Biography. Grigory Perelman - biography, information, personal life Every simply connected compact three-dimensional manifold without an edge is homeomorphic to a three-dimensional sphere

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Brief biography of Grigory Perelman

Grigory Perelman is an outstanding Soviet mathematician who was the first to prove the Poincaré conjecture. Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Leningrad in the family of an electrical engineer from Israel and a mathematics teacher at a vocational school. During his school years, Grigory additionally studied mathematics with RGPU associate professor Sergei Rushkin, whose students more than once won awards at mathematical Olympiads. Grigory's first victory took place in 1982, when he, having flawlessly solved all the problems, received gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad, held in Budapest.

In addition to mathematics, the boy was interested in table tennis and music. Perelman graduated from school No. 239 with a physics and mathematics focus, but did not receive a gold medal only because of physical education, since he could not pass the GTO standards. Despite this, he was admitted to the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics at Leningrad State University without exams. During the years he spent at the university, he repeatedly participated in faculty and all-Union competitions and always won. His studies were easy for him and all his years were excellent, for which the future mathematician received a Lenin scholarship. Immediately after graduating from university, I entered graduate school. Having defended his PhD in 1990, he remained to work at the institute as a senior research fellow.

In the early 1990s, Perelman moved to the United States, where he worked at several universities. It was during this period that he became interested in one of the most complex and unsolved problems of modern mathematics - the Poincaré Conjecture. In 1996, the scientist returned to his homeland, where he continued to work on solving a complex hypothesis. A few years later, he published three articles on the Internet in which he originally described methods for solving the Poincaré conjecture. In scientific circles, this turned into an international sensation, and the mathematician’s articles immediately made him famous. They began to invite him to best universities world for public lectures.

From 2004 to 2006, three independent groups of mathematicians from different countries began to verify the results of Perelman’s work. Almost all of them came to the same conclusion that the hypothesis was successfully solved. During the same period, Grigory decides to resign from his position at the institute and now leads a rather secluded lifestyle.

The hero of the new issue of the “Icon of the Era” column is Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman. What is known about him is that he gave up a million dollars by proving the Poincaré Conjecture, which, in turn, is known to be extremely difficult to understand. Moreover, the sequence here is exactly this - the fact of refusing money excited the respectable public much more than “some kind of abstract mathematical calculation.” Now that the hype around this decision has subsided, let’s figure out who Grigory Perelman is for mathematics and what mathematics is for him.

Grigory Perelman

Born in 1966 in Leningrad

mathematician

Life path

Soviet Union had an outstanding mathematical tradition, therefore it is impossible to talk about Perelman’s childhood without mentioning the phenomenon of Soviet mathematics schools. In them, talented children were trained under the guidance of the best mentors; such an environment served as fertile soil for future outstanding achievements. However, despite the competent organization of the learning process, there was also discrimination inherent in the Soviet system, when even having an unusual surname could cost a place in the city’s national team or admission to a university.

Henri Poincaré

Perelman grew up in an intelligent family and showed interest in mathematics from childhood. However, once he got into the mathematical circle, he did not immediately become a leader. The first failures spurred him to work harder and influenced his character - unyielding and stubborn. These qualities helped the scientist decide main task own life.

Following a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest in 1982 and a brilliant graduation (there were not enough GTO standards passed for the gold medal) followed by the Mathematical Department of St. Petersburg State University, and later graduate school, where Perelman also studied exclusively with “excellent” marks. When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the scientist was faced with reality: science was experiencing a severe crisis. An internship in the USA unexpectedly took place, where the young scientist first met Richard Hamilton. The American mathematician made serious progress in solving the famous Poincaré problem. Moreover, he even outlined a plan, following which this decision could be reached. Perelman managed to communicate with him, and Hamilton made an indelible impression on him: he was open and spared no effort in explaining.

Institute building named after. Steklova in St. Petersburg

Despite offers to stay, at the end of the internship, Perelman returned to Russia, to his home apartment in a nine-story building in St. Petersburg in Kupchino (the notorious "ghetto" in the south of the city), and began working at the Mathematical Institute. Steklova. IN free time he reflected on the Poincaré Hypothesis and the ideas that Hamilton had told him about. At this time, the American, judging by the publications, was unable to advance further in his reasoning. Soviet education gave Perelman the opportunity to look at the problem from the other side, using his own approach. Hamilton no longer responded to letters, and this became the “green light” for Perelman: he began working on solving the Hypothesis.

Every simply connected compact three-dimensional manifold without boundary is homeomorphic to a three-dimensional sphere.

The Poincaré conjecture belongs to topology - that branch of mathematics that studies the most general properties of space. Like any other branch of mathematics, topology is extremely specific and precise in its formulations. Any simplifications and retellings in a “more accessible form” distort the essence and have little in common with the original. That is why, in the framework of this article, we will not talk about the well-known thought experiment with a mug, which, through continuous deformation, turns into a donut. Out of respect for the main character, we simply admit that it is difficult to explain the Poincaré Hypothesis to people far from mathematics. And for those who are ready to devote time and effort to this, we will provide several materials for independent study.

The three-dimensional sphere is the object referred to in the formulation of the Poincaré Hypothesis

It took Perelman seven years to solve this problem. He did not recognize conventions and did not submit his works to scientific journals for review (a common practice among scientists). In November 2002, Perelman published the first part of his calculations on arXiv.org, followed by two more. In them, in an extremely concise form, a problem even more general than the Poincaré Hypothesis was solved - this is the Thurston Geometrization Hypothesis, from which the first was a simple consequence. However, the scientific community received these works with caution. I was confused by the brevity of the solution and the complexity of the calculations that Perelman presented.

After the publication of the decision, Perelman again went to the United States. For several months he held seminars at various universities, talking about his work and patiently answering all questions. However main goal his trip included a meeting with Hamilton. It was not possible to communicate with the American scientist a second time, but Perelman again received an invitation to stay. He received a letter from Harvard asking him to send them his resume, to which he irritably replied: “If they know my work, they don’t need my CV. If they need my CV, they don't know my work."

Fields Medal

The next few years were marred by an attempt by Chinese mathematicians to claim credit for the discovery.(their interests were supervised by Professor Yau, a brilliant mathematician, one of the creators of the mathematical apparatus of String Theory), the unbearably long wait for verification of the work, which was carried out by three groups of scientists, and the hype in the press.

All this went against Perelman’s principles. Mathematics attracted him with its categorical honesty and unambiguity, which is the basis of this science. However, the intrigues of his colleagues, concerned about recognition and money, shook the scientist’s faith in the mathematical community, and he decided not to study mathematics anymore.

And although Perelman’s contribution was eventually appreciated, and Yau’s claims were ignored, the mathematician did not return to science. No Fields Medal (analogue Nobel Prize for mathematicians), nor the Millennium Prize (million dollars) he didn't accept. Perelman was extremely skeptical about the hype in the press and minimized contacts with former colleagues. To this day he lives in the same apartment in Kupchino.

Timeline

Born in Leningrad.

As part of a team of schoolchildren, he participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest.

Perelman was invited to spend a semester each at New York University and Stony Brook University.

Returned to the institute. Steklova.

november
2002 -
July 2003

Perelman posted three scientific articles on the website arXiv.org, which in an extremely condensed form contained a solution to one of the special cases of William Thurston’s Geometrization Hypothesis, leading to a proof of the Poincaré Hypothesis.

Perelman gave a series of lectures in the United States on his works.

Perelman's results were verified by three independent groups of mathematicians. All three groups concluded that Poincaré's Problem had been successfully solved, but Chinese mathematicians Zhu Xiping and Cao Huaidong, along with their teacher Yau Shintang, attempted plagiarism, claiming that they had found a "complete proof".

Russian mathematician, author of the proof of Poincaré's theorem - one of the fundamental problems of mathematics. Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He worked at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) department of the Steklov Mathematical Institute and taught at a number of US universities. Since 2003, he has not worked and hardly communicates with outsiders.

Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Leningrad. His father was an electrical engineer who immigrated to Israel in 1993. Mother remained in St. Petersburg, worked as a mathematics teacher at a vocational school.

Perelman graduated high school number 239 s in-depth study mathematics. In 1982, as part of a team of schoolchildren, he participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest. In the same year he was enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of Leningrad state university no exams. He won faculty, city and all-Union student mathematical Olympiads. All the years he studied, he received a Lenin scholarship and graduated from the university with honors.

He entered graduate school at the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) department of the Mathematical Institute named after. V. A. Steklov of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now RAS). Perelman's scientific supervisor was academician Alexander Danilovich Alexandrov. After defending his Ph.D. thesis, Perelman continued to work in the laboratory of mathematical physics at the Steklov Institute.

In 1992, Perelman was invited to spend a semester each at New York University and Stony Brook University, then he continued teaching and scientific work in Berkeley. In 1996 he returned to the Steklov Institute.

Perelman is known for his work on the theory of Alexandrov spaces and was able to prove a number of hypotheses.

In November 2002 - July 2003, Perelman posted three scientific articles on the website arXiv.org, which in an extremely condensed form contained a solution to one of the special cases of William Thurston's geometrization hypothesis, leading to a proof of the Poincaré conjecture. The proof of this theorem (which states that every simply connected closed three-dimensional manifold is homeomorphic to a three-dimensional sphere) is considered one of the fundamental problems of mathematics. The method of studying Ricci flow described by the scientist was called the Hamilton-Perelman theory. These works by Perelman did not receive the status of an official scientific publication, since arXiv.org is a library of preprints and not a peer-reviewed journal. Perelman made no attempts to officially publish these works.

In 2003, Perelman gave a series of lectures in the United States on his work, after which he returned to St. Petersburg and settled in his mother’s apartment in Kupchino. He resigned from his post as a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Mathematical Physics and almost completely cut off contacts with colleagues.

Over four years of checking and detailing Perelman’s calculations, leading experts in this field did not find any errors. On August 22, 2006, Perelman was awarded the Fields Medal "for his contributions to geometry and revolutionary achievements in understanding the analytical and geometric structure of the Ricci flow." Perelman refused to accept the award and communicate with journalists.

For the proof of Poincaré's theorem, the Clay Mathematical Institute (USA) awarded a prize of one million dollars. According to the prize's rules, Perelman can be awarded the award after publishing his work in a peer-reviewed journal.

Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in the family of a mathematics teacher and an electrical engineer. From early childhood, Perelman became interested not only in mathematics, but also in music. His mother, Lyubov Leibovna, plays the violin beautifully, and it is thanks to her that the brilliant mathematician has retained his love for classical music to this day. My father taught me to play chess and gave me “Entertaining Physics,” which was popular in the last century.

The talented child studied in an ordinary Leningrad high school, located far from the city center, until the 9th grade. However, already in the 5th grade he actively attended the mathematics center, headed by S. Rukshin, associate professor of the Russian State Pedagogical University.

The first victory was won at the international school olympiad in mathematics in Hungary. The only award in his life that Perelman did not refuse is the gold medal, which he was awarded in Budapest. After 9th grade, G. Perelman studied at the 239th Leningrad Physics and Mathematics School. At the same time I went to music school. He did not receive a gold medal at the end of high school, since the not very athletic young man failed to pass the GTO standards. Today there is an unprecedented competition at the lyceum - up to ten people per place.

He received his higher education at the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of Leningrad State University, where he was admitted without any exams. All the time he had increased scholarships them. V.I. Lenin. He graduated from the university with honors, and Perelman entered graduate school under his leadership. A.D. Alexandrov under LOMI, and later POMI. V. A. Steklova. After defending his dissertation for a candidate's degree (1990), he remains at his own university as a senior researcher.

At the dawn of the 90s, G. Ya. Perelman worked as a research assistant at several higher educational institutions in America - New York and Stony Brook. Since 1993, he has had a two-year internship in the same place where he writes a number of scientific papers. In 1994 he speaks at the Zurich IMC Congress. He is offered a job at Stanford, Tel Aviv, etc. Unassuming and simple in everyday life, the Russian scientist amazed his American scientific friends with his modesty, eating mostly bread and cheese and washing them down with milk.

In 1996, Perelman was awarded the European Society Prize for Young Mathematicians. The scientist does not accept it. In November 2002, Perelman blew the minds of all mathematicians in the world. He doesn't publish anywhere in a reputable scientific journal, and directly on the Internet your conclusions on the Poincaré conjecture. Despite the lack of clear references and its brevity, the publication excited many. In 2003, Perelman gave lectures to US students and scientists about his work. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, the scientist stops all communication with former colleagues.

In 2005, Perelman stopped visiting his place of work, as they say, of his own free will, and in 2006, the proof of the St. Petersburg resident was recognized scientific breakthrough year, which happened for the first time in relation to “mental gymnastics”. Let us recall that the hypothesis about the probable forms of the Universe was put forward French mathematician a century ago. It was for her proof that Perelman was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal. There was a refusal from the Russian scientist. In March 2010, the Clay Mathematical Institute awarded him $1 million. Perelman also did not agree to accept them. Subsequently (2011) it was obtained by the Henri Poincaré Institute in Paris.

So, Perelman is the winner of three prizes, which he himself voluntarily refused. These include: awards of the European Mathematical Society (1996), Fields Medal (2006), Clay Mathematical Institute Millennium Prize (2010). In 2011, they decided to nominate Grigory Perelman from the St. Petersburg branch of the Mathematical Institute named after. Steklov into Russian academicians. The scientist did not give personal consent, they could not even find him, so at the moment the brilliant mathematician is not an academician.

The main work of the scientist is considered to be the Poincaré Hypothesis, but his work is not limited to this. There are three known articles, “The entropy formula for the Ricci flow and its geometric applications,” and the method of cognition itself is now called the Hamilton-Perelman theory. Previously, scientists proved the hypothesis about the soul (1994). Perelman is often credited with the authorship of the famous " Entertaining physics". In fact, the author of the book is another person - Yakov Isidorovich Perelman (1882-1942).

The personality of G. Ya. Perelman is so unusual that a lot of jokes have already been invented about him. It is worth noting that Perelman’s character in these masterpieces folk art He is always characterized positively, and if they laugh at him, it is in a very kind way, as at a favorite fairy-tale hero. For example:

Sonya, are you aware that the mathematician Grigory Perelman has not indicated in any way his desire to become an academician of the Russian Academy. He didn't even respond to letters or calls.
- Apparently, at this time, as usual, mushrooms appeared...

Besides funny stories, even proverbs and sayings appeared. Grigory Perelman's law: there is no offer that cannot be refused.

Today, the world-famous scientist lives in a modest St. Petersburg apartment in Kupchino with his old mother. However, at the place of registration on the street. He appears to Furshtatskaya extremely rarely, only to collect bills. He avoids journalists and communicates with few people. The scientist is still friends with his teacher and mentor, S. Rukshin, who works at Lyceum No. 239, and turns to him for advice. According to the latest data, the quiet genius Perelman is unemployed.

Grigory Perelman gained the reputation of an eccentric hermit and a strange person. Some even call him the St. Petersburg “rain man.” It’s probably not a matter of some disease, rumors about which journalists love to savor. It’s just that real science, which opens up new worlds for humanity, does not tolerate fuss. It is to Perelman that the words of his colleague at the institute Yu. Burago can be attributed: “Mathematics depends on depth.” The world-famous quiet genius rightfully occupies 9th place among the hundred brilliant people of our time.

The history of mankind knows many people who, thanks to their outstanding abilities, became famous. However, it is worth saying that rarely did any of them manage to become a real legend during their lifetime and achieve fame not only in the form of placing portraits in school textbooks. Few celebrities have reached such a height of fame, which was confirmed by the conversations of both the global scientific community and the grandmothers sitting on the bench at the entrance.

But in Russia there is such a person. And he lives in our time. This is mathematician Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman. The main achievement of this great Russian scientist was the proof of the Poincaré conjecture.

Even any ordinary Spaniard knows that Grigory Perelman is the most famous mathematician in the world. After all, this scientist refused to receive the Fields Prize, which was supposed to be presented to him by the King of Spain himself. And, without any doubt, only the greatest people are capable of this.

Family

Grigory Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in the northern capital of Russia - the city of Leningrad. The father of the future genius was an engineer. In 1993, he left his family and emigrated to Israel.

Gregory's mother, Lyubov Leibovna, worked as a mathematics teacher at a vocational school. She, playing the violin, instilled in her son a love of classical music.

Grigory Perelman was not the only child in the family. He has a sister who is 10 years younger than him. Her name is Elena. She is also a mathematician; she graduated from St. Petersburg University (in 1998). In 2003, Elena Perelman defended her dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Reizmann Institute in Rehovot. Since 2007 she has lived in Stockholm, where she works as a programmer.

School years

Grigory Perelman, whose biography has developed such that today he is the most famous mathematician in the world, was a shy and quiet Jewish boy as a child. However, despite this, he was significantly superior to his peers in knowledge. And this allowed him to communicate with adults almost on equal terms. His peers were still playing in the yard and making Easter cakes out of sand, but Grisha was already fully grasping the basics mathematical science. The books that were in the family library allowed him to do this. The mother of the future scientist, who was simply in love with this exact science, also contributed to the acquisition of knowledge. Also, the future Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman was passionate about history and played excellent chess, which his father taught him.

No one forced the boy to sit over textbooks. Grigory Perelman's parents never tormented their son with moral teachings that knowledge is power. He discovered the world of science completely naturally and without any strain. And this was entirely facilitated by the family, whose main cult was not money at all, but knowledge. Parents never scolded Grisha for a lost button or dirty sleeve. However, it was considered shameful, for example, to fake a melody on the violin.

The future mathematician Perelman went to school at the age of six. By this age he was thoroughly knowledgeable in all subjects. Grisha easily wrote, read and performed mathematical operations using three-digit numbers. And this was the time when his classmates were just learning to count to one hundred.

At school, the future mathematician Perelman was one of the strongest students. He repeatedly became the winner of All-Russian mathematical competitions. Until the 9th grade, the future Russian scientist attended a high school located on the outskirts of Leningrad, where his family lived. Then he moved to school 239. She had a physics and mathematics background. In addition, from the fifth grade, Gregory attended the mathematical center opened at the Palace of Pioneers. Classes here were conducted under the guidance of Sergei Rukshin, an associate professor at the Russian State Pedagogical University. The students of this mathematician constantly won awards at various mathematical Olympiads.

In 1982, Grigory, as part of a team of Soviet schoolchildren, defended the honor of the country at the International Mathematical Olympiad, held in Hungary. Our guys then took first place. And Perelman, who scored the maximum number of possible points, received a gold medal for flawlessly completing all the tasks proposed at the Olympiad. Today we can say that this was the last award that he accepted for his work.

It would seem that Gregory, an excellent student in all subjects, without any doubt, should have graduated from school with a gold medal. However, he was let down by physical education, for which he could not pass the required standard. The class teacher had to simply beg the teacher to give the boy a B on his certificate. Yes, Grisha did not like sports activities. However, he had absolutely no complexes about this. Physical education simply did not interest him as much as other disciplines. He always said that he was convinced that our body needs training, but at the same time he preferred to train not our arms and legs, but our brain.

Relationships in the team

At school, the future mathematician Perelman was a favorite. Not only his teachers, but also his classmates sympathized with him. Grisha was not a crammer or a nerd. He did not allow himself to show off the knowledge he had acquired, the depth of which sometimes confused even his teachers. He was simply a talented child, interested not only in proving complex theorems, but also in classical music. Girls appreciated their classmate for his eccentricity and intelligence, and boys for his strong and calm character. Grisha not only studied with ease. He also helped his lagging classmates in mastering knowledge.

In Soviet times, each poor student was assigned a strong student who helped him improve in some subject. The same order was given to Gregory. He had to help a classmate who was absolutely not interested in studying. Less than two months of classes had passed before Grisha turned a poor student into a solid student. And this is not surprising. After all, presenting complex material at an accessible level is one of the unique abilities famous Russian mathematician. Largely thanks to this quality, Poincaré’s theorem was proved in the future by Gregory Perelman.

Student years

After successfully graduating from school, Grigory Perelman became a student at Leningrad State University. Without any exams, he was enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of this higher educational institution.

Perelman did not lose his interest in mathematics during his student years. He constantly became the winner of university, city, and all-Union Olympiads. The future Russian mathematician studied as successfully as at school. For his excellent knowledge he was awarded the Lenin Scholarship.

Further training

After graduating with honors from the university, Grigory Perelman entered graduate school. His scientific supervisor in those years there was famous mathematician HELL. Alexandrov.

The graduate school was located at the Leningrad branch of the Institute of Mathematics named after. V.A. Steklova. In 1992, Grigory Yakovlevich defended his Ph.D. thesis. The topic of his work concerned saddle surfaces in Euclidean spaces. Later, Perelman remained to work at the same institute, taking the position of senior researcher in the laboratory of mathematical physics. During this period, he continued to study the theory of space and was able to prove several hypotheses.

Work in the USA

In 1992, Grigory Perelman was invited to Stony Brook University and New York University. These educational establishments America invited the scientist to spend one semester there.

In 1993, Grigory Yakovlevich continued to teach at Berkeley, while simultaneously conducting scientific work there. It was at this time that Grigory Perelman became interested in Poincaré's theorem. This was the most complex problem in modern mathematics that had not been solved at that time.

Return to Russia

In 1996, Grigory Yakovlevich returned back to St. Petersburg. He again received a position as a researcher at the Institute. Steklova. At the same time, he worked alone on the Poincaré conjecture.

Description of the theory

The problem arose in 1904. It was then that the French scientist Andry Poincaré, who was considered a mathematical universalist in scientific circles due to the development of new methods of celestial mechanics and the creation of topology, put forward a new mathematical hypothesis. He suggested that the space around us is a three-dimensional sphere.

It is quite difficult to describe the essence of the hypothesis for the common man. There is too much science in it. As an example, imagine an ordinary balloon. In the circus, a wide variety of figures can be made from it. These can be dogs, bunnies and flowers. So what's the result? The ball remains the same. He doesn't change his physical properties, nor molecular composition.

The same is true with this hypothesis. Her topic relates to topology. This is a branch of geometry that studies the diversity that spatial objects have. Topology examines various objects that are outwardly dissimilar to each other and finds common features in them.

Poincaré tried to prove the fact that our Universe has the shape of a sphere. According to his theory, all simply connected three-dimensional manifolds have the same structure. They are simply connected due to the presence of a single continuous region of the body in which there are no through holes. It could be a piece of paper and a glass, a rope and an apple. But a colander and a cup with a handle are completely different objects in their essence.

The concept of geomorphism follows from topology. It includes the concept of geomorphic objects, that is, those when one can be obtained from another by stretching or compressing. For example, a ball (a piece of clay) from which a potter makes an ordinary pot. And if the master doesn’t like the product, he can immediately turn it back into a ball. If the potter decides to make a cup, then the handle for it will have to be made separately. That is, he creates his object in a different way, obtaining not a solid, but a composite product.

Let us assume that all objects in our world consist of an elastic, but at the same time non-sticky substance. This material does not allow us to glue individual parts and seal holes. It can only be used to squeeze or squeeze. Only in this case will a new form be obtained.

This is the main meaning of the Poincaré conjecture. It says that if you take any three-dimensional object that does not have holes, then, when performing various manipulations, but without gluing and cutting, it can take the shape of a ball.

However, a hypothesis is only a stated version. And this continues until an exact explanation is found. Poincaré's assumptions remained as such until they were confirmed by the precise calculations of the young Russian mathematician.

Working on the problem

Grigory Perelman spent several years of his life proving the Poincaré conjecture. All this time he thought only about his work. He was constantly looking for the right ways and approaches to solving the problem and realized that the proof was somewhere nearby. And the mathematician was not mistaken.

Even during his student years, the future scientist often liked to repeat the phrase that there are no unsolvable problems. There are only intractable ones. He always believed that everything depended only on the initial data and the time spent searching for the missing ones.

During his stay in America, Grigory Yakovlevich often attended various events. Perelman was especially interested in lectures led by mathematician Richard Hamilton. This scientist also tried to prove the Poincaré conjecture. Hamilton even developed his own method of Ricci flows, which, rather, belonged not to mathematics, but to physics. However, all this interested Grigory Yakovlevich very much.

After returning to Russia, Perelman literally plunged headlong into working on the problem. And after a short period of time, he managed to make significant progress in this matter. He approached the solution of the problem in a completely unconventional way. He used Ricci flows as a proof tool.

Perelman sent his calculations to his American colleague. However, he did not even try to delve into the young scientist’s calculations and flatly refused to carry out joint work.

Of course, his doubts can be easily explained. After all, when giving evidence, Perelman relied more on the postulates available in theoretical physics. Topological geometric problem was solved by him with the help of related sciences. This method was completely incomprehensible at first glance. Hamilton did not understand the calculations and was skeptical about the unexpected symbiosis that was used as evidence.

He did what was interesting to him

In order to prove Poincaré's theorem ( mathematical formula Universe), Grigory Perelman did not appear in scientific circles for seven long years. Colleagues did not know what kind of development he was doing or what his field of study was. Many could not even answer the question “Where is Grigory Perelman now?”

Everything was resolved in November 2002. It was during this period that Perelman’s 39-page work appeared on one of the scientific resources, where one could get acquainted with the latest developments and articles by physicists, in which proofs of the geometrization theorem were given. The Poincaré conjecture was considered as a particular example to explain the essence of the study.

Simultaneously with this publication, Grigory Yakovlevich sent the work he had completed to Richard Hamilton, as well as to the mathematician Ren Tian from China, with whom he had communicated in New York. Several other scientists, whose opinions Perelman especially trusted, also received a proof of the theorem.

Why was the work of several years of a mathematician’s life so easily released, since this evidence could simply have been stolen? However, Perelman, who completed a million-dollar job, did not at all want to profit from it or emphasize his uniqueness. He believed that if there was an error in his evidence, then it could be taken as a basis by another scientist. And this would already give him satisfaction.

Yes, Grigory Yakovlevich was never an upstart. He always knew exactly what he wanted from life, and had it for any reason own opinion, which often differed from the generally accepted one.

Money can not buy happiness

What is Grigory Perelman famous for? Not only because he proved a hypothesis included in the list of seven mathematical problems of the millennium that have not been solved by scientists. The fact is that Grigory Perelman refused a million-dollar bonus that the Boston Institute of Mathematics was ready to pay him. Clay. And this was not accompanied by any explanation.

Of course, Perelman really wanted to prove the Poincaré conjecture. He dreamed of solving a puzzle that no one had found a solution to. And here the Russian scientist showed his passion as a researcher. At the same time, it was intertwined with the intoxicating feeling of realizing oneself as a discoverer.

Grigory Yakovlevich’s interest in the hypothesis moved into the category of “done things.” Does a true mathematician need a million dollars? No! The main thing for him is the feeling of his own victory. And it is simply impossible to measure it by earthly standards.

According to the rules, the Clay Prize is awarded when a person who has solved one or several “Millennium Problems” sends his scientific article to the editors of the institute's journal. Here it is examined in detail and carefully checked. And only after two years can a verdict be made that will confirm or refute the correctness of the decision.

Verification of the results obtained by Perelman was carried out from 2004 to 2006. Three independent groups of mathematicians were engaged in this work. They all made an unambiguous conclusion that the Poincaré conjecture was completely proven.

The prize was awarded to Grigory Perelman in March 2010. For the first time in history, the award was to be given for solving one of the problems on the list of “mathematical problems of the millennium.” However, Perelman simply did not come to the conference in Paris. On July 1, 2010, he publicly announced his refusal of the award.

Of course, for many people Perelman’s act seems inexplicable. The man easily gave up honors and glory, and also missed the chance to move to America and live comfortably there for the rest of his days. However, for Grigory Yakovlevich all this does not carry any meaning. Just like it once was school lessons physical education.

Reclusion

Today, Grigory Perelman does not remind of himself in word or deed. Where does this one live? outstanding man? In Leningrad, in one of the ordinary high-rise buildings in Kupchino. Grigory Perelman lives with his mother. His personal life did not work out. However, the mathematician does not give up hope of starting a family.

Grigory Yakovlevich does not communicate with Russian journalists. He maintained his contacts only with the foreign press. However, despite the reclusiveness, interest in this person does not fade. Books are written about him. Grigory Perelman is often mentioned in scientific articles and essays. Where is Grigory Perelman now? Still in my homeland. Many believe that they will hear this name more than once, and perhaps in connection with the solution to the next “millennium problem.”