1 00:00:10,994 --> 00:00:23,899 On July 1, 2010 the media broadcasted that the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman had

finally refused the million dollar prize. 2 00:00:23,999 --> 00:00:29,501 The news was bewildering. He had earned the money fairly, 3 00:00:29,601 --> 00:00:37,404 giving a correct proof of the problem that had remained unsolved for a century. 4 00:00:37,504 --> 00:00:45,208 No one in the history of mathematics had ever refused such a large cash prize. 5 00:00:45,424 --> 00:00:54,433 (John Morgan) By no other way could Perelman have attracted more attention to himself, mathematics and the Poincare conjecture. 6 00:00:54,955 --> 00:01:01,588 The media quickly spreads the image of a strange mathematician from St. Petersburg. 7 00:01:01,688 --> 00:01:09,222 One look at this man is enough to see that he is poor, so why does he not need money and fame? 8 00:01:09,322 --> 00:01:16,285 Where is the logic? All attempts to find it out from Perelman himself have been futile. 9 00:01:16,471 --> 00:01:24,865 (Perelman's voice) What I wanted to say I have already said. Goodbye. 10 00:01:25,228 --> 00:01:35,304 (Jim Carlson) The story is so unusual because Perelman is a very unusual person. It brings a romantic element to the story. 11 00:01:35,404 --> 00:01:38,961 People will be retelling it for many years. 12 00:01:39,354 --> 00:01:45,754 Having solved one of the mysteries of the millennium, Perelman becomes a mystery himself. 13 00:01:45,854 --> 00:01:50,047

He has kept silent for many years. And his silence is loud. 14 00:01:50,147 --> 00:01:57,209 Maybe with all this excitement over the prize we have missed the most important question at hand. 15 00:01:57,309 --> 00:02:02,682 Who is this man and what happened with him in mathematics and in his life? 16 00:02:11,902 --> 00:02:15,187 The world consists of consumers, it's normal. 17 00:02:15,287 --> 00:02:22,719 For millions the interest in mathematics ended with school. Numbers were invented to count money. 18 00:02:22,819 --> 00:02:26,888 What will we get from great mathematical discoveries? 19 00:02:28,403 --> 00:02:34,304 (Fedor Bogomolov) You know what they used to say. Number theory, what is it? 20 00:02:34,404 --> 00:02:43,297 It turned out that everything we use now cell phones, computers and so on they all use number theory. 21 00:02:43,397 --> 00:02:49,881 It is all based on some discoveries from the 19th century and some more modern. 22 00:02:50,119 --> 00:02:59,375 (Sergei Kislyakov) Do you know that when you put a credit card into an ATM you use very serious mathematical theorems? 23 00:02:59,475 --> 00:03:05,674 The data is encrypted. And these theorems were not discovered for this purpose. 24 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:10,244 But suddenly the serene camp of consumers is confused. 25 00:03:10,344 --> 00:03:15,974 The situation with Perelman ignites a boom of interest in mathematics. 26

00:03:16,074 --> 00:03:26,357 People want to know what they will get from the solved problem and why the Poincare conjecture was assessed with so much money. 27 00:03:27,522 --> 00:03:32,079 Henri Poincare was the President of the French Academy of Sciences. 28 00:03:32,179 --> 00:03:39,153 He was noble, correct in disputes, indifferent to fame, and strictly honored ethical behavior in science. 29 00:03:39,253 --> 00:03:44,985 He used to say that the geometry of the new century needs intuition and inspiration. 30 00:03:45,187 --> 00:03:54,318 Poincare first wrote down his conjecture in 1904. For one hundred years it was a puzzle left to his colleagues as a legacy. 31 00:03:55,850 --> 00:04:03,538 In response to the recent interest due to Perelman, people have tried explaining it in many different ways to the common man. 32 00:04:03,638 --> 00:04:08,013 But it is not easy to explain the Poincare's conjecture in simple terms. 33 00:04:08,113 --> 00:04:12,302 Such explanations have used cups, doughnuts, soup bubbles and oranges. 34 00:04:12,671 --> 00:04:20,014 (Oleg Viro) During this fuss there was so much nonsense about it. 35 00:04:20,729 --> 00:04:27,232 (Nikolai Mnev) All those attempts to explain the Poincare conjecture complete nonsense. Not a word of truth. 36 00:04:27,775 --> 00:04:35,809 (Mikhail Gromov) Here is his hypothesis as I see it. There is the space we live in and he tries to extract its essential properties. 37 00:04:35,909 --> 00:04:38,294 He begins to describe these properties. 38 00:04:38,394 --> 00:04:43,352 But it is not easy to explain mathematics

because it is like a foreign language. 39 00:04:43,452 --> 00:04:50,923 You can't explain in two words what the Chinese language is to someone who doesn't know it. You have to study it for years. 40 00:04:51,324 --> 00:04:57,668 So we can amuse ourselves by transforming cups into doughnuts and by shrinking the Earth into a point, 41 00:04:57,768 --> 00:05:02,794 but the Poincare conjecture and the mysteries of space won't become clearer to us. 42 00:05:05,281 --> 00:05:07,680 Mathematicians live in a different cosmos. 43 00:05:07,780 --> 00:05:15,213 They know that whoever solves the Poincare conjecture will come closer to the most important problem of mathematics and physics: 44 00:05:15,313 --> 00:05:17,246 what is the shape of the universe? 45 00:05:17,247 --> 00:05:21,269 There is no other way to describe the world. It is either a natural language or mathematics. 46 00:05:21,369 --> 00:05:24,319 Without Grisha it could have remained unsolved for another century. 47 00:05:24,949 --> 00:05:32,154 However, the situation is that not even all mathematicians can understand his thoughts. 48 00:05:33,581 --> 00:05:36,522 Russia had an amazing mathematical school that created Perelman. 49 00:05:36,622 --> 00:05:39,330 If we hadn't had this school we would not have had Perelman. 50 00:05:39,430 --> 00:05:42,980 It was generations of mathematicians that interacted with him and taught him. 51

00:05:44,627 --> 00:05:50,436 Grisha Perelman was born in 1966 into a country with a great mathematical school, 52 00:05:50,536 --> 00:05:54,965 the country of Lobachevsky, Kovalevsky, Kolmogorov,and Chebyshev. 53 00:05:55,065 --> 00:06:04,579 His parents considered it a matter of honor to instill a love of mathematics into their children Grisha and his younger sister, Lena. 54 00:06:05,118 --> 00:06:12,931 (Sergei Rukshin) The first time I heard about Grisha was from professor Nathanson. 55 00:06:13,031 --> 00:06:23,417 He said that his former student had a kid who was interested in mathematics. And why wouldn't I look at him. 56 00:06:25,113 --> 00:06:30,774 The mother was convinced that mathematics was perfect for her son. 57 00:06:30,874 --> 00:06:37,494 The boy was unusual in character he was persistent and impeccably honest. 58 00:06:39,778 --> 00:06:47,255 We are in the subway and Grisha is sweating profusely. He is wearing a fur hat with tied flaps. 59 00:06:47,355 --> 00:06:50,249 Grisha, it is hot, untie the hat. 60 00:06:50,349 --> 00:06:55,495 No, said Grisha, I promised my mom I wouldn't, so I won't. 61 00:06:55,595 --> 00:06:58,652 Grisha certainly was impeccably honest. 62 00:06:59,039 --> 00:07:05,377 Mathematics gave him everything he wanted: solitude, complexity, hardandfast rules. 63 00:07:05,477 --> 00:07:09,727 Not being able to solve a problem was devastating for him.

64 00:07:09,827 --> 00:07:13,632 Only victories were allowed. It was an axiom for him. 65 00:07:14,740 --> 00:07:25,461 But this axiom will shatter when life puts into one equation a great problem, ambitions and a million dollars. 66 00:07:25,561 --> 00:07:29,532 And this story won't be about mathematics. 67 00:07:29,963 --> 00:07:34,340 It began when he boarded the plane flying overseas. 68 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:45,034 In September 1992 Grigori Perelman comes to New York for his internship in the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. 69 00:07:45,134 --> 00:07:47,498 Then he will go to Berkeley. 70 00:07:47,598 --> 00:07:57,229 He had a great start to science: elite school, a diploma with distinction from the St.Petersburg State University, 71 00:07:57,329 --> 00:08:03,460 graduate school and a job in the state's best mathematical organization. 72 00:08:03,741 --> 00:08:08,867 But in the early 90s the Soviet Union collapses. 73 00:08:08,967 --> 00:08:16,165 Russia is facing a period of political change and economic turmoil. 74 00:08:16,265 --> 00:08:21,611 Science was the last thing on the people's mind. 75 00:08:23,728 --> 00:08:29,150 (Ludvig Faddeev) In the late 80s, we probably had the best institute in the world. 76 00:08:29,250 --> 00:08:34,185 Amongst the 110 members, 70 had Ph.D degrees in some field of mathematics. 77 00:08:34,285 --> 00:08:39,290

If you had a question you could always find somebody who could answer it. 78 00:08:39,390 --> 00:08:43,701 Of the 70 doctorates, 40 of them left. Can you imagine such loss? 79 00:08:45,225 --> 00:08:49,018 The lack of intellectual work is dangerous for a young mathematician. 80 00:08:49,118 --> 00:08:55,591 So Mikhail Gromov tries to help and invites Grisha to the US. Perelman's works are well known there. Such is his talent. 81 00:08:56,250 --> 00:08:59,143 They admired his ability to solve problems that nobody else could. 82 00:08:59,243 --> 00:09:03,473 While he worked here, he solved three or four problems that had remained unsolved for 20-30 years. 83 00:09:03,702 --> 00:09:12,907 Grigori is 26 years old. And he doesn't know that this escape from the problems will change his life dramatically. 84 00:09:13,007 --> 00:09:20,886 But everything is fine now. A modest apartment, austerity everywhere, Manhattan doesn't attract him. 85 00:09:21,060 --> 00:09:28,927 I couldn't find out if he visited the art museums. It is, supposedly, not expensive in America. 86 00:09:29,027 --> 00:09:36,458 Or if America left any impression on him. He went there to do science and was doing it. 87 00:09:36,749 --> 00:09:43,172 (Bruce Kleiner) He looked thoughtful, rational, and never depended on other people's opinion. 88 00:09:43,849 --> 00:09:52,849 Perelman doesn't get on well with people, but the young professor Gang Tian from China is an exception. 89 00:09:52,949 --> 00:10:02,849 Every week they rent a car and drive to Princeton

or Stony Brook to attend the lectures of the best professors. 90 00:10:02,949 --> 00:10:09,249 At one of these lectures he meets the famous geometer Richard Hamilton. 91 00:10:09,349 --> 00:10:21,052 Although, their encounter was ordinary, just a brief conversation after the lecture about the Ricci flow and the continuity of space. 92 00:10:21,297 --> 00:10:31,030 Hamilton behaved sincerely, interested in the truth of mathematics. He told Grisha everything he knew on this subject. 93 00:10:31,356 --> 00:10:38,976 He also told the most important: he was close to solving the Poincare conjecture. 94 00:10:39,076 --> 00:10:46,020 Perelman, of course, knew about the conjecture. But was he interested in it? 95 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,558 Maybe this encounter with Hamilton was crucial. 96 00:10:51,920 --> 00:11:04,753 Three years have passed. His internship in America is going well and several prestigious universities offer him a position. 97 00:11:04,853 --> 00:11:11,748 He thinks about staying, learns English and gets a driver's license. 98 00:11:12,478 --> 00:11:22,326 But on one day Perelman reads a new article by Hamilton and realizes that Hamilton is unable to proceed in solving the problem. 99 00:11:22,426 --> 00:11:27,584 Grisha writes to him saying: I think I know how to go further. 100 00:11:27,684 --> 00:11:34,171 No reply from Hamilton it is a signal that Grisha can work on the problem alone. 101 00:11:34,271 --> 00:11:35,913 He buys a ticket home.

102 00:11:36,391 --> 00:11:42,967 He had a clear idea he needed seven years of peace and quiet in order to work. 103 00:11:43,067 --> 00:11:51,673 In America he could not have it, he must have a job there. Besides he had some savings that he could live on. 104 00:11:51,773 --> 00:11:53,803 So he went back to Russia. 105 00:11:55,569 --> 00:12:02,848 He returns to St. Petersburg. The father has left the family and now lives in Israel. 106 00:12:02,948 --> 00:12:09,606 His sister studies in the same university but soon will also move to Israel. 107 00:12:09,706 --> 00:12:12,102 He is alone with his mother. 108 00:12:12,202 --> 00:12:17,353 They live in different apartments in the same neighborhood. 109 00:12:17,928 --> 00:12:24,094 But now this loneliness is his salvation. His main objective is the problem he is facing. 110 00:12:24,194 --> 00:12:32,557 He has never dealt with a more challenging one. He is obsessed with the idea to overcome something that nobody else can. 111 00:12:32,657 --> 00:12:35,138 He knows that he is capable of this. 112 00:12:35,485 --> 00:12:43,140 Grisha is very strong in mathematics. Stronger than anybody else. He is super strong. 113 00:12:46,862 --> 00:12:52,792 Mathematics is not well suited for child prodigies. The ability to solve problems increases with age. 114 00:12:52,892 --> 00:12:58,942 Grisha was 12 years old when he came here the mathematics

club at Leningrad's Young Pioneer Palace. 115 00:12:59,042 --> 00:13:03,417 The competition with the other boys here became his first major challenge. 116 00:13:03,701 --> 00:13:16,553 Over the span of four years covering the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades the number one student in the city was another boy, 117 00:13:16,653 --> 00:13:20,465 Grisha's future classmate Alik Levin. 118 00:13:20,565 --> 00:13:26,012 What Grisha did in one hour, Alik did in 15 minutes. 119 00:13:27,770 --> 00:13:33,457 In order to stimulate a teenager's ambition and to reveal his hidden abilities, a catalyst is required. 120 00:13:33,557 --> 00:13:35,207 And that catalyst was failure. 121 00:13:37,041 --> 00:13:44,817 Grisha's stimulus was failing two or three times during the 8th grade. 122 00:13:44,917 --> 00:13:51,435 He failed at the city's Olympiad he only placed second. 123 00:13:51,535 --> 00:13:59,197 He also failed at the All-Union Olympiad, where he also placed second. 124 00:13:59,297 --> 00:14:10,163 This provoked him, and half a year later he became the number one in the city and in the country. 125 00:14:10,492 --> 00:14:17,125 Thus, at the age of 15 he had forgotten how to lose. There would be many victories in the future. 126 00:14:17,225 --> 00:14:21,317 Acceptance to the best Leningrad's university a victory. 127 00:14:21,417 --> 00:14:26,003 Acquiring the reputation of a strong problem solver a victory.

128 00:14:26,103 --> 00:14:32,383 Achieving full marks at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest a victory. 129 00:14:32,483 --> 00:14:37,143 His teachers didn't know what was impossible for him in mathematics. 130 00:14:37,783 --> 00:14:43,861 These abilities are exactly what he needed to work on the Poincare conjecture for 8-9 years. 131 00:14:43,961 --> 00:14:48,081 It's not easy to concentrate on a hard problem for a long time. 132 00:14:48,350 --> 00:14:58,744 At the end of July in the year 2000 the Clay Mathematics Institute announces the Millennium Prize Problems. 133 00:14:58,844 --> 00:15:05,414 There are seven problems that have remained unsolved for many years. 134 00:15:05,514 --> 00:15:13,456 The American philanthropist Landon Clay offers a million dollars for solving each. 135 00:15:13,556 --> 00:15:18,068 The idea was to reward the best mathematicians. 136 00:15:18,625 --> 00:15:27,276 (Anatoly Vershik) I do not approve of this idea of the Clay Institute. It reminds me of show business. 137 00:15:27,376 --> 00:15:32,673 Life has shown that something always happens with this prize. 138 00:15:32,908 --> 00:15:43,228 The Poincare conjecture is on the list, but Perelman doesn't care. For the last 5 years this problem is everything he thinks about. 139 00:15:43,328 --> 00:15:50,154 He rarely goes to work. His only indulgences are walking and classical music concerts. 140 00:15:50,254 --> 00:15:58,786 And the fact that it is now a prize problem doesn't change anything. He feels that the solution is feasible.

141 00:15:58,886 --> 00:16:05,633 This is much more rewarding than any prize. The most important thing is the solution. 142 00:16:06,654 --> 00:16:09,336 I can give you an example of how one gets mathematical ideas. 143 00:16:09,436 --> 00:16:12,922 Sometimes, when you're discussing something, you will suddenly recall an anecdote. 144 00:16:13,022 --> 00:16:16,642 The fact that you can recall it at the right moment has nothing to do with memory. 145 00:16:16,742 --> 00:16:18,040 It is the same in mathematics. 146 00:16:18,204 --> 00:16:25,026 (Yuri Tschinkel) It is an incredible emotional stress. Poincare wrote about it. 147 00:16:25,126 --> 00:16:36,043 In his book, Science and Method, he writes about boarding a tram, and how insightful thoughts struck him at that time. 148 00:16:37,599 --> 00:16:43,304 November 11, 2002. Perelman opens the website arXiv.org. 149 00:16:43,404 --> 00:16:53,827 His proof is finished "The Entropy Formula for the Ricci Flow and its Geometric Applications." 150 00:16:53,927 --> 00:17:03,033 It's 40 pages in English. He signs his name, Grisha Perelman, and then submits it. 151 00:17:03,133 --> 00:17:06,974 And the mathematical world blows up. 152 00:17:07,844 --> 00:17:20,903 (Gang Tian) I had not heard from him for many years. Since 1995, when he went back to Russia. 153 00:17:21,003 --> 00:17:28,424 It was a big surprise to receive an email from him.

154 00:17:29,125 --> 00:17:34,935 I already knew Perelman and immediately realized that this deserved our attention. 155 00:17:35,035 --> 00:17:38,335 I can say that I knew about it on the next day. 156 00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:46,701 In fact it was Richard Hamilton who told me. We had a Christmas party in December 2002. 157 00:17:46,801 --> 00:18:00,432 He said that there is this guy, a topologist, who put out an article about the Ricci flow, claiming at the end that he proved the Poincare conjecture. 158 00:18:00,532 --> 00:18:04,641 And it was clear that the author was serious. 159 00:18:08,937 --> 00:18:15,072 During the same year Perelman submits the other two parts of his work. 160 00:18:15,172 --> 00:18:21,396 His colleagues are confused. First of all, the proof was extremely brief. 161 00:18:21,496 --> 00:18:27,809 Secondly, posting a work on the internet doesn't have any official status. 162 00:18:27,909 --> 00:18:36,003 It is if the author was saying Here is my solution. I'm not interested in anything else. 163 00:18:36,222 --> 00:18:47,758 The fact that he posted the article on the internet might have meant that the author went crazy. 164 00:18:47,858 --> 00:18:56,724 But you could see that the reasoning in the article was logical and sound. 165 00:18:56,860 --> 00:18:58,105 This wasn't a crank. 166

00:18:58,205 --> 00:19:05,887 There are many cranks who claim that they have solved the Poincare conjecture. But in this case it wasn't a crank. 167 00:19:05,952 --> 00:19:15,988 (Jeff Cheeger) From my experience with Grisha I can tell that he tends to underestimate himself. Not only in mathematics, but also in life. 168 00:19:16,088 --> 00:19:24,326 Someone else in this situation would have widely announced this achievement and published everything in detail. 169 00:19:24,426 --> 00:19:26,225 But Grisha was different. 170 00:19:28,426 --> 00:19:36,171 The first reaction is to meet Grisha, and to ask him a lot of questions. 171 00:19:37,013 --> 00:19:51,091 I wrote and invited him to the States, to give a number of lectures about his work. He replied immediately. Immediately. 172 00:19:52,379 --> 00:20:01,628 In 2003 Perelman flies again to the US. The best universities invite him to hold lectures. 173 00:20:01,728 --> 00:20:06,773 The best mathematicians are eager to attend them. 174 00:20:07,344 --> 00:20:12,316 But journalists are not allowed. Perelman can't stand cameras and recorders. 175 00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:18,458 He was sharp with those who tried to record his lectures. 176 00:20:18,558 --> 00:20:26,459 I remember at one lecture in Stony Brook one of the students put a recorder on the table. 177 00:20:26,559 --> 00:20:30,689 When Perelman saw it, he asked: What's that? 178 00:20:30,789 --> 00:20:38,601 The student explained that he wanted to record the lecture. Perelman said: No, no, no!

179 00:20:39,081 --> 00:20:48,455 Many people gathered here for the lecture. Supposedly, he was claiming that he had proved the Poincare conjecture. 180 00:20:48,555 --> 00:20:56,494 But he did not even mention it. Because he chose those topics which he found the most important. 181 00:20:56,594 --> 00:21:01,747 And the conjecture was just a small application of his theory. 182 00:21:03,035 --> 00:21:07,417 It happened just like that. The audience was silent. 183 00:21:07,517 --> 00:21:15,843 It was not just the Poincare conjecture, but something more. He was opening new doors in geometry. 184 00:21:15,943 --> 00:21:22,429 And the conjecture was just a small case which he had proved along the way. 185 00:21:22,529 --> 00:21:27,877 It was as if he had shaken Poincare's hand and simply moved on. 186 00:21:28,930 --> 00:21:34,083 When Perelman solved this problem, he was perhaps the only one who understood it. 187 00:21:34,183 --> 00:21:38,359 Now, after a few years, there are several people who understand it. 188 00:21:39,190 --> 00:21:45,759 Perelman does not like be the center of attention. Among his colleagues, however, he is comfortable. 189 00:21:45,859 --> 00:21:50,855 Even then, they only talk about mathematics. Everything else is not for him. 190 00:21:52,647 --> 00:22:00,413 I remember how we used to spend time together: he would come to my office, we would talk for several hours, 191 00:22:00,513 --> 00:22:04,247 and then we would go for a walk. He enjoyed walking.

192 00:22:05,243 --> 00:22:11,046 I invited him for lunch. The next day was Sunday, and he was staying with his mother in Brooklyn. 193 00:22:11,146 --> 00:22:16,332 He asked, Who will be there? I said, My wife, my son and daughter, and myself. 194 00:22:16,432 --> 00:22:19,580 Then he responded by saying: No, no. I can't come. 195 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:25,547 I think if Hamilton and Gromov had been there, he would have said: OK, I will think about it. 196 00:22:25,900 --> 00:22:31,416 However, Perelman never spoke with Hamilton before his departure. 197 00:22:31,516 --> 00:22:36,594 Hamilton attended the lectures, but did not approach Grisha. 198 00:22:36,694 --> 00:22:42,298 What was the reason for this? Envy? Resentment? Disbelief? Who knows. 199 00:22:43,863 --> 00:22:49,269 Again, Perelman is invited to stay in America, but he returns to St. Petersburg. 200 00:22:49,369 --> 00:22:57,194 For Perelman, the conjecture is no longer a conjecture, but for the other mathematicians the work has just begun. 201 00:22:57,294 --> 00:23:01,705 The discovery requires a serious examination. It can take years. 202 00:23:02,084 --> 00:23:08,502 This problem has a long history of incorrect proofs. There were dozens of such proofs. 203 00:23:08,602 --> 00:23:14,716 And that's why everyone was suspicious. It was easy to make a mistake in the proof. 204 00:23:14,979 --> 00:23:23,278 Every day, we get submissions from people who claim that they

have solved one of the problems 205 00:23:23,378 --> 00:23:30,865 or all of the problems plus the Fermat problem. Their proofs always contain mistakes. 206 00:23:30,965 --> 00:23:39,176 But Perelman was known as a great mathematician, and people wanted to understand what he did. 207 00:23:39,348 --> 00:23:43,662 You can't hope to understand in two days what someone took seven years to come up with. Right? 208 00:23:48,654 --> 00:23:58,751 The world's best mathematicians begin to check the proof. The bulk of the work is carried out by two teams. 209 00:23:58,851 --> 00:24:03,511 One team consists of Bruce Kleiner and John Lott. 210 00:24:03,611 --> 00:24:12,058 The other one has John Morgan, who worked on the conjecture for many years, and Gang Tian. 211 00:24:12,769 --> 00:24:20,621 These mathematicians deciphered, verified and commented on Perelman's proof. It was exhausting work. 212 00:24:20,721 --> 00:24:30,538 Not every mathematician had sufficient knowledge of the different fields of mathematics required to understand his proof. 213 00:24:30,741 --> 00:24:36,646 Perelman did not invent the method of solving the problem. 214 00:24:36,746 --> 00:24:41,511 William Thurston began working on this in 1975. 215 00:24:41,611 --> 00:24:49,796 Then Richard Hamilton invented a tool which could potentially solve the problem. 216 00:24:50,573 --> 00:24:57,890 In his proof, Perelman draws on many different fields of mathematics: the Ricci-Hamilton flow, 217

00:24:57,990 --> 00:25:02,868 Thurston's geometrization conjecture, the Aleksandrov geometry. 218 00:25:02,968 --> 00:25:12,808 The immense breadth of knowledge which he acquired in the Soviet schooling system is what allows him this freedom. 219 00:25:13,036 --> 00:25:17,607 He bypassed the point at which Hamilton got stuck. This alone was amazing enough. 220 00:25:17,785 --> 00:25:28,407 Hamilton said that if he was aware of the theorems that Perelman knew, he would have done more. 221 00:25:35,246 --> 00:25:41,490 This institute at Fontannaya Street was where Grigori Perelman worked for 15 years. 222 00:25:41,590 --> 00:25:48,976 It was here that he interacted with the best geometers in the country: Aleksandrov, Zalgaller, Burag. 223 00:25:49,076 --> 00:25:57,377 Here he solved problems; argued with his superiors; switched laboratories; and reluctantly wrote hateful reports. 224 00:25:57,686 --> 00:26:01,101 Like this one. 225 00:26:01,103 --> 00:26:06,763 Here is his report. No publications. 226 00:26:07,719 --> 00:26:14,347 In December 2005, Perelman suddenly resigns. 227 00:26:18,758 --> 00:26:23,398 Right here, he hands me his resignation paper. 228 00:26:23,498 --> 00:26:34,888 I say, Grisha, have you thought about this? Let's leave this paper here, so that you can take it back later. 229 00:26:34,988 --> 00:26:40,367 No, I have thought hard about this, said Grisha. 230 00:26:40,467 --> 00:26:44,685

Then I asked, Does your mother know? 231 00:26:44,785 --> 00:26:52,487 No, my mother doesn't know. Why does she need to know? My sister knows. 232 00:26:52,502 --> 00:26:58,632 As I understand it, he is leaving not just the institute, but also mathematics. 233 00:26:59,228 --> 00:27:05,474 It is difficult to understand, but Perelman insists on it: for him, mathematics is over. 234 00:27:05,574 --> 00:27:12,341 He quickly stops talking about mathematics. His circle of friends rapidly shrinks to nothing. 235 00:27:12,441 --> 00:27:19,507 But what is this? Is it simply a whim of a genius, or is it rather the desperation of a tired man? 236 00:27:19,742 --> 00:27:27,440 If it is true, and Grisha never lies, then he has left mathematics and will never come back. 237 00:27:28,985 --> 00:27:36,405 But is his brain still capable of doing mathematics? Maybe it has dried out, like a sponge in the Sahara Desert. 238 00:27:36,581 --> 00:27:49,777 An achievement like that might not happen again. There are examples of mathematicians who have not contributed anything after achieving great things. 239 00:27:49,877 --> 00:27:51,942 Because they burned out. 240 00:27:53,374 --> 00:28:02,094 Meanwhile, 2006, the year of his 40th birthday, has come. And life gives him both a huge present, and a huge nightmare 241 00:28:02,194 --> 00:28:04,123 worldwide recognition. 242 00:28:04,223 --> 00:28:11,399 Science Magazine chooses the proof of the Poincare conjecture as its Breakthrough of the Year.

243 00:28:11,499 --> 00:28:17,519 Perelman is ranked 9th among the top 100 geniuses alive by the Daily Telegraph. 244 00:28:17,762 --> 00:28:21,814 But the sensation of the year is an article in the New Yorker. 245 00:28:21,914 --> 00:28:29,820 Its authors, two journalists by the name of Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber, expose a scandal in the mathematical community, 246 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:37,230 some mathematicians want to strip Perelman of his prize. The article reveals names and facts. It causes lawsuits. 247 00:28:37,616 --> 00:28:50,799 Sylvia Nasar is a serious opponent. She is the author of A Beautiful Mind, a biography about the famous mathematician John Nash. 248 00:29:03,499 --> 00:29:10,277 When Hollywood adapted the book into a movie, Nash became a celebrity, and not just in Princeton. 249 00:29:10,788 --> 00:29:18,244 The hero of the article is Perelman. The villains are Chinese mathematician Shing-Tung Yau and his students. 250 00:29:18,344 --> 00:29:24,877 The authors investigate and reveal that professor Yau also worked on the Poincare conjecture, 251 00:29:24,977 --> 00:29:35,418 and is now trying to convince the mathematical community that Perelman discovered nothing new, but merely presented a different angle on the subject. 252 00:29:35,944 --> 00:29:48,753 According to Yau, the breakdown of the contributions toward the discovery was as follows: 50% Hamilton, 25% Perelman, and 30% the Chinese mathematicians. 253 00:29:48,853 --> 00:29:57,890 This adds up to 105%. Interesting arithmetic. But Yau gives himself the main credit for the final solution. 254 00:29:59,559 --> 00:30:03,079 Perelman is offended. The world of mathematics is rotten.

255 00:30:03,179 --> 00:30:07,021 Ethics has deserted it. You can buy, sell, and steal everything. 256 00:30:07,366 --> 00:30:15,151 He said that the world of mathematics is becoming corrupt, much like the rest of society. 257 00:30:15,251 --> 00:30:25,005 Perelman believed in some sense that mathematicians were better and more righteous than the rest of the world. 258 00:30:25,888 --> 00:30:35,581 At the same time the International Mathematical Union announces that it has awarded Perelman a Fields Medal. 259 00:30:35,681 --> 00:30:38,762 But he doesn't need this gold medal. 260 00:30:40,636 --> 00:30:51,947 Grisha nursed a grudge not only against the international, but also against the Russian mathematical community 261 00:30:52,047 --> 00:30:59,520 because none of those people tried to restore the truth. And he was right. 262 00:31:03,166 --> 00:31:09,599 In August 2006 at the award ceremony in Madrid there are 3000 mathematicians present. 263 00:31:09,699 --> 00:31:15,903 They still hope to see Perelman. The King of Spain is going to hand out the medals. 264 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:36,804 But there is confusion while the king came, Perelman didn't. 265 00:31:38,891 --> 00:31:47,306 Grisha doesn't try to change people. He just stops interacting with those groups of people he doesn't like. 266 00:31:47,457 --> 00:31:58,199 Perelman scrupulously obeys ethical rules. His teachers insisted that mathematics is not only the Queen of the Sciences, but also the most moral science.

267 00:31:58,299 --> 00:32:06,893 His teacher Aleksandrov used to say, at the end of his life, I'm not interested in geometry, I'm interested in morality. 268 00:32:08,085 --> 00:32:16,981 Mathematicians have a very clear criterion of what is right and wrong. 269 00:32:17,081 --> 00:32:23,914 It is often subjective but it still is very important. 270 00:32:24,014 --> 00:32:33,040 People can't falsify the truth. If they do, they stop being professionals. 271 00:32:35,627 --> 00:32:43,714 Perelman's grievances accumulate within him. He becomes more reclusive. 272 00:32:44,565 --> 00:32:49,978 Kleiner and Lott sent him one of the first versions of their manuscript with a note: 273 00:32:50,078 --> 00:32:57,252 Would you like to take a look at it? Maybe we've missed something. Maybe the explanation is too complicated. 274 00:32:57,352 --> 00:33:00,939 He replied, No. I don't want to read your manuscript. 275 00:33:01,039 --> 00:33:07,041 We sent him our book. Maybe we didn't have the right address, but the package returned unopened. 276 00:33:07,673 --> 00:33:14,681 He is very persistent. And it is a remarkable quality. Without it he could not have solved the problem. 277 00:33:14,781 --> 00:33:19,967 You have to be very persistent to concentrate on one thing for seven years. 278 00:33:20,067 --> 00:33:27,917 But when he was finished, he no longer had anything to apply his persistence to. And it simply became stubbornness. 279 00:33:29,258 --> 00:33:39,093

In 2006, after four years of review, the experts present their final conclusion the proof is correct. 280 00:33:39,193 --> 00:33:43,629 Its author is Grigori Perelman and nobody else. 281 00:33:46,590 --> 00:33:53,685 This means that Perelman deserves a Millennium Prize. 282 00:34:01,988 --> 00:34:11,834 After Alfred Nobel excluded mathematics as an award category out of spite, mathematicians agreed that counting dollar bills was not for them. 283 00:34:11,934 --> 00:34:20,648 Thus the Fields Medal is as prestigious as the Nobel Prize. But its cash reward is not large only 15000 Canadian dollars. 284 00:34:24,694 --> 00:34:34,866 (Stanislav Smirnov) The benefit of these prizes and medals is that it increases the people's interest in sciences. 285 00:34:35,391 --> 00:34:43,681 Over the years, awards become more generous. Several years ago, Norway began awarding outstanding mathematicians the Abel Prize. 286 00:34:43,781 --> 00:34:49,465 It is also almost a million dollars. The brilliant Mikhail Gromov is one of its winner. 287 00:34:50,546 --> 00:34:53,709 Mathematicians don't care about money and prizes. 288 00:34:53,809 --> 00:34:58,386 It is, of course, nice to receive money, I don't say that it is not nice. 289 00:34:58,486 --> 00:35:00,438 But it doesn't change anything. 290 00:35:00,538 --> 00:35:08,347 It is convenient to live when you don't have to think about money. If you break your glasses, you go and buy a new pair. 291 00:35:14,019 --> 00:35:22,539 Here in the Clay Institute at Cambridge, this elegant piece of glass is still kept.

292 00:35:23,544 --> 00:35:27,756 It is the Millennium Prize which has made so much noise. 293 00:35:28,328 --> 00:35:31,664 This formula is the Poincare conjecture. 294 00:35:31,764 --> 00:35:39,720 Mathematicians, like poets, try to express complex situations with a few carefully chosen words. 295 00:35:40,374 --> 00:35:47,918 The news that Perelman is going to get a million dollars spreads quickly. It causes a mass hysteria. 296 00:35:48,018 --> 00:35:50,075 He is not prepared for this. 297 00:35:50,175 --> 00:35:57,719 They lie in wait for him around his building. Call his home. They compose songs, poems, jokes about him. 298 00:35:57,819 --> 00:36:02,163 Quickly publish his biographies and write fake interviews. 299 00:36:02,608 --> 00:36:06,443 What's the difference, they need a sensation. 300 00:36:06,543 --> 00:36:16,590 But then behind all these rumours and noise nobody pays attention to his rare answers to intrusive journalists: 301 00:36:16,952 --> 00:36:21,129 I have nothing to tell you. 302 00:36:21,769 --> 00:36:26,282 And he is right. What they are discussing is pointless. 303 00:36:26,382 --> 00:36:35,919 The Clay Institute has not announced its decision about awarding the prize. Instead it delays for another 4 years. 304 00:36:36,019 --> 00:36:48,281 Only in 2010, in this room, where one can see Harvard University through the windows, the decision to award Perelman is made by a special committee: 305

00:36:50,775 --> 00:37:01,110 William Thurston, the author of the geometrization conjecture, which has the Poincare conjecture as a special case; 306 00:37:01,210 --> 00:37:08,407 Stephen Smale, who proved the Poincare conjecture for the five-dimensional space; 307 00:37:08,507 --> 00:37:13,305 Bruce Kleiner, John Morgan and his co-author Gang Tian; 308 00:37:13,405 --> 00:37:18,389 and Misha Gromov, one of the best geometers of our time. 309 00:37:20,591 --> 00:37:25,400 The decision has been made. But it doesn't make Perelman happy. 310 00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:37,202 Now it is the spring of 2010. You don't have to be a great mathematician to calculate that all the arguments, scandals, and verifications took 8 years. 311 00:37:37,302 --> 00:37:40,988 It is more than he needed to prove the theorem. 312 00:37:41,088 --> 00:37:47,261 They are waiting for his answer again. But now he is not ready with the answer. 313 00:37:47,412 --> 00:37:52,270 (Perelman's voice) I have not decided yet. The Clay Institute will know it first. 314 00:37:52,655 --> 00:38:03,061 It is interesting that Grigori was really thinking about accepting the prize. He really thought about it this year. 315 00:38:03,161 --> 00:38:12,831 If before it was clear that he would refuse the Fields Medal, this time there was at least some hesitation. 316 00:38:12,931 --> 00:38:18,918 And his mother confirmed it on the phone, that Grisha was thinking. 317 00:38:20,713 --> 00:38:29,825 What was he thinking about for almost 100 days nobody knows. Perhaps the main cause of his doubts is Hamilton.

318 00:38:30,952 --> 00:38:37,682 When we were discussing it in our community, we also decided that Perelman and Hamilton, 319 00:38:37,782 --> 00:38:39,895 they both deserve the award. 320 00:38:40,077 --> 00:38:48,404 Thus, after 15 years, Perelman wants to repay the debt to Hamilton for that brief conversation in America 321 00:38:48,504 --> 00:38:52,385 about the Ricci flow and the Poincare conjecture. 322 00:38:53,216 --> 00:38:59,262 Perelman always said that the contribution of Hamilton is none less significant than his. 323 00:38:59,362 --> 00:39:04,378 I think that without Hamilton it would have been difficult to do anything. 324 00:39:05,123 --> 00:39:12,118 Hamilton is surprised, he doesn't remember that conversation. Besides, it's impossible to split the prize. 325 00:39:12,218 --> 00:39:17,396 It is strange that Perelman himself rejects an ethical rule of mathematics. 326 00:39:19,235 --> 00:39:26,894 In all mathematical results of this level, you always rely on the previous results. 327 00:39:26,994 --> 00:39:35,221 But according to an unspoken rule the prize goes to the one who crosses the finish line. 328 00:39:35,794 --> 00:39:40,875 Besides, the decision of the committee can't be changed. 329 00:39:40,975 --> 00:39:53,246 On July 1, 2010, Perelman breaks his silence and utters the reason of his refusal disagreement with the mathematical community. 330

00:39:53,346 --> 00:39:58,332 I don't like their decisions, I find them unjust. 331 00:40:01,688 --> 00:40:07,157 In June 2010 the first Millennium Prize ceremony is held in Paris. 332 00:40:07,257 --> 00:40:17,523 Standing on the stage with the prize in his hands Landon Clay merely states that there is one problem fewer in mathematics. 333 00:40:20,709 --> 00:40:26,114 Everyone in this room knows Perelman will not come and will not accept the money. 334 00:40:27,911 --> 00:40:32,096 Perelman is a national hero. A national hero. 335 00:40:32,196 --> 00:40:35,701 People talk about it, and here is one. 336 00:40:36,173 --> 00:40:41,132 They tried to buy him and failed. Without a chance. 337 00:40:45,004 --> 00:40:52,560 This story began 20 years ago. Perelman is in his 40's now. He's got a different life. 338 00:40:52,660 --> 00:41:03,016 Nobody knows what he does and where he gets money to live. But everyone knows it is impossible to change him. 339 00:41:08,985 --> 00:41:14,779 First of all, he impoverished his own mother. She didn't deserve that. 340 00:41:14,879 --> 00:41:24,448 She is an elderly woman who raised two amazing children during what were not the easiest years of our country. 341 00:41:24,548 --> 00:41:33,502 The life is very difficult for Perelman now. And he has been living in this condition for several years. 342 00:41:33,602 --> 00:41:38,431 I think he is living on the edge of a nervous breakdown. 343 00:41:39,035 --> 00:41:46,120

He is a great mathematician. He doesn't teach anybody, doesn't interact. He is wasting his talent. 344 00:41:46,220 --> 00:41:52,227 A lot of energy was used on him. Many people taught him, he interacted with them. 345 00:41:52,327 --> 00:41:56,718 And now he's gone and not giving it back. It is not ethical. 346 00:41:58,509 --> 00:42:06,174 He has chosen freedom for himself and destroyed his career, his friendships, and the lives of his family. 347 00:42:06,274 --> 00:42:08,304 What has he left? Only music. 348 00:42:09,187 --> 00:42:17,425 Our recent conversations were only about the Mariinsky Theatre, classical music and the other things that interest him. 349 00:42:18,853 --> 00:42:27,035 Perelman's million is gone. But he doesn't care whether it was a million dollars or a fistful of coins. 350 00:42:27,135 --> 00:42:34,160 He lives in the world where the mysteries of the universe are unraveled not for money. 351 00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:38,392 To take this money meant to betray your principles. 352 00:42:38,492 --> 00:42:49,652 He solved the problem which only few people on the planet can understand. It is ridiculous to think that he is interested in our opinion. 353 00:42:54,573 --> 00:42:59,149 Now people talk about mathematician Grigori Perelman in the past tense. 354 00:42:59,602 --> 00:43:07,698 When he was in geometry, he was the best geometer in the world, when he functioned. 355 00:43:09,043 --> 00:43:12,284 What will his name say to future generations?

356 00:43:12,717 --> 00:43:22,087 Now he is just a great mathematician of the 20th century. So he has moved to another category. 357 00:43:24,597 --> 00:43:30,131 [Chief editor: Lloyd Unverferth. Editors: Amor Fati, K. Z. Khor, Suren Ganesh, Andrew O'Desky. Translation: Roman Kunin.]