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I've been cut off from math gossip for some time, and I just want to confirm that Perelman has refused both the Fields medal and the Millennium Prize.
The Fields medal and the Millennium Prize are two prestigious awards in mathematics. The Fields medal, also known as the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is awarded every four years to 2-4 mathematicians under the age of 40 for their exceptional contributions to the field. The Millennium Prize, established in 2000, is a set of seven awards worth $1 million each for solving some of the most difficult problems in mathematics.
Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who is known for proving the Poincaré conjecture, one of the seven problems in the Millennium Prize. He also made significant contributions to the Ricci flow and the Geometrization conjecture. He gained worldwide recognition for his work but has since retired from mathematics and lives a reclusive life in Russia.
Perelman has not given a definitive answer as to why he refused both awards. However, it is speculated that he did not agree with the culture of competition and the commercialization of mathematics. He also expressed disappointment with the lack of recognition for his colleagues who contributed to the proofs of the Poincaré conjecture and the Geometrization conjecture.
Perelman's refusal of the Fields medal and the Millennium Prize sparked a debate about the culture and values in the mathematics community. Some praised him for standing up against the pressure to conform to traditional norms, while others criticized him for not accepting recognition for his groundbreaking work. It also brought attention to the issue of giving credit to all contributors in a collaborative field like mathematics.
Perelman was awarded the Clay Research Award in 2010 for his proof of the Poincaré conjecture. However, he declined the award and the prize money of $1 million. He also received the European Mathematical Society Prize in 2012, which he also declined. Perelman has stated that he does not need any awards or recognition for his work and is content with living a simple life in Russia.