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Perelman Urged To Accept $1m Prize
krou writes "The Warm Home charity in St. Petersburg, Grigory Perelman's home-town, has urged the math genius and recluse to accept the $1m Millennium Prize for solving the Poincaré conjecture, and donate it to charities. Perelman has refused to accept the award, telling one reporter through the closed door of his flat, 'I have all I want,' and another who managed to call him on his mobile, 'You are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms.'"
He's rejecting it on principled grounds. Regardless of what you think about those principles, he simply can't do this just for short term charity.
When he rejected the Field's medal, he simply said to the effect of, "If I take the money, I'd be obligated to correct the wrongs I see, otherwise I'd be a hypocrite. I don't want to be the one making that crusade, so I have to reject the money." (Remember the scene in Thank You For Not Smoking?) It's a simple, logical response. He may be a recluse and all, but there's nothing strange about his refusal to take the money.
Beetle B.
If he's jobless and living with his family, the least the foundation could do is contact his family and ask if they'd like the money for rent, food, etc. They're essentially paying for his work and even if he doesn't want the prize, they could give it to his family quietly so he can continue to do his work without someone having to worry about rent.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
Quit bothering the guy already.
He's sensible enough to know that if he accepts, people will want him to give speeches, attend talks, and will generally waste his time. Feynman once pointed out that winning a Nobel Prize meant that he heard from many people he really didn't want to talk to. Feynman sometimes gave talks under a pseudonym, so that only the people really interested in the subject matter would show up.
"Am I the only one who thinks this guy is getting off on all the attention he is getting by pretending to be a recluse who doesn't want any attention or money."
No there are a couple of other posters who also don't get it.
Spinoza..."is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism.....Spinoza is considered to be one of Western philosophy's most important philosophers...Spinoza lived quietly as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions"
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Shakespeare certainly didn't write for art. If he were alive today he'd be Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay. Throughout his life he made a reasonable living producing plays that had large audiences from all levels of society. He wasn't writing for posterity, he was writing to sell tickets, and his plays reflect that: Kings and Queens, forbidden love and betrayal, lots of opportunities for swordfights to be staged, and comedy that still holds up today if performed well.
The only reason he seems like a God among writers is that, because he was popular, his plays survived. He wrote very little that was original in concept; he was constantly borrowing from other, earlier playwrights and from popular stories of the day. The (now) archaic English gives it a patina of high art, but that's our faulty perspective, not his intent.
If that depresses you, it's only because in 500 years, there will be revival companies performing Top Gun and Die Hard rather than Driving Miss Daisy.
Anyone who loves or hates any language, platform, or manufacturer, doesn't know what they're talking about.
What the comity could do is take the million and invest it at say 3%. Create a new price called the Perelman price and give the interests away to the winner every 5 years.
It may be a good life for him, and that's all he thinks he needs. But that may not be so true for the people who are providing for his needs.
No, I don't think he is providing for his needs (he doesn't look capable of doing it) - I think his mother and/or sister are/is.
So if it were up to me, I'd actually use the money to provide a monthly stipend to his mother and sister (for as long as Perelman continues to be supported by them).
Since he doesn't want the money, I think it's fair to give it to the ones who supported him, since without them he might not have survived to solve the problem.
IMO giving a monthly amount is better than a lump sum. Since it is more likely that Perelman would benefit in the long term.
I think it's also a good idea to give the mom and sister a one time sum of money as a gift - on top of that monthly amount.