Mathematician Perelman Yakov: contribution to science. Famous Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman

Mathematician Perelman is a very famous person, despite the fact that he leads a solitary life and in every possible way avoids the press. The proof of the Poincare conjecture, made by him, placed him on a par with the greatest scientists in world history. Mathematician Perelman refused many awards, provided by the scientific community. This person lives very modestly and is completely devoted to science. Of course, it is worthwhile to tell about it and its opening in detail.

Father Grigory Perelman

June 13, 1966 the world appeared Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman, a mathematician. His photo is freely available, but the most famous ones are presented in this article. He was born in Leningrad, the cultural capital of our country. His father was an electrical engineer. He had nothing to do with science, as many believe.

Yakov Perelman

It is widely believed that Grigory is the son of Yakov Perelman, a famous popularizer of science. However, this error, because he died in besieged Leningrad in March 1942, therefore could not be the father of a great mathematician. This man was born in Bialystok, a city that used to belong to the Russian Empire, and now is part of Poland. Yakov Isidorovich was born in 1882.

Yakov Perelman, which is very interesting, also attracted mathematics. In addition, he was fond of astronomy, physics. This person is considered the founder of entertaining science, and also one of the first who wrote works in the genre of popular science literature. He is the creator of the book "Living Mathematics." Perelman wrote many other books. In addition, his bibliography includes more than a thousand articles. As for such a book as "Live Mathematics", Perelman presents in it various puzzles related to this science. Many of them are decorated in the form of small stories. This book is designed primarily for adolescents.

In one respect, a book with the author Yakov Perelman ("Entertaining Mathematics") is especially interesting. Trilliard - do you know what this number is? This is 10 ²¹ . For a long time there were two scales in parallel in the USSR - "short" and "long". According to Perelman, "short" was used in financial calculations and everyday life, and "long" - in scientific works devoted to physics and astronomy. So, there is no trilliard on the "short" scale. 10 ²¹ it is called a sextillion. These scales are generally quite different.

However, we will not dwell on this in detail, and turn to the story of the contribution to science that Grigory Yakovlevich made, and not Yakov Isidorovich, whose achievements were less modest. By the way, his love of science Gregory was not instilled by his well-known namesake.

Mother Perelman and her influence on Grigory Yakovlevich

The mother of the future scientist taught mathematics in the vocational school. In addition, she was a talented violinist. Probably, the love for mathematics, as well as for classical music Grigory Yakovlevich took it from her. Both of them attracted Perelman equally. When he faced the choice of where to go - to the Conservatory or to a technical college, he could not decide for a long time. Who knows who could become Grigory Perelman, if he decided to get a musical education.

Childhood of the future scientist

Already from a young age Grigory was distinguished by a competent speech, both written and oral. He often amazed teachers at school. By the way, up to the 9th grade Perelman was studying in a secondary school, apparently typical, which are so many on the outskirts. And then the teachers from the Palace of Pioneers noticed a talented young man. He was taken to the courses for gifted children. This contributed to the development of Perelman's unique gifts.

Victory at the Olympics, graduation from school

Since then, the landmark of victories for Gregory begins. In 1982 he received a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad held in Budapest. Perelman participated in it together with a team of Soviet schoolchildren. He received a full score, having solved impeccably all tasks. The eleventh grade of the school Grigory graduated in the same year. The very fact of participation in this prestigious Olympiad opened for him the doors of the best educational institutions of our country. But Grigory Perelman not only participated in it, but also received a gold medal.

It is not surprising that he was enrolled without examinations to the Leningrad State University, to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics. By the way, Grigory, as a strange thing, did not get a gold medal in school. This was hampered by the assessment of physical culture. The delivery of sports standards at that time was mandatory for everyone, including those who hardly imagined themselves at the pole for jumping or at the bar. On the other subjects he studied for five.

Studying at Leningrad State University

Over the next few years, the future scientist continued his education at Leningrad State University. He participated, and with great success, in a variety of mathematical competitions. Perelman managed to get a prestigious Lenin scholarship. So he became the owner of 120 rubles - a lot of money for those times. It must have been a good life at that time.

It should be said that the mathematical and mechanical faculty of this university, now called St. Petersburg, was one of the best in Russia during the Soviet years. In 1924, for example, he graduated from V. Leontiev. Almost immediately after the completion of training, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics. This scientist is even called the father of the American economy. Leonid Kantorovich, the only Russian laureate of this award, who received her for his contribution to this science, was a professor of mathematics.

Continuing education, living in the USA

After graduation LSU Grigory Perelman entered the Steklov Institute of Mathematics to continue his studies in graduate school. Soon he flew to the United States in order to present this educational institution. This country has always been considered a state of unlimited freedom, especially in Soviet times among the inhabitants of our country. To see her dreamed many, but the mathematician Perelman was not one of them. It seems that the temptations of the West passed unnoticed for him. The scientist still led a modest way of life, even somewhat ascetic. He ate sandwiches and cheese, which he drank with kefir or milk. And of course, the mathematician Perelman worked hard. In particular, he led teaching. The scientist met with his fellow mathematicians. America after 6 years he was bored.

Return to Russia

Grigory returned to Russia, to his native institute. Here he worked for 9 years. It was at this time, probably, he began to understand that the road to "pure art" lies through isolation, isolation from society. Grigory decided to break all his relations with his colleagues. The scientist decided to lock himself in his Leningrad apartment and start a grandiose work ...

Topology

It is not easy to explain what Perelman has proved in mathematics. Only great lovers of this science can fully understand the significance of the discovery made by him. We will try to explain in an accessible language the hypothesis that Perelman derived. Grigory Yakovlevich attracted topology. This is a section of mathematics, often referred to as geometry on a rubber sheet. Topology studies geometric forms that persist when the form is bent, twisted or stretched. In other words, if it is absolutely elastic deformed - without gluing, slices and breaks. Topology is very important for a discipline such as mathematical physics. It gives an idea of the properties of space. We are talking about an infinite space in our case, which is continuously expanding, that is, the universe.

The Poincaré conjecture

The great French physicist, mathematician and philosopher J. A. Poincaré was the first to deduce a hypothesis on this score. This happened in the early 20th century. But it should be noted that he made the assumption, but did not give the proof. Perelman set as his task to prove this hypothesis, to deduce after a whole century a mathematical solution, logically verified.

When they talk about its essence, they usually start as follows. Take the rubber disc. It should be pulled on the ball. Thus, you have a two-dimensional sphere. It is necessary that at one point the disk circumference is collected. For example, you can do this with a backpack, pulling and tie it with a cord. It turns out the sphere. Of course, for us it is three-dimensional, but from the point of view of mathematics it will be two-dimensional.

Then begins the imagery projections and reasoning, which is difficult for an unprepared person to understand. It is necessary to present now a three-dimensional sphere, that is, a ball, stretched on something that goes into another dimension. The three-dimensional sphere, according to the hypothesis, is the only existing three-dimensional object that can be pulled together by a hypothetical "hyperswitch" at one point. The proof of this theorem helps us to understand what form the universe has. In addition, thanks to it, one can reasonably assume that the Universe is such a three-dimensional sphere.

The Poincaré conjecture and the Big Bang theory

It should be noted that this hypothesis is a confirmation of the theory of the Big Bang. If the universe is the only "figure", the distinguishing feature of which is the ability to pull it to one point, it means that it can be stretched in the same way. The question arises: if it is a sphere, what is outside the universe? Is a person who is a secondary product related to the planet Earth alone and not even to the cosmos as a whole, to know this mystery? Those who are interested can be invited to read the works of another famous mathematician - Stephen Hawking. However, he can not yet say anything concrete on this score. Let's hope that in the future there will be another Perelman and he will be able to solve this riddle, which torments the imagination of many. Who knows, maybe even Grigory Yakovlevich himself will be able to do it.

Nobel Prize in Mathematics

Perelman did not receive this prestigious award for his great achievement. It's strange, is not it? In fact, this is explained very simply, given that such a reward simply does not exist. A whole legend was created about the reasons why Nobel deprived representatives of such an important science. And to this day is not awarded the Nobel Prize in Mathematics. Perelman probably would have received it if it existed. There is a legend that the reason for the rejection by Nobel of mathematicians is the following: it was to the representative of this science that the bride left him. So it or not, but only with the onset of the 21st century justice finally triumphed. It was then that another prize for mathematicians appeared. We will tell briefly about its history.

How did the Clay Institute award come about?

David Gilbert at a mathematical congress, held in 1900 in Paris, proposed a list that includes 23 problems that need to be solved in the new, 20th century. To date, 21 of them have already been resolved. By the way, Yu. V. Matiyasevich, a graduate of the Mathematics Institute of LSU, completed the solution of the 10th of these problems in 1970. In the early 21st century, a similar list was drawn up at the American Institute of Clay, consisting of seven problems in mathematics. They should have been solved already in the 21st century. A million dollar award was announced for each of them. As early as 1904, Poincaré formulated one of these tasks. He put forward the hypothesis that in a four-dimensional space all three-dimensional surfaces homotypically equivalent to a sphere are homeomorphic to it. In simple words, if a three-dimensional surface is similar in some way to a sphere, then there is an opportunity to spread it into a sphere. This assertion of the scientist is sometimes called the formula of the universe because of its great importance in understanding complex physical processes, and also because the answer to it means solving the question of the form of the universe. It should also be said that this discovery plays an important role in the development of nanotechnology.

So, the mathematical institute of Clay decided to choose the 7 most difficult tasks. For the decision of each of them was promised a million dollars. And here comes the discovery he made, Grigory Perelman. The prize in mathematics, of course, goes to him. He was noticed quite quickly, since he published his work on foreign Internet resources since 2002.

How Perelman was awarded the Clay Award

So, in March 2010, was awarded the well-deserved award Perelman. The award in mathematics meant getting an impressive fortune, the size of which was $ 1 million. Grigory Yakovlevich had to get it for the proof of Poincare's theorem. However, in June 2010, the scientist ignored the mathematical conference held in Paris, which was to be awarded this award. And on July 1, 2010, Perelman announced his refusal in public. Moreover, he did not take the money he owed, despite all the requests.

Why did mathematician Perelman abandon the award?

Grigory Yakovlevich explained this by the fact that his conscience does not allow him to get a million, put to several other mathematicians. The scientist noted that he had many reasons for taking money, and not taking them. He could not decide for a long time. As the main reason for refusing the award, Grigory Perelman, a mathematician, called disagreement with the scientific community. He noted that he considers his decisions unjust. Grigory Yakovlevich said that he believes that the contribution of Hamilton, the German mathematician, to solving this problem is no less than his.

By the way, a little later there was an anecdote on this subject: mathematicians should often allocate millions, perhaps somebody will decide to take them. A year after Perelman's refusal to Demetrios Christodul and Richard Hamilton was awarded to Shaw Prize. The size of this award in mathematics is one million dollars. This award is sometimes also called the Nobel Prize of the East. Hamilton got it for creating a mathematical theory. It was her then developed by the Russian mathematician Perelman in his works devoted to the proof of the Poincare conjecture. Richard accepted this award.

Other awards, which Gregory Perelman refused

By the way, in 1996 Grigory Yakovlevich was awarded a prestigious prize for young mathematicians from the European Mathematical Society. However, he refused to receive it.

Ten years later, in 2006, the scientist was awarded the Fields Medal for solving the Poincare conjecture. Grigory Yakovlevich refused and from her.

The journal Science in 2006 called the proof of the hypothesis created by Poincare, the scientific breakthrough of the year. It should be noted that this is the first work in the field of mathematics, which deserved such a title.

David Gruber and Silvia Nazar in 2006 published an article called Manifold Destiny. It talks about Perelman, about his solution to the Poincare problem. In addition, the article describes the mathematical community and the ethical principles that exist in science. It also features a rare interview with Perelman. Much is said about the criticism of Yau Shintan, a Chinese mathematician. Together with the students, he tried to challenge the fullness of the evidence presented by Grigory Yakovlevich. Perelman said in an interview: "Those who violate ethical standards in science are considered outsiders, people like me are who are in isolation."

In September 2011, the mathematician Perelman refused membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences. His biography is presented in a book published in the same year. From it you can learn more about the fate of this mathematician, although the information collected is based on the evidence of third parties. Its author is Masha Hesse. The book was compiled on the basis of interviews with classmates, teachers, colleagues and fellow Perelman. Sergei Rukshin, teacher Grigory Yakovlevich, spoke about it critically.

Grigory Perelman today

And today he leads a solitary lifestyle. The mathematician Perelman ignores the press in every possible way. Where does he live? Until recently, Grigory Yakovlevich lived with his mother in Kupchino. And since 2014 the famous Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman is in Sweden.