New Yorker on Perelman and Poincaré Controversy 182
b4stard writes "The New Yorker has an interesting article on the recent proof of the Poincaré conjecture and the controversy surrounding it. This is a very nice read, which, among other things, sheds some light on what may have motivated Perelman in refusing to accept the Fields medal." From the article: "The Fields Medal, like the Nobel Prize, grew, in part, out of a desire to elevate science above national animosities. German mathematicians were excluded from the first I.M.U. congress, in 1924, and, though the ban was lifted before the next one, the trauma it caused led, in 1936, to the establishment of the Fields, a prize intended to be 'as purely international and impersonal as possible.'"
Note in blog margin from Perelman (Score:5, Funny)
That's Grigori? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I thought it was because Perelman... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Some people don't want to be famous (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Some people don't want to be famous (Score:3, Funny)
I know what you mean, I can never get away from the paparazzi! But at least here on slahdot I can lurk as "RaftPeople" without anyone realizing my incredible talent and world-wide fame.
Re:There's no controversy (Score:3, Funny)
There's a similar story about Feynman when he got the Nobel Prize for his work in quantum electrodynamics. At a lunchen given in his honor, he was asked by his introducer to explain in simple terms what his work was about. He answered, "Madam, if I were able to explain it in simple terms, they wouldn't have given me the Nobel Prize for it."
Re:Some people don't want to be famous (Score:2, Funny)
So you've never heard of me, except for . .
That ain't fame, that is seeing the same guy outside the grocery store shouting every time you go in.
That ain't me. That's RMS. I work Times Square.
KFG