• restingboredface@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      128·
      1 day ago

      From the wiki article :

      Perelman resigned from his research post in Steklov Institute of Mathematics and in 2006 stated that he had quit professional mathematics, owing to feeling disappointed over the ethical standards in the field. >

      Anybody have any idea what the ethical standards might be that he’s referring to? Not sure if there’s a scandal or something or just an overall sense of displeasure with the field.

      • sircac@lemmy.worldEnglish
        15·
        14 hours ago

        Not from that field, and I think it depends a lot of the field, country, etc, but research is not an idilic world at all and deal with huge flaws from the real world, institutions, society and economics, not aside of human being’s flaws, so it can be deeply disappointing in some aspects. I believe is a natural in any guild (there is shit everywhere, e.g. police require internal affairs for a good reason, but not only, they suffer from funding restrictions, metrics for promotion, etc, and the same can be said for medicine, politics, etc) so in the end it may be your ability to deal with real world shit… and luck.

      • reallykindasorta@slrpnk.netEnglish
        1801·
        1 day ago

        I tried to google it and it’s not super clear.

        -Perelman gets his phd in russia super young and is hired at NYU/SUNY

        -Publishes some groundbreaking stuff on arxiv (a free site to post white papers in math and physics) in 2002/2003

        -There is some drama with another scientist who is known for stealing people’s work trying to downplay Perelman’s contribution

        -Perelman quits his US jobs and returns to russia to work in math (making wayyyyyyy less money), then quits that job too and becomes a recluse

        -Turns down fields medal and millennium prize (1M dollars for solving)

        -Says some mathematicians are unethical but the rest of them tolerate it so they’re shit too so the whole thing is shit. Also says he doesn’t want to be put in a zoo or treated like a pet about it.

        —

        I’m going to go ahead and assume I don’t understand enough about being a math superstar to understand where he’s coming from, but he certainly sounds like a principled guy and now I respect him.

        • Omniraptor@lemm.eeEnglish
          6·
          5 hours ago

          https://web.archive.org/web/20200309104931/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/08/28/manifold-destiny

          This new Yorker article goes into some more detail. Apparently there was an underlying conflict between rival Chinese academics over succession of university admin postings in Beijing.

          According to the article it was one Chinese dude trying to hog credit and Perelman basically went “oh i’m not brave enough for politics” and bailed. If he accepted his choice was basically becoming a conformist or getting involved by trying to improve things. He chose not to choose.

          Most problems require the insights of several mathematicians in order to be solved, and the profession has evolved a standard for crediting individual contributions that is as stringent as the rules governing math itself. As Perelman put it, “If everyone is honest, it is natural to share ideas.” Many mathematicians view Yau’s conduct over the Poincaré as a violation of this basic ethic, and worry about the damage it has caused the profession. “Politics, power, and control have no legitimate role in our community, and they threaten the integrity of our field,” Phillip Griffiths said.

          p.s. Also between some behavioral tics (very picky eater, refusing to trim nails, trouble socializing) and the elevated sense of justice I nominate him as an honorary autist. we stan

          • Yokozuna@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 hour ago

            I’m totally for how and why he dipped out. I’ve made a few decisions in life in a similar fashion. But a man as principled as he is, with feelings and ideas that intense, is a hell of a thing to lose in the pursuit of truth. Just imagine, if instead of resigning to almost insurmountable odds where most would be against him, he instead chose to be a stubborn man in the opposite respect and didn’t rest until the truth and was common knowledge or had created groups and institutions to further pursue it if not able to do it himself.

            Things like this are way bigger than one person, and to understand the problem and try to tackle it would consume your whole life. Go on and pick some mushrooms my man. You made your contribution to society and decided the rat race isn’t worth it.

        • Yokozuna@lemmy.worldEnglish
          88·
          1 day ago

          Punk rock as fuck. May this dude find many morsels and enjoy the morning dew for the rest of his days.

        • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          204·
          1 day ago

          I mean math is the backbone of science and technology. And technology can lead to fucked up things.

          Nuclear bombs wouldn’t be possible without fairly recent math.

          Not to mention the unethical hell that is the whole financial sector / trader type where mathematicians often end up working.

          And finally these days, by making new discoveries in some fields your directly contributing to the growth of AI and LLMs.

          An infamous example of someone who quit math over ethical concerns (ironic given the rest of the story) is Ted Kacyznski (the unabomber), who saw math as leading to more and more advanced technology which oppresses people and destroys nature.

        • daddy32@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          13 hours ago

          Yeah, there was some background drama with his parent institution, if I remember correctly. He didn’t have enough money to fly anywhere, his institution refused to donate and he was too embarrassed to ask elsewhere. Or something like that.

    • NielsBohron@lemmy.worldEnglish
      39·
      1 day ago

      Once I got past the first few paragraphs, all I learned from that is that I don’t understand the Poincare conjecture or really anything about topology

    • Badabinski@kbin.earth
      491·
      1 day ago

      Also from the article:

      The writer Brett Forrest briefly interacted with Perelman in 2012. A reporter who had called him was told: “You are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms.”

      I enjoy this man’s focus and determination. I feel like the world probably missed out on good things when he left academia, but I can’t blame the dude when I saw why he refused a million dollars for solving the Poincaré Conjecture. He seems like a person with very strong principles.

      • Beacon@fedia.io
        114·
        1 day ago

        A million dollars buys a lot of food and shelter which gives you more time to do mushroom picking. And the process of accepting the prize probably wouldn’t have taken more than a couple of days

        • zerofk@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          12 hours ago

          With a million dollars you can buy mushrooms, making picking them feel pointless.

        • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zipEnglish
          15·
          1 day ago

          There is no taking the money and staying true to your principles here. Either you say the whole sphere of academia is corrupt and fucked, or you take a nice big cash prize and play the game. Can’t say taking money is bad and then take that money yourself

          • Dyskolos@lemmy.zipEnglish
            2·
            12 hours ago

            Yes you absolutely could. It takes 1m away from what is “corrupt and fucked” and helps me being the opposite. E.g. could buy me a lot of ads telling the world how corrupt and fucked it all is.

            • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zipEnglish
              1·
              11 hours ago

              No, you can’t. If you believe that academia is corrupted by money to the point you walk away from it, taking their accolades and cash prizes would make you a complete hypocrite. And nobody would take you or anything you say afterwards seriously any more.

              • Dyskolos@lemmy.zipEnglish
                1·
                2 hours ago

                Sure, but also you do not accept the 1m and that’s it. You’re not changing the system, you’re not furthering yourself, you “just” stood by your principles. Admitted, a million would alsp probably not help to correct the system.

        • Badabinski@kbin.earth
          381·
          1 day ago

          The article says that he refused the prize because he felt that he hadn’t earned it. He felt that the prize should be awarded to Richard Hamilton who developed the theory Perelman used to fully solve the Poincaré Conjecture. I’m not saying it was the wisest or easiest solution. I was only trying to express my opinion that I find his adherence to his strong principles admirable.

          I’m absolutely not advocating for anyone to turn down a million dollars. For anyone in a position where they can just, like, get a million bucks, take that shit and live a happier life!

  • shoulderoforion@fedia.io
    1021·
    1 day ago

    Awards

    Saint Petersburg Mathematical Society Prize (1991)
EMS Prize (1996), declined
Fields Medal (2006), declined
Millennium Prize (2010), declined

    “nah, you’re alright”

  • magic_lobster_party@fedia.io
    791·
    1 day ago

    There’s also that 4chan anon who made significant contribution to a math problem in order to find the best way to watch an anime

  • Sundial@lemm.eeEnglish
    42·
    1 day ago

    Will Hunting tried that and he got taken on an emotionally fulfilling journey full of self reflection and life improvement. Just saying.