Grigori Perelman
A Russian mathematician who proved the Poincaré conjecture, one of the Millennium Prize Problems.
Most quoted
"I'm not interested in money or fame. I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo. I am not a hero of mathematics. I am not even that successful. That is why I don't want to be interviewed."
— from Interview with The New Yorker (though he refused to be interviewed directly, this sentiment was reported)
"I'm not interested in money or fame. I don't want to be a zoo animal. I am not a hero of mathematics. I am not even that successful. That is why I don't want to speak publicly."
— from Interview with The New Yorker
"I believe that the main reason for my refusal is that I am not satisfied with the organized mathematical community. I do not like their decisions, I consider them unfair."
— from Interview with Interfax, 2010
All quotes by Grigori Perelman (413)
Topology reveals the fabric of being.
True genius withdraws from the world.
Fame corrupts the theorem.
Equations are my companions in solitude.
The Millennium? A distraction from eternity.
I solve for peace, not for prizes.
In the heart of complexity lies simplicity.
Journalists at my door? That's not mathematics.
The soul conjectures what the mind proves.
Riemannian geometry is poetry without words.
Reclusion is my method of proof.
Honors fade; understanding endures.
Why rush to fame when infinity waits?
Manifolds mirror the mysteries of existence.
I prefer the quiet of theorems to the noise of accolades.
Truth is its own reward, silent and profound.
The prize money? Better spent on bread and thought.
In mathematics, solitude breeds clarity.
The conjecture's resolution humbles us all.
Life's greatest puzzles are unsolved, like me.
Contemporaries of Grigori Perelman
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Grigori Perelman (1966).