MHB What lessons can we learn from Grisha Perelman's story?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ModusPonens
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Documentary
AI Thread Summary
A documentary on mathematician Grigori Perelman has been shared, highlighting his complex relationship with mathematics. The discussion centers on the dichotomy of motivations behind pursuing a career in mathematics, suggesting that while many enter the field for love or prestige, few do so for financial gain. Perelman’s withdrawal from mathematics is viewed as tragic, reflecting a broader theme of how the isolation and pressures within the field can lead to disillusionment. The conversation also touches on the human aspects of mathematicians, emphasizing that passion and pure intentions often correlate with success. Examples of other mathematicians who faced similar struggles are mentioned, underscoring the idea that true passion can drive significant contributions to the field. The hope is expressed that Perelman might have continued to engage with mathematics, potentially leading to more groundbreaking work.
ModusPonens
Hello

If, like me, you've been looking for a documentary on Perelman for a long time, here it it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng1W2KUHI2s

[youtube]Ng1W2KUHI2s[/youtube]

You can activate the English subtitles by clicking the "Captions" button.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I find that so sad. Here is my take on it:

You can claim you do what you do for love, or for money. If you claim both, you are lying to someone.
 
Deveno said:
I find that so sad. Here is my take on it:

You can claim you do what you do for love, or for money. If you claim both, you are lying to someone.

I don't think I understood your point. Is the fact that he no longer does mathematics what's sad?

No rational person does a PhD in mathematics for the money. A lot of people do it for the prestige and admiration rather than love for the discipline. But I don't know anybody who did it for money.
 
ModusPonens said:
I don't think I understood your point. Is the fact that he no longer does mathematics what's sad?

No rational person does a PhD in mathematics for the money. A lot of people do it for the prestige and admiration rather than love for the discipline. But I don't know anybody who did it for money.

It's a classic dichotomy. By "money" I don't actually mean cash, per se-there are lots of "surrogates" for financial wealth in the academic world: tenure, chair of a department, co-credit for important papers.

One often thinks of mathematicians as noble searchers for the truth. The truth is, they are human beings much like any other: a mixture of good and bad intentions, as varied as a smorgasbord.

And yes, what is sad is that Perelman became embittered by the very field he obviously loves. Almost a tragedy like those of the Greeks of antiquity. And, perhaps, a bit of instability at play here. Mathematics at its boundaries is a lonely place, and such solitude takes a heavy toll. He would not be the first great mathematician to have decided that the mathematical world had nothing to offer him: Grassmann and Grothendieck come immediately to mind.
 
Deveno said:
It's a classic dichotomy. By "money" I don't actually mean cash, per se-there are lots of "surrogates" for financial wealth in the academic world: tenure, chair of a department, co-credit for important papers.

One often thinks of mathematicians as noble searchers for the truth. The truth is, they are human beings much like any other: a mixture of good and bad intentions, as varied as a smorgasbord.

And yes, what is sad is that Perelman became embittered by the very field he obviously loves. Almost a tragedy like those of the Greeks of antiquity. And, perhaps, a bit of instability at play here. Mathematics at its boundaries is a lonely place, and such solitude takes a heavy toll. He would not be the first great mathematician to have decided that the mathematical world had nothing to offer him: Grassmann and Grothendieck come immediately to mind.

It's true that mathematicians are as much human as any other human. But I do think that the success of a mathematician is a lot more positively correlated with the purity of his intentions than people think. Maybe that's a romantic belief I have, idk. One thing that is common to all the people who really change a field of human endeavour, be it mathematics, physics, or comedy is a true passion about the subject.

Erdos didn't win the Fields medal that he deserved because he didn't even bother to reestablish the truth. Grothendieck's case is truly tragic, but he explains his motivation as pure childlike curiosity. Newton only published his work because another man urged him to do it. Feynman decided he wouldn't do anything that didn't interest him after the Manhatan project. And it was then that he made his best work. I'm sure there are plenty of cases I don't remember now. But these are the legends, the ones who are remembered because it's impossible to forget.

I wish Perelman had kept this in mind. Perhaps we would have him working on even more exciting things.
 
Thread 'RIP Chen Ning Yang (1922-2025)'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Chen-Ning ( photo from http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~yang/ ) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/science/chen-ning-yang-dead.html https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxrzzk02plo https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/press/mourning-professor-yang-chen-ning/ https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/physics/about/awards_and_prizes/_nobel_and_breakthrough_prizes/_profiles/yangc https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/physics/people/_profiles/yangc...
Thread 'In the early days of electricity, they didn't have wall plugs'
Hello scientists, engineers, etc. I have not had any questions for you recently, so have not participated here. I was scanning some material and ran across these 2 ads. I had posted them at another forum, and I thought you may be interested in them as well. History is fascinating stuff! Some houses may have had plugs, but many homes just screwed the appliance into the light socket overhead. Does anyone know when electric wall plugs were in widespread use? 1906 ad DDTJRAC Even big...
Back
Top