hi all. the claymath prizes were announced almost a decade ago. a wealthy philanthropist landon t. clay, who made his fortune in hedge funds before that was such a notorious, bordering-on-unsavory occupation, decided to commit $7M to 7 of the worlds most difficult and significant math problems at $1M each. after 10 years, one has been solved, and it took several years for the prize committee to agree that that theorem had been solved; the proof was written years ago, 2006 or so.

a reclusive math genius named Perelman from russia is the winner. within the last few months the headlines were that he already turned down the prize. what probably was happening was that the claymath institute sent out "feelers" to see how he would react to winning & got negative feedback. the claymath prize was not actually announced until very recently. he has already declined the Fields medal, which is like the nobel prize of mathematics, also with a sizeable prize.

actually, he claimed as early as 2002 that he solved it. maybe he's mad at everyone for not realizing/admitting it until now?

now the story is that he's definitely won regardless of whether he accepts it and a recent article says hes "considering" whether to accept the money. other blaring headlines say he "might" decline. you might scoff, but he did already turn down the fields medal.

actually, I kind of agree with him. I have long felt that massive math awards are at times a somewhat garish symptom of our winner-take-all culture. while zillions of talented students cant get loans, or are put into crushing debt to get a decent education. and there is no money for Phds doing research. bush downsized the NSF significantly. I dont hear obama doing it any differently.

one article below says that he lives in a "rat infested" apartment with his mother. [does she know about the $1M? now there's an interview Id like to hear. "nyet, nyet, nyet!!"] he's declined high profile teaching or professor positions, because according to an acquaintance, "he doesnt want to feel like an animal in a zoo".

our world does not understand geniuses and advanced minds. einstein was a rare exception. and he was somewhat sensationalized in a not-always-wholesome way.

but, it also comes across as a kind of tease. imagine having a million dollar check in your hands, and not cashing it. they call you up and gently ask why you havent cashed it yet. "dont rush me. Im thinking about it." something tells me that a corporation certainly wouldnt be waiting much if they sent out a check. their checks tend to expire. heck, they wouldnt be calling in the first place. normally, Corporations Run the World, and this is a rare strange twist, this story. surreal. sometimes, life is stranger than imagination.

is perelman "reclusive"? a much more apt adjective would seem to be "eccentric".... which reminds me of an old joke...

Q. how do you tell if a mathematician is social?

A. he looks at your shoes while he's talking to you.

elsewhere Tate won the $1M Abel prize this year. he's 85 and has been cranking out math since his 20s... 6 decades. it has the feel of one of those scenarios where the prize committee is thinking, "gosh, we better give it to him before he dies, or we're gonna feel guilty about that." of course theres no risk of him not accepting the prize and the money. c'mon. he's AMERICAN, wink =) and Im sure he'll really be living it up in his nursing home new mansion.

also, recently, another american Thacker won the Turing prize for $250K, sponsored by Intel and Google. the Turing prize was worth only about $30K (as I recall) before 2007 when Intel/Google decided to rescue it from the ghetto with their generous, magnanimous largesse. did I call it the Turing prize? oops, so sorry, I meant the Intel/Google[tm] prize!! what did I tell you? remember, Corporations Run the World....

now, in the age of Being Famous for No Reason, eg Paris Hilton [er, I do like paris somewhat, Im being facetious here...] its amazing to find an einstein-level intelligence, and even rarer to find someone that doesnt seem to be motivated by money.

also, in the US we lament that we arent teaching "STEM" well to students [science, technology, engineering, mathematics]. my own favorite acronym is STEAM, with an A for Algorithmics. yay!! I guess that makes me a "STEAMpunk"....

I got news for you. pay well, and you dont have to worry about it. students are highly motivated by money and salaries. they correctly detect the difference between lip service and reality.

our intensely hypocritical culture pays lots of lip service to STEM but doesnt truly put its money where its mouth is. its part of living in a corporatocracy mixed with a little oligarchy/plutocracy sprinkled in. the money-elite cant let someone with real talent spoil the party.

* * *

 update: perelman indeed rejected the prize.

Russian mathematician rejects $1 million prize - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38039068/ns/technology_and_science-science/
 

American wins $1 million math prize - Science- msnbc.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36023457/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Charles Thacker wins Turing Award, computing's 'Nobel prize' - Science Fair:
Science and Space News - USATODAY.com
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/03/charles-thacker-wins-turing-award-computings-nobel-prize/1

Grigori Perelman, Reclusive Russian Math Genius, Refuses $1 Million Prize
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/grigori-perelman-reclusiv_n_511938.html

Russian recluse mathematician awarded Millennium Prize
http://rt.com/Sci_Tech/2010-03-19/russian-recluse-mathematician-awarded.html

World's cleverest man turns down $1million prize after solving one of mathematics' greatest puzzles
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1259863/Worlds-cleverest-man-turns-1million-prize-solving-mathematics-greatest-puzzles.html

Russian Math Genius May Turn Down $1M
http://cbs5.com/watercooler/math.genius.grigory.2.1598357.html

Math genius says no to $1M
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2904597/Russian-genius-Dr-Grigori-Perelman-says-no-to-1m-maths-problem-prize.html

Grigory Perelman, the maths genius who said no to $1m
Perelman cracks a century-old conundrum, refuses the reward, and barricades himself in his flat
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/23/grigory-perelman-rejects-1m-dollars

Maths genius declines top prize
Grigory Perelman, the Russian who seems to have solved one of the hardest problems in mathematics, has declined one of the discipline's top awards.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5274040.stm

'Nyet' to $1 million? Math genius may reject award - USATODAY.com
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-03-29-math-award-reject_N.htm

Grigori Perelman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman

First Clay Mathematics Institute Millennium Prize Announced
Prize for Resolution of the Poincaré Conjecture Awarded to Dr. Grigoriy Perelman
http://www.claymath.org/millennium/