Grigory Perelman - biography, information, personal life. The brilliant mathematician Grigory Perelman left for Sweden Perelman where is he now

After graduating from school without exams, he was enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of Leningrad state university(now St. Petersburg State University). IN student years Perelman has repeatedly won mathematics Olympiads. After graduating with honors from the university, he entered graduate school at the Leningrad branch of the Mathematical Institute. V.A. Steklov (since 1992 - St. Petersburg Department of the Mathematical Institute).

In 1990, he defended his Ph.D. thesis and was retained at the institute as a senior researcher.

In 1992, the scientist received an invitation to give a course of lectures at New York University and Stony Brook University, and then worked for some time at the University of Berkeley (USA). While in the USA, Perelman worked as a research fellow at American universities.
In 1996, he returned to St. Petersburg, where he worked at the St. Petersburg branch of the Mathematical Institute until December 2005.

Between November 2002 and July 2003, Perelman wrote three articles in which he revealed the solution to one of the special cases of William Thurston's geometrization conjecture, from which the validity of the Poincaré conjecture follows. The method of studying Ricci flow described by Perelman was called the Hamilton-Perelman theory, since the American mathematician Richard Hamilton was the first to study it.

The Poincaré conjecture was formulated by the French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904 and is a central problem in topology, the science of geometric properties bodies that do not change when the body is stretched, twisted or compressed. Poincaré's theorem was considered one of the unsolvable mathematical problems.

The mathematician is known for being emphatic and speaking publicly.

According to media reports, in 2014, Grigory Perelman received a Swedish visa for 10 years and moved to Sweden, where a local private company engaged in scientific development offered him a well-paid job. However, it was later reported that he lives in St. Petersburg, and visits Sweden as needed.

In 2011, it was published about the life and actions of the Russian scientist Grigory Perelman.

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Magazine version of one of the chapters of the new book Nick. Gorkavy “Undiscovered Worlds” (St. Petersburg: “Astrel”, 2018).

Mathematicians are special people. They are so deeply immersed in abstract worlds that, “returning to Earth,” they often cannot adapt to real life and surprise others with unusual views and actions. We will talk about perhaps the most talented and extraordinary of them - Grigory Perelman.

In 1982, sixteen-year-old Grisha Perelman, who had just won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, entered Leningrad University. He was noticeably different from the other students. His supervisor, Professor Yuri Dmitrievich Burago, said: “There are a lot of gifted students who speak before they think. Grisha was not like that. He always thought very carefully and deeply about what he intended to say. He wasn't very quick to make decisions. Speed ​​of solution means nothing; mathematics is not built on speed. Mathematics is about depth.”

After graduating from university, Grigory Perelman became an employee of the Steklov Mathematical Institute and published a number of interesting articles on three-dimensional surfaces in Euclidean spaces. The world mathematical community appreciated his achievements. In 1992, Perelman was invited to work at New York University.

Gregory ended up in one of the world centers of mathematical thought. Every week he went to a seminar in Princeton, where he once listened to a lecture by the eminent mathematician, Columbia University professor Richard Hamilton. After the lecture, Perelman approached the professor and asked several questions. Perelman later recalled about this meeting: “It was very important for me to ask him about something. He smiled and was very patient with me. He even told me a couple of things that he published only a few years later. He shared with me without hesitation. I really liked his openness and generosity. I can say that in this respect Hamilton was unlike most other mathematicians."

Perelman spent several years in the USA. He walked around New York wearing the same corduroy jacket, ate mostly bread, cheese and milk, and worked constantly. He began to be invited to the most prestigious universities in America. The young man chose Harvard and then encountered something that he categorically did not like. The hiring committee required the applicant to provide a CV and letters of recommendation from other scientists. Perelman’s reaction was harsh: “If they know my works, then they don’t need my biography. If they want my biography, then they don’t know my work.” He refused all offers and in the summer of 1995 returned to Russia, where he continued to work on the ideas that Hamilton had developed. In 1996, Perelman was awarded the European Mathematical Society Prize for Young Mathematicians, but he, who did not like any hype, refused to accept it.

When Gregory achieved some success in his research, he wrote a letter to Hamilton, hoping for joint work. However, he did not answer, and Perelman had to continue to act alone. But world fame awaited him ahead.

In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute published the “Millennium Problem List,” which included seven classic problems in mathematics that had not been solved for many years, and promised a million-dollar prize for proving any of them. Less than two years later, on November 11, 2002, Grigory Perelman published an article on a scientific website on the Internet, in which, on 39 pages, he summed up his many years of efforts to prove one problem from the list. American mathematicians who knew Perelman personally immediately began to discuss the article in which the famous Poincaré conjecture was proved. The scientist was invited to several US universities to give a course of lectures on his proof, and in April 2003 he flew to America. There, Gregory held several seminars in which he showed how he managed to turn the Poincaré conjecture into a theorem. The mathematical community recognized Perelman's lectures as an extremely important event and made significant efforts to verify the proposed proof.

Details for the curious

Poincaré problem

Jules Henri Poincaré (1854–1912) - an outstanding French mathematician, mechanic, physicist, astronomer and philosopher, head of the Paris Academy of Sciences and member of more than 30 academies of sciences around the world. The problem formulated by Poincare in 1904 belongs to the field of topology.

For topology, the main property of space is its continuity. Any spatial forms that can be obtained from one another using stretching and curvature, without cuts and gluing, are considered identical in topology (as clear example often demonstrate the transformation of a cup into a donut). The Poincaré conjecture states that in four-dimensional space, all three-dimensional surfaces belonging to compact manifolds are topologically equivalent to a sphere.

The proof of the hypothesis by Grigory Perelman made it possible to develop a new methodological approach to solving topological problems, which is of great importance for the further development of mathematics.

Paradoxically, Perelman did not receive grants to prove the Poincaré conjecture, while other scientists testing its correctness received grants amounting to a million dollars. Verification was extremely important, because many mathematicians worked on the proof of this problem, and if it was actually solved, then they were left out of work.

The mathematical community tested Perelman's proof for several years and by 2006 concluded that it was correct. Yuri Burago wrote then: “The proof closes an entire branch of mathematics. After it, many scientists will have to switch to research in other areas.”

Mathematics has always been considered the most rigorous and accurate science, where there is no place for emotions and intrigue. But even here there is a struggle for priority. Passions began to boil around the proof of the Russian mathematician. Two young mathematicians, immigrants from China, having studied Perelman's work, published a much more voluminous and detailed - more than three hundred pages - article with a proof of the Poincaré conjecture. In it, they argued that Perelman's work contained many gaps that they were able to fill. According to the rules of the mathematical community, priority in proving the theorem belongs to those researchers who were able to present it in the most complete form. According to many experts, Perelman's proof was complete, although briefly stated. More detailed calculations did not introduce anything new into it.

When journalists asked Perelman what he thought about the position of Chinese mathematicians, Grigory replied: “I can’t say that I’m outraged, others do even worse. Of course, there are a lot of more or less honest mathematicians. But almost all of them are conformists. They themselves are honest, but they tolerate those who are not.” He then noted bitterly: “Those who violate ethical standards in science are not considered aliens. People like me are the ones who end up isolated.”

In 2006, Grigory Perelman was awarded the highest honor in mathematics, the Fields Medal. But the mathematician, who led a solitary, even reclusive lifestyle, refused to receive it. It was a real scandal. The President of the International Mathematical Union even flew to St. Petersburg and spent ten hours persuading Perelman to accept the well-deserved award, which was planned to be presented at a congress of mathematicians on August 22, 2006 in Madrid in the presence of the Spanish King Juan Carlos I and three thousand participants. This congress was supposed to be a historic event, but Perelman politely but adamantly said: “I refuse.” The Fields Medal, according to Gregory, did not interest him at all: “It doesn’t matter at all. Everyone understands that if the evidence is correct, then no other recognition of merit is required.”

In 2010, the Clay Institute awarded Perelman the promised million-dollar prize for proving the Poincaré conjecture, which he was about to receive at a mathematical conference in Paris. Perelman refused a million dollars and did not go to Paris.

As he himself explained, he does not like the ethical atmosphere in the mathematical community. In addition, he considered Richard Hamilton's contribution no less. Winner of many mathematical prizes, Soviet, American and French mathematician M. L. Gromov supported Perelman: “Great things require an unclouded mind. You should only think about mathematics. Everything else is human weakness. To accept a reward is to show weakness.”

Refusing a million dollars made Perelman even more famous. Many asked him to receive the prize and give it to them. Gregory did not respond to such requests.

Until now, the proof of the Poincaré conjecture remains the only solved problem on the millennium list. Perelman became the number one mathematician in the world, although he refused contacts with his colleagues. Life has shown that outstanding results in science were often achieved by individuals who were not part of the structure modern science. That's how Einstein was. While working as a clerk in a patent office, he created the theory of relativity, developed the theory of the photoelectric effect and the principle of operation of lasers. This is how Perelman became, who neglected the rules of conduct in the scientific community and at the same time achieved maximum efficiency of his work by proving the Poincaré conjecture.

The Clay Mathematics Institute (Cambridge, USA) was founded in 1998 by businessman Landon Clay and mathematician Arthur Jaffee to increase and disseminate mathematical knowledge.

The Fields Medal has been awarded for excellence in mathematics since 1936.

Mathematician Grigory Perelman is a genius of our time who proved Poincaré's theorem. Having refused a million-dollar bonus, he continues to lead a reclusive life. “Interlocutor+” tried to find out what the most powerful brain of our time is doing now.

The story of a hypothesis

Jules Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician and head of the Paris Academy of Sciences, formulated the idea of ​​a deformed three-dimensional sphere in 1904. He did this in the form of a small marginal note that he wrote at the end of an article on an entirely different subject. Mathematicians around the world struggled to prove the Poincaré conjecture until 2002, when Grigory Perelman published the results of his work. In 2003, the scientist made a scientific tour with lectures.

The proof was posted on the Internet

In the residential area of ​​St. Petersburg, Kupchino, journalists repeatedly raided Perelman... with varying degrees of success. The scientist categorically does not communicate with the press. The 52-year-old mathematician lives in a nondescript apartment with his elderly mother, Lyubov Leibovna, and rarely leaves the house.

The world learned about him and started talking about him in 2002, when Perelman published three articles in which he solved one of the “problems of the millennium” - he proved the Poincaré theorem. The mathematician did not publish it in scientific journals, but simply posted it on the Internet. The scientist’s extravagant act became a reason for speculation; some mathematicians decided to take credit for the proof of the theorem. In 2006, the European Mathematical Society awarded Perelman a million-dollar prize, but, to everyone's surprise, he refused the money.

“You know, I had a lot of reasons in both directions. That's why it took me so long to decide. In short, the main reason is disagreement with the organized mathematical community. I don't like their decisions, I think they are unfair. I believe that the contribution of the American mathematician Hamilton to solving this problem is no less than mine,” he said.

The reason for his rebellion (how can one refuse such a sum!) is still not understood. But Perelman is decidedly parallel.

Scientists were offended by Perelman because he refused awards // caricature: Bob Row

School teachers pondered his answers

Perelman was born into a family with a “mathematical bent”: his father, an engineer, entertained the child by playing chess, his mother, a mathematics teacher at a vocational school, entertained him with mathematical problems. The Jewish boy also played the violin.

His class teacher at school No. 282, Valentina Berdova, recalls that Grigory did not study in the first grade, but was immediately accepted into the second. He was always different from other children; teachers even then saw in him a child prodigy and a future genius.

He always spoke little, but he certainly didn’t use unnecessary words,” recalls Valentina Vasilievna. “We teachers sometimes needed time to think about what he said: he thought completely differently.” It happens that you get tired, say something wrong, make a mistake, so Grigory will correct you very politely, correctly - either during the lesson, or come up after the lesson.

This distinctive property of Perelman - having his own ethical principles and strictly observing them - is also mentioned by his other acquaintances. His classmate recalled how one day they were traveling on the subway: it was unbearably hot, Grigory was dressed warmly, wearing a hat, but categorically did not want to take it off. It turned out that Grisha promised his mother that he would not take off his hat on the subway so as not to catch a cold. Despite the persuasion of his friends from the “mother won’t know” series and the sweat appearing on his forehead, the boy kept his word.

Valentina Berdova says that Perelman’s character was already complex even then: “but who has it easy and simple?” However, this did not stop him from making friends with classmates and participating in extracurricular activities.

“He didn’t single out any of the guys,” she says. - He treated everyone equally well, warmly and respectfully.

School No. 282 was an incomplete secondary school, from which Perelman, after the 8th grade, went to Physics and Mathematics No. 239, where he continued to take prizes in Olympiads. The loudest was the victory at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, where in 1982 he received a gold medal as part of a team of Soviet schoolchildren.

Perelman entered Leningrad University without exams, and after graduation and graduate school he worked as a senior researcher at the Mathematical Institute. V. A. Steklov, devoting himself to solving the Poincaré theorem. It took him... 6 years to prove the hypothesis, which the best minds had been struggling with for a century!

Goes to concerts

Now Perelman does not work at the Mathematical Institute. What he does is a secret, at least to the public. News from his life periodically appear in the media. But people who know him call them fake.

Journalists put together interviews from scraps of previous statements and, when they want to increase circulation, they come up with news: either Perelman plugs a broken pipe with a newspaper, or something else, says Sergei Rukshin, Perelman’s former scientific advisor. He is one of the few who maintains contact with the mathematician.

When employees of one TV channel staged a provocation and entered the scientist’s apartment with a camera, the whole country learned that the man who refused a million dollars lived extremely modestly, almost like a beggar. The same is true of photographs of Perelman in old, worn-out clothes that the paparazzi take on the street.

According to rumors, Perelman, who after leaving the institute lived on his mother’s pension, began to work. But Sergei Rukshin did not confirm this news to us: “I know nothing about this.” But he said that Perelman still loves to attend classical music concerts. Perelman, who gives lectures in Sweden, also seems to be from the category of newspaper ducks. His sister actually lives there, also a mathematician, but to work in Sweden you need a work visa. So the solution and the answer do not agree. In addition, it is known that Grigory Yakovlevich is a caring son.

“I heard that his mother was recently in the hospital,” says Valentina Berdova. - I don’t know if this is really so, I’ve talked to him a couple of times recently. Lastly, regarding the television program. Grigory asked me not to go to the shooting, and if I go, then to talk about him as little as possible.

It is not even known whether Grigory Perelman studies mathematics. After proving the theorem, he declared that science was no longer interesting to him. Perelman decided - Perelman did?

The material was published in the Sobesednik+ publication No. 03-2019 under the title “Perelman’s Muse.”

November 11, 2002 on one of the major portals scientific publications An article from St. Petersburg appeared on the Internet mathematician Grigory Perelman, in which he gave proof of the Poincaré conjecture. Thus, the hypothesis became the first solved problem of the millennium - the so-called mathematical questions, the answers to which have not been found for many years. Eight years later, the Clay Mathematics Institute awarded the scientist a prize of one million US dollars for this achievement, but Perelman refused it, saying that he did not need the money and, moreover, did not agree with the official mathematical community. The poor mathematician's refusal of a large sum caused surprise in all layers of society. For this and for his reclusive lifestyle, Perelman is called the strangest Russian scientist. the site found out how Grigory Perelman lives and what he does today.

Mathematician No. 1

Now Grigory Perelman is 51 years old. The scientist leads a secluded life: he practically never leaves home, does not give interviews, and is not officially employed anywhere. The mathematician never had close friends, but people who know Perelman claim that he was not always like this.

“I remember Grisha as a teenager,” says Perelman’s housemate, Sergey Krasnov. - Although we live on different floors, we see each other sometimes. Previously, we could talk to his mother, Lyubov Leibovna, but now I rarely see her. She and Grigory periodically go out for a walk, but are always at home. When we see each other, they quickly nod and move on. They don't communicate with anyone. And in school years Grisha was no different from other boys. Of course, even then he was actively interested in science and spent a lot of time reading books, but he also found time for other things. I studied music, hung out with friends, and played sports. And then he sacrificed all his interests to mathematics. Was it worth it? Don't know".

Grigory always took first place in mathematics Olympiads, but one day victory eluded him: in the eighth grade at the All-Union Olympiad, Perelman became only second. Since then, he abandoned all his hobbies and recreation, immersing himself in books, reference books and encyclopedias. He soon caught up and became the #1 young mathematician in the country.

Reclusion

Krasnov states: none of the residents of their house doubted that Perelman would become a great scientist. “When we found out that Grisha proved the Poincaré conjecture, which no other person in the world could do, we were not even surprised,” the pensioner admits. - Of course, we were very happy for him, we decided: finally Grigory will make his way into the people, make a dizzying career! Well done, he deserves it! But he chose a different path for himself.”

Perelman refused a cash prize in the amount of a million dollars, justifying his decision by disagreement with the official mathematical community, while adding that he did not need the money.

After Perelman’s name thundered throughout the world, the mathematician was invited to the USA. In America, the scientist gave presentations, exchanged experience with foreign colleagues and explained his methods for solving mathematical problems. He quickly became bored with publicity. Returning to Russia, Perelman voluntarily left his post as a leading researcher at the laboratory of mathematical physics, resigned from the St. Petersburg branch of the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and reduced his communication with colleagues to zero. A few years later they wanted to make Perelman a member Russian Academy sciences, but he refused. Having stopped almost all contacts with the outside world, the scientist locked himself in his apartment in Kupchino, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, where he lives with his mother.

“Grisha was tortured by attention”

Nowadays, mathematicians very rarely leave home and spend whole days solving new problems. “Grisha and his mother live on Lyubov Leibovna’s pension,” says Krasnov. - We, the residents of the house, in no way condemn Grisha - they say, the man is in the prime of his life, but does not bring money to the family, does not help his old mother. There is no such. He is a genius, and geniuses cannot be condemned. Once they even wanted to chip in with the whole house to help them financially. But they refused - they said that they had enough. Lyubov Leibovna always said that Grisha is unpretentious: he wears jackets or boots for decades, and for lunch, macaroni and cheese is enough for him. Well, it’s not necessary, it’s not necessary.”

According to neighbors, any person in Perelman’s place would become unsociable and closed: although the mathematician has not given rise to discussion for a long time, his person still cannot be ignored. “Some journalists are on duty at Perelman’s door 24 hours a day,” Sergei Petrovich is indignant. - Once they waited until Grisha and his mother were leaving the apartment for a walk. A huge cameraman literally dared Lyubov Leibovna to film the situation in their apartment - their apartment was not very tidy, and they decided to focus on this. And the young correspondent attacked Perelman himself with questions. They didn't go out for a long time after that. Everyone will be stressed here! Grisha was tormented with attention!”

Residents of the house are confident that Perelman will make a name for himself by making a new discovery in the field of mathematics. “His work will not be in vain,” says Krasnov. “You just need to leave him alone and let him live in peace.”

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 sand cakes, but Grisha was already fully grasping the basics of 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 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 dialed maximum amount possible points, received a gold medal for the impeccable completion of all 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 of the 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 was the famous mathematician A.D. 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 leading there scientific work. 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 considers various, externally not similar friend objects 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. The topological geometric problem was solved by him using 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 the Poincaré theorem (the mathematical formula of the 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 his own opinion on any matter, 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 the passion of 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 can be 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 school physical education lessons used to be.

Reclusion

Today, Grigory Perelman does not remind of himself in word or deed. Where does this outstanding man live? 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.”