village and at the outermost huts on the road put the guns in the goats.
Like a huge, multi-membered animal, the regiment set to work arranging its lair and food. One part of the soldiers dispersed, knee-deep in snow, into the birch forest, which was to the right of the village, and immediately the sound of axes, cleavers, the crack of breaking branches and cheerful voices was heard in the forest; another part busied about the center of the regimental carts and horses, put in a pile, taking out boilers, crackers and giving food to the horses; the third part scattered in the village, arranging quarters for headquarters, picking out the dead bodies of the French that lay in the huts, and taking away boards, dry firewood and straw from the roofs for fires and wattle for protection.
About fifteen soldiers behind the huts, from the edge of the village, with a cheerful cry, were swinging the high wattle fence of the shed, from which the roof had already been removed.
- Well, well, at once, lean on! shouted voices, and in the darkness of the night a huge wattle fence covered with snow swayed with a frosty crack. The lower stakes cracked more and more often, and finally the wattle fence collapsed along with the soldiers pressing on it. There was a loud rudely joyful cry and laughter.
- Take two! give the rocha here! like this. Where are you going then?
- Well, at once ... Yes, stop, guys! .. With a shout!
Everyone fell silent, and a soft, velvety pleasant voice sang a song. At the end of the third stanza, right at the end of the last sound, twenty voices cried out in unison: “Uuuu! Goes! Together! Come on, kids!..” But, despite the united efforts, the wattle fence did not move much, and heavy panting was heard in the established silence.
- Hey you, the sixth company! Damn, devils! Help ... we will also come in handy.
The sixth company of about twenty, walking to the village, joined the dragging; and the wattle fence, five sazhens long and a sazhen wide, bent, pressing and cutting the shoulders of the puffing soldiers, moved forward along the village street.
- Go, or something ... Fall, eka ... What have you become? That's it ... Cheerful, ugly curses did not stop.
- What's wrong? - suddenly I heard the commanding voice of a soldier who ran into the carriers.
- The Lord is here; in the hut the anaral himself, and you, devils, devils, swindlers. I'll! - shouted the sergeant major and with a swing hit the first soldier who turned up in the back. - Can't it be quiet?
The soldiers fell silent. The soldier, who had been hit by the sergeant-major, began, groaning, to wipe his face, which he had torn into blood when he stumbled upon the wattle fence.
- Look, damn it, he fights like that! I’ve already bloodied my whole face, ”he said in a timid whisper, when the sergeant-major walked away.
- You don't like Ali? said a laughing voice; and, moderating the sounds of the voices, the soldiers went on. Having got out of the village, they again spoke just as loudly, sprinkling the conversation with the same aimless curses.
In the hut, past which the soldiers were passing, the highest authorities gathered, and over tea there was a lively conversation about the past day and the proposed maneuvers of the future. It was supposed to make a flank march to the left, cut off the Viceroy and capture him.
When the soldiers dragged the wattle fence, the fires of the kitchens were already flaring up from different sides. Firewood crackled, snow melted, and the black shadows of soldiers scurried back and forth across the occupied, trampled in the snow space.
Axes, cleavers worked from all sides. Everything was done without any order. Firewood was dragged in reserve for the night, huts for the authorities were fenced in, pots were boiled, guns and ammunition were handled.
The wattle fence brought by the eighth company was placed in a semicircle from the north side, supported by bipods, and a fire was laid out in front of it. They struck the dawn, made a calculation, had dinner and settled down for the night by the fires - some repairing shoes, some smoking a pipe, some naked, evaporating lice.
It would seem that in those almost unimaginably difficult conditions of existence in which Russian soldiers were at that time - without warm boots, without sheepskin coats, without a roof over their heads, in snow at 18 ° below zero, without even a full amount of provisions, not always keeping up with the army - it seemed that the soldiers should have presented the saddest and most depressing sight.
On the contrary, never, in the best material conditions, did the army present a more cheerful, lively spectacle. This was due to the fact that every day everything that began to lose heart or weaken was thrown out of the army. Everything that was physically and morally weak has long been left behind: there was only one color of the army - according to the strength of spirit and body.
The eighth company, which was blocking the wattle fence, gathered most of the people. Two sergeant majors sat down beside them, and their fire burned brighter than the others. They demanded an offering of firewood for the right to sit under the wattle fence.
- Hey, Makeev, what are you .... disappeared or wolves ate you? Bring some wood, - shouted one red-haired red-haired soldier, squinting and blinking from the smoke, but not moving away from the fire. “Come at least you, crow, carry firewood,” this soldier turned to another. The redhead was not a non-commissioned officer and not a corporal, but was a healthy soldier, and therefore commanded those who were weaker than him. A thin, small, pointed-nosed soldier, who was called a crow, obediently got up and went to carry out the order, but at that time, the thin, beautiful figure of a young soldier, carrying a load of firewood, stepped into the light of the fire.
- Come here. That's important!
Firewood was broken, pressed, blown with mouths and the floors of overcoats, and the flame hissed and crackled. The soldiers moved closer and lit their pipes. The young, handsome soldier who brought the firewood propped himself on his hips and began to quickly and deftly stomp his chilled feet in place.
“Ah, mother, cold dew, yes good, but in a musketeer ...” he sang, as if hiccuping on every syllable of the song.
- Hey, the soles will fly off! shouted the redhead, noticing that the dancer's sole was dangling. - What a poison to dance!
The dancer stopped, tore off the dangling skin and threw it into the fire.
“And that, brother,” he said; and, sitting down, he took from his knapsack a piece of blue French cloth and began to wrap it around his leg. “A couple of them went in,” he added, stretching his legs towards the fire.
“The new ones will be released soon. They say we'll kill to the end, then everyone will get double goods.
- And you see, the son of a bitch Petrov, lagged behind, - said the sergeant major.
“I've been noticing it for a long time,” said another.
Yes, soldier...
- And in the third company, they said, nine people were missing yesterday.
- Yes, just judge how you chill your legs, where will you go?
- Oh, empty talk! - said the sergeant major.
- Ali and you want the same? - said the old soldier, reproachfully addressing the one who said that his legs were shivering.
– What do you think? - suddenly rising from behind the fire, a sharp-nosed soldier, who was called a crow, spoke in a squeaky and trembling voice. - He who is smooth will lose weight, and death to the thin. At least here I am. I have no urine,” he said suddenly decisively, turning to the sergeant-major, “they were sent to the hospital, the aches had overcome; and then you stay behind...
“Well, you will, you will,” the sergeant-major said calmly. The soldier fell silent, and the conversation continued.
- Today, you never know these Frenchmen were taken; and, frankly, there are no real boots, so, one name, - one of the soldiers began a new conversation.
- All the Cossacks were amazed. They cleaned the hut for the colonel, carried them out. It's a pity to watch, guys, - said the dancer. - They tore them apart: so alive alone, do you believe it, mutters something in its own way.
“A pure people, guys,” said the first. - White, like a white birch, and there are brave ones, say, noble ones.
– How do you think? He has been recruited from all ranks.
“But they don’t know anything in our language,” the dancer said with a smile of bewilderment. - I tell him: “Whose crown?”, And he mumbles his own. Wonderful people!
“After all, it’s tricky, my brothers,” continued the one who was surprised at their whiteness, “the peasants near Mozhaisk said how they began to clean up the beaten ones, where there were guards, so what, he says, their dead lay there for a month. Well, he says, he lies, he says, theirs is how the paper is white, clean, it doesn’t smell like gunpowder blue.
- Well, from the cold, or what? one asked.
- Eka you're smart! By cold! It was hot. If it were from the cold, ours would not be rotten either. And then, he says, you will come to ours, all, he says, is rotten in worms. So, he says, we will tie ourselves with scarves, yes, turning our faces away, and dragging; no urine. And theirs, he says, is white as paper; does not smell of gunpowder blue.
Everyone was silent.
- It must be from food, - said the sergeant major, - they ate the master's food.
Nobody objected.
- Said this man, near Mozhaisk, where there were guards, they were driven from ten villages, they drove twenty days, they didn’t take everyone, then the dead. These wolves that, he says ...
“That guard was real,” said the old soldier. - There was only something to remember; and then everything after that ... So, only torment for the people.
- And that, uncle. The day before yesterday we ran, so where they do not allow themselves. They left the guns alive. On your knees. Sorry, he says. So, just one example. They said that Platov took Polion himself twice. Doesn't know the word. He will take it: he will pretend to be a bird in his hands, fly away, and fly away. And there's no way to kill either.
- Eka lie, you're healthy, Kiselev, I'll look at you.
- What a lie, the truth is true.
- And if it were my custom, if I caught him, I would bury him in the ground. Yes, with an aspen stake. And what ruined the people.
“We’ll do everything in one end, he won’t walk,” the old soldier said, yawning.
The conversation fell silent, the soldiers began to pack.
- Look, the stars, passion, are burning like that! Say, the women laid out the canvases, - said the soldier, admiring the Milky Way.
- This, guys, is for the harvest year.
- Drovets will still be needed.
“You’ll warm your back, but your belly will freeze.” Here is a miracle.
- Oh my God!
- Why are you pushing - about you alone fire, or what? You see... collapsed.
From behind the silence that was being established, the snoring of some of the sleepers was heard; the rest turned and warmed themselves, occasionally speaking. A friendly, cheerful laughter was heard from a distant, about a hundred paces, fire.
“Look, they’re rattling in the fifth company,” said one soldier. - And the people that - passion!
One soldier got up and went to the fifth company.
“That’s laughter,” he said, returning. “Two keepers have landed. One is frozen at all, and the other is so courageous, byada! Songs are playing.
- Oh oh? go see…” Several soldiers moved towards the fifth company.
The fifth company stood near the forest itself. A huge fire burned brightly in the middle of the snow, illuminating the branches of trees weighed down with frost.
In the middle of the night, the soldiers of the 5th company heard footsteps in the snow and the squawking of branches in the forest.
“Guys, witch,” said one soldier. Everyone raised their heads, listened, and out of the forest, into the bright light of the fire, stepped out two, holding each other, human, strangely dressed figures.
They were two Frenchmen hiding in the forest. Hoarsely saying something in a language incomprehensible to the soldiers, they approached the fire. One was taller, wearing an officer's hat, and seemed quite weak. Approaching the fire, he wanted to sit down, but fell to the ground. Another, small, stocky, soldier tied with a handkerchief around his cheeks, was stronger. He raised his comrade and, pointing to his mouth, said something. The soldiers surrounded the French, laid out an overcoat for the sick man, and brought both porridge and vodka.
The weakened French officer was Rambal; tied with a handkerchief was his batman Morel.
When Morel drank vodka and finished the bowl of porridge, he suddenly became painfully amused and began to say something to the soldiers who did not understand him. Rambal refused to eat and silently lay on his elbow by the fire, looking with meaningless red eyes at the Russian soldiers. From time to time he let out a long groan and fell silent again. Morel, pointing to his shoulders, inspired the soldiers that it was an officer and that he needed to be warmed up. A Russian officer, approaching the fire, sent to ask the colonel if he would take a French officer to warm him up; and when they returned and said that the colonel had ordered the officer to be brought in, Rambal was told to go. He got up and wanted to go, but staggered and would have fallen if a soldier standing nearby had not supported him.
- What? You will not? one soldier said with a mocking wink, addressing Rambal.
- Hey, fool! What a lie! That is a peasant, really, a peasant, - reproaches were heard from different sides to the joking soldier. They surrounded Rambal, lifted the two in their arms, intercepted by them, and carried them to the hut. Rambal hugged the necks of the soldiers and, when they carried him, spoke plaintively:
– Oh, nies braves, oh, mes bons, mes bons amis! Voila des hommes! oh, mes braves, mes bons amis! [Oh well done! O my good, good friends! Here are the people! O my good friends!] - and, like a child, he bowed his head on the shoulder of one soldier.
Meanwhile, Morel sat in the best place, surrounded by soldiers.
Morel, a small stocky Frenchman, with inflamed, watery eyes, tied around with a woman's handkerchief over his cap, was dressed in a woman's fur coat. He, apparently drunk, put his arm around the soldier who was sitting beside him, and sang a French song in a hoarse, broken voice. The soldiers held their sides, looking at him.
- Come on, come on, teach me how? I will pass quickly. How? .. - said the joker songwriter, whom Morel was embracing.
Vive Henri Quatre,
Vive ce roi vaillanti -
[Long live Henry the Fourth!
Long live this brave king!
etc. (French song)]
sang Morel, winking his eye.
Ce diable a quatre…
- Vivarika! Wif seruvaru! sidblyaka…” the soldier repeated, waving his hand and really catching the tune.
- Look, smart! Go ho ho ho! .. - coarse, joyful laughter rose from different sides. Morel, grimacing, laughed too.
- Well, go ahead, go on!
Qui eut le triple talent,
De boire, de battre,
Et d "etre un vert galant ...
[Having a triple talent,
drink, fight
and be kind...]
- But it's also difficult. Well, well, Zaletaev! ..
“Kyu…” Zaletaev said with an effort. “Kyu yu yu…” he drew out, diligently protruding his lips, “letriptala, de bu de ba and detravagala,” he sang.
- Oh, it's important! That's so guardian! oh… ho ho ho! “Well, do you still want to eat?”
- Give him some porridge; after all, it will not soon eat up from hunger.
Again he was given porridge; and Morel, chuckling, set to work on the third bowler hat. Joyful smiles stood on all the faces of the young soldiers who looked at Morel. The old soldiers, who considered it indecent to engage in such trifles, lay on the other side of the fire, but occasionally, rising on their elbows, looked at Morel with a smile.
“People too,” said one of them, dodging in his overcoat. - And the wormwood grows on its root.
– Oo! Lord, Lord! How stellar, passion! To frost ... - And everything calmed down.
The stars, as if knowing that now no one would see them, played out in the black sky. Now flashing, now fading, now shuddering, they busily whispered among themselves about something joyful, but mysterious.
X
The French troops were gradually melting away in a mathematically correct progression. And that crossing over the Berezina, about which so much has been written, was only one of the intermediate steps in the destruction of the French army, and not at all the decisive episode of the campaign. If so much has been written and written about the Berezina, then on the part of the French this happened only because on the Berezinsky broken bridge, the disasters that the French army had previously suffered evenly, suddenly grouped here at one moment and into one tragic spectacle that everyone remembered. On the part of the Russians, they talked and wrote so much about the Berezina only because far from the theater of war, in St. Petersburg, a plan was drawn up (by Pfuel) to capture Napoleon in a strategic trap on the Berezina River. Everyone was convinced that everything would actually be exactly as planned, and therefore they insisted that it was the Berezinsky crossing that killed the French. In essence, the results of the Berezinsky crossing were much less disastrous for the French in the loss of guns and prisoners than the Red, as the figures show.
The only significance of the Berezina crossing lies in the fact that this crossing obviously and undoubtedly proved the falsity of all plans for cutting off and the validity of the only possible course of action required by both Kutuzov and all the troops (mass) - only following the enemy. The crowd of Frenchmen ran with an ever-increasing force of speed, with all their energy directed towards the goal. She ran like a wounded animal, and it was impossible for her to stand on the road. This was proved not so much by the arrangement of the crossing as by the movement on the bridges. When the bridges were broken through, unarmed soldiers, Muscovites, women with children, who were in the French convoy - everything, under the influence of inertia, did not give up, but ran forward into the boats, into the frozen water.
This endeavor was reasonable. The position of both the fleeing and the pursuing was equally bad. Staying with his own, each in distress hoped for the help of a comrade, for a certain place he occupied among his own. Having given himself over to the Russians, he was in the same position of distress, but he was placed on a lower level in the section of satisfying the needs of life. The French did not need to have correct information that half of the prisoners, with whom they did not know what to do, despite all the desire of the Russians to save them, were dying of cold and hunger; they felt that it could not be otherwise. The most compassionate Russian commanders and hunters of the French, the French in the Russian service could not do anything for the prisoners. The French were ruined by the disaster in which the Russian army was. It was impossible to take away bread and clothes from hungry, necessary soldiers, in order to give them not to harmful, not hated, not guilty, but simply unnecessary Frenchmen. Some did; but that was the only exception.
Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman(b. June 13, 1966, Leningrad, USSR) - an outstanding Russian mathematician who was the first to prove the Poincaré conjecture.
Grigory Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Leningrad into a Jewish family. His father Yakov was an electrical engineer and emigrated to Israel in 1993. Mother, Lyubov Leibovna, remained in St. Petersburg, worked as a mathematics teacher at a vocational school. It was the mother, who played the violin, who instilled in the future mathematician a love for classical music.
Until the 9th grade, Perelman studied at a secondary school on the outskirts of the city, however, in the 5th grade, he began studying at the mathematical center at the Palace of Pioneers under the guidance of an associate professor at the Russian State Pedagogical University Sergei Rukshin, whose students won many awards at mathematical olympiads. In 1982, as part of a team of Soviet schoolchildren, he won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, receiving a full score for the perfect solution of all problems. Perelman graduated from the 239th Physics and Mathematics School in Leningrad. He played table tennis well, attended a music school. I didn’t get a gold medal only because of physical education, without passing the TRP standards.
He was enrolled without exams in the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Leningrad State University. He won faculty, city and all-Union student mathematical Olympiads. All the years I studied only "excellently". For academic success, he received a Lenin scholarship. After graduating with honors from the university, he entered graduate school (supervisor - Academician A. D. Aleksandrov) at the Leningrad Department of the Mathematical Institute. V. A. Steklova (LOMI - until 1992; then - POMI). Having defended his Ph.D. thesis in 1990, he remained to work at the institute as a senior researcher.
In the early 1990s, Perelman came to the United States, where he worked as a researcher at various universities, where one of the most difficult, at that time not yet solved, problems of modern mathematics, the Poincaré Conjecture, attracted his attention. He surprised his colleagues with the austerity of life, his favorite food was milk, bread and cheese. In 1996 he returned to St. Petersburg, continuing to work at POMI, where he worked alone on solving the Poincare Problem.
In 2002-2003, Grigory Perelman published his three famous articles on the Internet, in which he summarized his original method for solving the Poincare Problem:
- The entropy formula for the Ricci flow and its geometric applications
- Ricci flow with surgery on three-manifolds
- Finite extinction time for the solutions to the Ricci flow on certain three-manifolds
The appearance on the Internet of Perelman's first article on the entropy formula for the Ricci flow caused an immediate international sensation in scientific circles. In 2003, Grigory Perelman accepted an invitation to visit a number of American universities, where he made a series of presentations on his work in proving the Poincare Problem. In America, Perelman spent a lot of time explaining his ideas and methods both in public lectures organized for him and during personal meetings with a number of mathematicians. After his return to Russia, he answered numerous questions from his foreign colleagues by e-mail.
In 2004-2006, three independent groups of mathematicians were engaged in verification of Perelman's results: 1) Bruce Kleiner, John Lott, University of Michigan; 2) Zhu Xiping, Sun Yat-sen University, Cao Huaidong, Lehai University; 3) John Morgan, Columbia University, Gan Tian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All three groups concluded that the Poincaré problem had been successfully solved, but the Chinese mathematicians Zhu Xiping and Cao Huaidong, along with their teacher Yau Xingtang, attempted to plagiarize, claiming that they had found a "complete proof". They subsequently retracted this statement.
In December 2005, Grigory Perelman resigned as a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, resigned from POMI, and almost completely cut off contacts with colleagues.
He showed no interest in a further scientific career. Currently, he lives in Kupchino in the same apartment with his mother, leads a secluded life, ignores the press.
Scientific contribution
Main article: Poincare conjecture
In 1994 he proved the hypothesis about the soul (differential geometry).
Grigory Perelman, in addition to his outstanding natural talent, being a representative of the Leningrad school of geometry, at the beginning of his work on the Poincaré Problem, had a broader scientific outlook than his foreign colleagues. In addition to other major mathematical innovations that made it possible to overcome all the difficulties faced by mathematicians dealing with this problem, Perelman developed and applied the purely Leningrad theory of Alexandrov spaces to analyze Ricci flows. In 2002, Perelman first published his pioneering work on solving one of the special cases of William Thurston's geometrization conjecture, from which the famous Poincaré conjecture, formulated by the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher Henri Poincaré in 1904, follows. The method described by the scientist for studying the Ricci flow is called Hamilton-Perelman theories.
Recognition and ratings
In 1996 he was awarded the European Mathematical Society Prize for Young Mathematicians, but refused to receive it.
In 2006, Grigory Perelman was awarded the international Fields Medal for solving the Poincaré conjecture (the official wording of the award was: “For his contribution to geometry and his revolutionary ideas in the study of the geometric and analytical structure of the Ricci flow”), but he refused it.
In 2006, the journal Science named the proof of Poincaré's theorem the Scientific Breakthrough of the Year. Breakthrough of the Year). This is the first work in mathematics that has earned such a title.
In 2006, Sylvia Nazar and David Gruber published "Manifold Destiny," an article about Grigory Perelman, his work on the Poincare Problem, ethical principles in science and the mathematical community, and a rare interview with him. The article devotes considerable space to the criticism of the Chinese mathematician Yau Xingtang, who, together with his students, tried to challenge the completeness of the proof of the Poincare Conjecture proposed by Grigory Perelman. From an interview with Grigory Perelman:
In 2006, The New York Times published an article by Dennis Overbye, Scientist at Work: Shing-Tung Yau. The Emperor of Math. The article is devoted to the biography of Professor Yau Shintang and the scandal associated with accusations against him of trying to belittle Perelman's contribution to the proof of the Poincaré Hypothesis. The article cites a fact unheard of in mathematics - Yau Shintang hired a law firm to defend his case and threatened to sue his critics.
In 2007, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a list of "One Hundred Living Geniuses", in which Grigory Perelman takes 9th place. In addition to Perelman, only 2 Russians made it to this list - Garry Kasparov (25th place) and Mikhail Kalashnikov (83rd place).
In March 2010, the Clay Mathematical Institute awarded Grigory Perelman a $1 million prize for proving the Poincaré Conjecture, the first ever award for solving a Millennium Problem. In June 2010, Perelman ignored a mathematical conference in Paris, which was supposed to present the Millennium Prize for proving the Poincaré conjecture, and on July 1, 2010 he publicly announced his refusal of the prize, motivating it as follows:
Note that such a public assessment of the merits of Richard Hamilton by a mathematician who proved the Poincare Conjecture may be an example of nobility in science, since, according to Perelman himself, Hamilton, who collaborated with Yau Shintan, noticeably slowed down in his research, faced with insurmountable technical difficulties.
In September 2011, the Clay Institute, together with the Henri Poincaré Institute (Paris), established a position for young mathematicians, the money for which will come from the Millennium Prize awarded, but not accepted by Grigory Perelman.
In 2011, Richard Hamilton and Demetrios Christodoul were awarded the so-called. The $1,000,000 Shao Prize in Mathematics, also sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize of the East. Richard Hamilton was awarded for the creation of a mathematical theory, which was then developed by Grigory Perelman in his work on the proof of the Poincaré conjecture. It is known that Hamilton accepted this award.
Interesting Facts
- In his work "The entropy formula for the Ricci flow and its geometric applications" (Eng. The entropy formula for the Ricci flow and its geometric applications) Grigory Perelman, not without humor, modestly points out that his work was partially funded by personal savings saved during his visits to the Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the State University of New York (SUNY), the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the University of California to Berkeley, and thanks the organizers of these trips. At the same time, millions of grants were allocated by the official mathematical community for individual research groups in order to understand and test Perelman's work.
- When a member of the hiring committee at Stanford University asked Perelman for C.V. (summary), as well as letters of recommendation, Perelman opposed:
- The article Manifold Destiny was noticed by the eminent mathematician Vladimir Arnold, who offered to reprint it in the Moscow journal Uspekhi matematicheskikh nauk, where he was a member of the editorial board. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Sergei Novikov, refused him. According to Arnold, the refusal was due to the fact that the editor-in-chief of the magazine was afraid of revenge from Yau, since he also worked in the United States.
- The biographical book of Masha Gessen tells about the fate of Perelman “Perfect severity. Grigory Perelman: genius and the task of the millennium, based on numerous interviews with his teachers, classmates, colleagues and colleagues. Perelman's teacher Sergei Rukshin was critical of the book.
- Grigory Perelman became the protagonist of the documentary film "The Enchantment of the Poincaré Hypothesis" directed by Masahito Kasugi, filmed by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK in 2008.
- In April 2010, the release of the “Millionaire from Khrushchev” talk show “Let them talk” was dedicated to Grigory Perelman. Grigory's friends, his school teachers, as well as journalists who communicated with Perelman took part in it.
- In the 27th edition of "Big Difference" on Channel One, a parody was presented in the hall on Grigory Perelman. The role of Perelman was simultaneously performed by 9 actors.
- It is a common misconception that the father of Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman is Yakov Isidorovich Perelman, a well-known popularizer of physics, mathematics and astronomy. However, Ya. I. Perelman died more than 20 years before the birth of Grigory Perelman.
- On April 28, 2011, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that Perelman gave an interview to Alexander Zabrovsky, executive producer of the Moscow film company President Film, and agreed to shoot a feature film about him. Masha Gessen, however, doubts that these claims are true. Vladimir Gubailovsky also believes that the interview with Perelman is fictitious.
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Magazine version of one of the chapters of the new book Nick. Gorky "Undiscovered Worlds" (St. Petersburg: "Astrel", 2018).
Mathematicians are special people. They are so deeply immersed in abstract worlds that, "returning to Earth", they often cannot adapt to real life and surprise others with unusual views and actions. We will talk about perhaps the most talented and extraordinary of them - Grigory Perelman.
In 1982, sixteen-year-old Grisha Perelman, who had just received a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, entered Leningrad University. He was noticeably different from other students. His supervisor, Professor Yuri Dmitrievich Burago, said: “There are a lot of gifted students who speak before they think. Grisha was not like that. He always thought very carefully and deeply about what he intended to say. He was not very quick in making decisions. The speed of the solution does not mean anything, mathematics is not built on speed. Mathematics depends on depth."
After graduating from the university, Grigory Perelman became an employee of the Steklov Mathematical Institute, published a number of interesting articles on three-dimensional surfaces in Euclidean spaces. The world mathematical community appreciated his achievements on merit. In 1992, Perelman was invited to work at New York University.
Gregory ended up in one of the world's centers of mathematical thought. Every week he went to a seminar in Princeton, where one day he listened to a lecture by the eminent mathematician, professor at Columbia University, Richard Hamilton. After the lecture, Perelman approached the professor and asked a few questions. Perelman later recalled this meeting: “It was very important for me to ask him about something. He smiled and was very patient with me. He even told me a couple of things that he didn't publish until a few years later. He shared it with me without hesitation. I really liked his openness and generosity. I can say that in this Hamilton was not like most other mathematicians.
Perelman spent several years in the USA. He walked around New York in the same corduroy jacket, ate mostly bread, cheese and milk, and worked non-stop. He began to be invited to the most prestigious universities in America. The young man chose Harvard and then faced the fact that he categorically did not like it. The recruitment committee required an autobiography and letters of recommendation from other scientists from the applicant. Perelman's reaction was harsh: “If they know my work, then they don't need my biography. If they want my biography, they don't know my work." He refused all offers and returned to Russia in the summer of 1995, where he continued to work on the ideas that Hamilton developed. In 1996, Perelman was awarded the European Mathematical Society Prize for Young Mathematicians, but he, who did not like any hype, refused to accept it.
When Gregory made some progress in his research, he wrote a letter to Hamilton, hoping for a joint work. However, he did not answer, and Perelman had to proceed alone. But ahead of him was waiting for world fame.
In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute published a Millennium Problem List, which included seven classic mathematics problems that have been unsolved for many years, and promised a million-dollar prize for proving any of them. Less than two years later, on November 11, 2002, Grigory Perelman published an article on a scientific website on the Internet, in which he summed up his many years of efforts to prove one problem from the list on 39 pages. American mathematicians, who knew Perelman personally, immediately began to discuss the article, which proved the famous Poincaré conjecture. The scientist was invited to several US universities to give a course of lectures on his proof, and in April 2003 he flew to America. There, Gregory held several seminars, where he showed how he managed to turn the Poincaré conjecture into a theorem. The mathematical community recognized Perelman's lectures as an extremely important event and made significant efforts to verify the proposed proof.
Details for the curious
Poincare problem
Jules Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) - an outstanding French mathematician, mechanic, physicist, astronomer and philosopher, head of the Paris Academy of Sciences and a member of more than 30 academies of sciences in the world. The problem formulated by Poincare in 1904 belongs to the field of topology.
For topology, the main property of space is its continuity. Any spatial forms that can be obtained from one another with the help of stretching and curvature, without cuts and gluing, are considered the same in topology (as a good example, the transformation of a cup into a donut is often shown). The Poincaré conjecture states that in four-dimensional space all three-dimensional surfaces belonging to compact manifolds are topologically equivalent to a sphere.
The proof of the conjecture by Grigory Perelman made it possible to develop a new methodological approach to solving topological problems, which is of great importance for the further development of mathematics.
Paradoxically, Perelman did not receive grants to prove the Poincaré hypothesis, and other scientists who tested his correctness received grants worth a million dollars. Verification was extremely important, because many mathematicians worked on the proof of this problem, and if it was really solved, then they remained out of work.
The mathematical community tested Perelman's proof for several years and by 2006 came to the conclusion that it was correct. Yuri Burago then wrote: “The proof closes a whole branch of mathematics. After it, many scientists will have to switch to research in other areas.”
Mathematics has always been considered the most rigorous and precise science, where there is no place for emotions and intrigues. But even here there is a struggle for priority. Passions boiled around the proof of the Russian mathematician. Two young mathematicians, immigrants from China, having studied the work of Perelman, published a much more voluminous and detailed - more than three hundred pages - article with a proof of the Poincaré conjecture. In it, they argued that Perelman's work contains many gaps that they managed to fill. According to the rules of the mathematical community, the priority in proving a theorem belongs to those researchers who managed to present it in the most complete form. In the opinion of many experts, Perelman's proof was complete, although brief. More detailed calculations did not bring anything new to it.
When journalists asked Perelman what he thought about the position of Chinese mathematicians, Grigory replied: “I cannot say that I am outraged, the rest are doing even worse. Of course, there are many more or less honest mathematicians. But almost all of them are conformists. They themselves are honest, but they tolerate those who are not." He then noted bitterly: “It is not those who violate ethical standards in science that are considered outsiders. People like me are the ones who end up in isolation.”
In 2006, Grigory Perelman was awarded the highest honor in mathematics, the Fields Medal. But the mathematician, leading a solitary, even reclusive lifestyle, refused to receive it. It was a real scandal. The President of the International Mathematical Union even flew to St. Petersburg and for ten hours persuaded Perelman to accept a well-deserved award, which was planned to be presented at the Congress of Mathematicians on August 22, 2006 in Madrid in the presence of the Spanish King Juan Carlos I and three thousand participants. This congress was supposed to be a historic event, but Perelman politely but adamantly said: "I refuse." The Fields medal, according to Gregory, did not interest him at all: “It does not matter. Everyone understands that if the proof is correct, then no other recognition of merit is required.
In 2010, the Clay Institute awarded Perelman the promised million-dollar prize for proving the Poincaré conjecture, which was going to be presented to him at a mathematical conference in Paris. Perelman refused a million dollars and did not go to Paris.
As he himself explained, he does not like the ethical atmosphere in the mathematical community. In addition, he considered the contribution of Richard Hamilton no less. The winner of many mathematical prizes, the Soviet, American and French mathematician M. L. Gromov supported Perelman: “For great things, a clear mind is needed. You have to think only about mathematics. Everything else is human weakness. To accept a reward is to show weakness."
The rejection of a million dollars made Perelman even more famous. Many asked him to receive the prize and give it to them. Gregory did not respond to such requests.
Until now, the proof of the Poincare conjecture remains the only solved problem from the list of the millennium. Perelman became the number one mathematician in the world, although he refused to contact his colleagues. Life has shown that outstanding results in science were often achieved by individuals who were not part of the structure of modern science. That was Einstein. Working as a clerk in the patent office, he created the theory of relativity, developed the theory of the photoelectric effect and the principle of operation of lasers. This was Perelman, who neglected the rules of conduct in the scientific community and at the same time achieved the maximum efficiency of his work, proving the Poincaré hypothesis.
The Clay Institute of Mathematics (Cambridge, USA) was founded in 1998 by businessman Landon Clay and mathematician Arthur Jeffey to increase and disseminate mathematical knowledge.
The Fields Prize for Excellence in Mathematics has been awarded since 1936.
The famous St. Petersburg mathematician Grigory Perelman, who proved the Poincaré conjecture, went to live in Sweden. This writes "Komsomolskaya Pravda" with reference to an anonymous source.
Disappears for months
The legendary scientist, who once shocked the world with his refusal of a million dollar prize for proving the Poincaré hypothesis, still attracts attention to this day. This man with long hair and uncut nails is called the man of the world. He entered the list of the hundred most famous people on the planet. For many years, reporters hunted for a man of mystery who chose the lifestyle of an ascetic in a tiny apartment in St. Petersburg Khrushchev. But only a couple of times it was possible to photograph the recluse going to the store with a string bag. The unsociable genius basically did not want to give an interview.
For the past couple of years, nothing has been heard of him at all. Neighbors assured: periodically Perelman disappears somewhere. He is not seen for weeks and even months. And then came the unexpected news.
"Nothing to live on"
Four years ago, I wrote about the life of Perelman and met a mathematician with whom Grigory Yakovlevich sometimes communicates on scientific topics. This man took his word that we would not reveal his name and made a splash.
No one knows about this yet, but Grigory Yakovlevich recently left for Sweden, he said. - Perelman simply has nothing to live on. He existed on his mother's pension. For many years after the proven Poincaré conjecture, he did not work anywhere. He declared that he was done with science, but he missed it terribly. Petersburg university called him to teach, offering a salary of 17 thousand rubles. Perelman was not satisfied with either the money or the working conditions. Refused. But he secretly hoped that his financial situation would improve over time. He believes that mathematics is “a lonely business” and it is impossible to consider science as a commodity ...
And then a couple of months ago, a Swedish private R&D firm made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He had the opportunity to do what he loves, while receiving a decent salary.
Doing what he loves
Is that really true? I turn to the Israeli TV producer Alexander Zabrovsky. It was he who was eager to make a feature film about Perelman and for several years persuaded the mathematician to agree to this.
Yes, Perelman works in Sweden, it's true, - Zabrovsky confirmed in an informal conversation. - Moreover, it was with my help that Grigory Yakovlevich managed to solve financial problems and find a job he liked.
And how did you help him?
I struggled for a long time to establish more or less friendly relations with Perelman. And he knew in what terrible conditions he lives. At work, I regularly communicate with a Swedish company. And somehow he told the Swedes about the Russian genius. They were suddenly interested. They raised their connections and reported that one private Swedish firm that is engaged in scientific development is ready to hire Perelman. I conveyed their proposal to Grigory Yakovlevich. And he, thinking, agreed. He was given a decent monthly salary, given housing in one of the small towns in Sweden. Now he is doing what he loves and no longer experiences financial problems. Mom went with him. Grigory Yakovlevich's half-sister is also there. Science knows no geographical or national barriers. The main thing is that his mind benefits society and he himself feels good and comfortable.
Work related to nanotechnology
The FMS of St. Petersburg confirmed to us: Mr. Perelman received a passport and a visa for a period of 10 years and traveled to Sweden at the invitation. The documents indicate the reason for the trip - "scientific activity". And for the first time he traveled to Sweden back in 2013. At the same time, the mathematician remains a citizen of Russia.
As Komsomolskaya Pravda found out, Perelman's work schedule is free - there are no restrictions on movement and requirements to appear “in the office” every day. Geographically, it can be anywhere: both in Sweden and in Russia. The work is related to nanotechnology. Grigory Yakovlevich keeps in touch with his employers by phone - they communicate in English, which Perelman knows perfectly well.
Well, perhaps the world will hear about the new achievements of the famous mathematician.
Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman (b. June 13, 1966, Leningrad) is an outstanding Russian mathematician who was the first to prove the Poincaré conjecture.
Biography
Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Leningrad. His father was an electrical engineer and emigrated to Israel in 1993. Mother remained in St. Petersburg, worked as a mathematics teacher at a vocational school. It is a common misconception that Grigory Perelman is the son of the famous science popularizer Yakov Perelman, but he died in March 1942 in besieged Leningrad.
Perelman graduated from the 239th Physics and Mathematics School in Leningrad. In 1982, as part of a team of Soviet schoolchildren, he won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad, held in Budapest. He was enrolled at the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Leningrad State University without exams. He won faculty, city and all-Union student mathematical Olympiads. All the years I studied only "excellently". For academic success, he received a Lenin scholarship. After graduating with honors from the university, he entered graduate school at the Leningrad Department of the Mathematical Institute. V. A. Steklova (POMI). Having defended his Ph.D. thesis, he remained to work at the institute as a senior researcher.
In the late 1980s, Perelman came to the United States, where he worked as a research assistant at various universities. In 1996 he returned to St. Petersburg, where he worked at POMI. In December 2005, he resigned as a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, resigned from POMI, and almost completely cut off contacts with colleagues.
He showed no interest in a further scientific career. Currently, he lives in Kupchino in the same apartment with his mother, leads a secluded life, ignores the press.
Scientific contribution
Grigory Perelman is known for his works on the theory of Alexandrov spaces, he managed to prove a number of hypotheses.
In 2002, Perelman first published his pioneering work on solving one of the special cases of William Thurston's geometrization conjecture, from which the famous Poincaré conjecture, formulated by the French mathematician, physicist and philosopher Henri Poincaré in 1904, follows. The method described by the scientist for studying the Ricci flow was called the Hamilton-Perelman theory.
In 2006, Grigory Perelman was awarded the international prize "Fields Medal" for solving the Poincaré conjecture, but he refused it.
In 2006, the journal Science named the proof of Poincaré's theorem the scientific "Breakthrough of the Year". This is the first work in mathematics that has earned such a title.
In 2006, Sylvia Nazar wrote the article "Manifold Destiny" (Eng.), which talks about Grigory Perelman and the mathematical community and contains a rare interview with him.
In 2007, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a list of 100 living geniuses, in which Grigory Perelman takes 9th place. In addition to Perelman, only 2 Russians made it to this list - Garry Kasparov (25th place) and Mikhail Kalashnikov (83rd place).
On March 18, 2010, the Clay Mathematical Institute announced that it had awarded Grigory Perelman a $1 million prize for proving the Poincaré conjecture. This is the first ever award for solving one of the Millennium Problems. It remains unclear whether Perelman will accept this award.
