Perfect rigor
by Masha Gessen · first published 2009
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Gives a detailed account of Grigori Perelman's life and his proof of the Poincare Conjecture, including the mathematics and Soviet-era context; recommended for anyone interested in the problem's history and the man.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A sociological and anthropological biography of Grigori Perelman, a Russian mathematician who proved Poincare's Conjecture, becoming the first person to win a million-dollar prize (which he refused to accept) from by the Clay Mathematical Institute for solving one of their Millennium Problems.
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I recommend reading "Perfect Rigor - A genius & the mathematical breakthrough of the century" by Masha Gessen. It provides the best possible insights into Perelman's life and work and details why he most probably will not ever accept this…
on “First Clay Millennium Prize goes to Grigoriy Perelman” ↗The book "Perfect Rigor: A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century[0]" which details the life of Giorgi Perelman (who solved the famous Poincare Conjecture) gives a detailed account of antisemitic policies extant…
on “Soviet College Admission — My Dad's Story (1970)” ↗Yes. And Masha Gessen wrote an excellent book called Perfect Rigor about the proof and the man: https://jakeseliger.com/2016/11/29/perfect-rigor-a-genius-an.... Highly recommended.
on “Andrew Wiles: what does it feel like to do maths?” ↗…of reinforces, the 'various models' idea of the 'Zen...' book. Found the movie slightly better than the book, which was a surprise. Ang Lee has made subtle changes, which makes the story more peppy. Perfect Rigor - Captures the story (and math) behind, the turning down of a million dollar prize by Gregory Perelman. The genius Russian mathematician, who solved a 100 year old standing problem, of the missing proof…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗…by itself. That would surely be a great signal to see if these LLMs aren't just solving interesting puzzles and that they can came up with something truly novel. P.S I highly recommend Misha Green's "Perfect Rigor" for anyone interested in the history of the problem and the genius behind the proofs of the conjecture - Perleman. I found it an entertaining read and could digest its description of the problem as a…
on “Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science” ↗…noble and and dedicated to the purity of mathematics. It would serve as a great fable of the modern age. A man challenging the tripe and political aspects of society we have created. If you've read "Perfect Rigor", the book by Masha Gessen, it shows as far as I can tell that some of that is true. He doesn't believe in profiting from mathematics. At the same time, some of the stories make you wonder what he wants…
on “[It is official:] Russian math genius ignores $1 million Millennium Prize” ↗…more subtle in Perelman's case. And he was able to get what he wanted from the USSR system, in terms of going to the university he wanted. Masha Gessen has written a biography on Perelman in her book 'Perfect Rigor'. The book also serves as a commentary on the Russian Math culture (which is very very impressive by the way) and their education system. Now reading this article, I want to read Edward Frenkel's book…
on “The Fifth problem: math and anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union” ↗…his ideas in the cleanest way possible, he said. “You have only some kind of limited capacity in your head, so you can’t do too complicated things.” Grigori Perelman also worked this way. According to "Perfect Rigor" (Google Books link: https://goo.gl/tFe6hP): > Perelman did his thinking almost entirely inside his head, neither writing nor sketching on scratch paper.
on “The Oracle of Arithmetic” ↗If you read the book Perfect Rigor, about Grigori Perelman (solved the Poincare Conjecture - won the fields metal, but would not accept the 1MM dollar prize on principle) they tell multiple tails of anti-semitism in the Russian math departments…
on “Jewish problems (2011)” ↗…million dollar prize, for proving the Poincare conjecture, 100 year old standing problem, despite living in near-poverty. Stuff of legends. He also figure in sibling comment list. I read a book called Perfect Rigor, in that if I remember right, he could easily solve all the seven problems. Which happens rarely. Surely a living (and also tragic) genius. I get goose bumps just by typing this comment.
on “U.S. Team Wins First Place at International Math Olympiad” ↗