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Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame. Don't be so rash in passing out judgment. I once asked a mathematician what he says he does when people as

Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame. Don't be so rash in passing out judgment. I once asked a mathematician what he says he does when people ask him. He said that "I do math, teaching is my job, the way i make my living but what I do is math". Didn't quite expect that answer, and he's internationally known for his work too.

aresant 17y ago
"Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame." There's a big difference between not interested in money or fame, and living in a 1 bedroom apartment, sleeping on a dirty matress, and living with a roach infestation.
- scorpioxy 17y ago
  I see his choice comparable to the one often taken by start up founders when they realize that all they need is a computer and decide to be frugal and live off somebody's couch or work from their smelly garage. I completely understand his decision. To an intellectual, a lot of the things that you would consider necessary, aren't.
  - aresant 17y ago
    You are attempting to fit a square into a circle here. Working in a "smelly garage" or from a "friends couch" as a founder in the USA dreaming of success is Apples to Oranges vs. living in a roach motel, on a dirty mattress, turning away visitors from behind a closed door, in Russia, since 2003. One is the romantic prototype of an entrepreneur, one is an unimaginably harsh and depressing life from which this guy has completely denied himself sanctuary.
    - gloob 17y ago
      If the big difference is that the first one is romanticized[1] and the second one isn't, I'm not entirely certain they're all that different (although it's entirely possible I'm misunderstanding you). It's not like the guy hasn't had chances to change his situation; his refusal to do so suggests that he's in it more or less willingly. [1] At least, that's what I think you mean by "romantic".
      - ErrantX 17y ago
        His point is the conditions are a lot worse than any founder is likely to face - even short term. Why does that point to choice more than possible depression problems? It is classic depressive behaviour.
    - raganwald 17y ago
      You have zero idea of what he thinks. If he is depressed about living with his mom, he hides it well. He is depressed about teh state of politics in math, not about his lifestyle. He didn't say, "I have no choice," he said, "I have everything I need." Those are not the words of a depressed man. Furthermore, a founder couch surfing does not hate their existence and only endures it because they hope to strike it big. A founder is having fun working on their dream and will later have a different kind of fun when they later strike it rich. lA friend of mine hit it out of the park. When I was living in Parkdale (a poor neighborhood in Toronto that is fighting gentrification tooth and nail), he visited my apartment. His words? "This reminds me of my college days in Montréal. Those were good times!" I later asked him whether money changed anything. He said, and I kid you not, that he and his wife used to drive to Grateful Dead concerts, now they flew and could take friends with them. I am not so sure Perelman needs anything else. His mathematical achievement is on par with anything else done in the last century. If this were business, he would be Gates or Ellison or Buffet. If one of those guys declined an award that had no cash value, we wouldn't blink. Why should Perelman desire an award that has no mathematical insight attached? It literally has nothing to offer him, nothing. Money is your currency. Knowledge is his. Don't accuse him of a harsh and depressing life until you can make a case that his life lacks the things that matter to him.
      - aresant 17y ago
        You disagree with me making a generalization, yet you sling one right back at me in your "Money is your currency." comment above, which I guess brings us sort of full circle. Beyond that, well argued. Let me clarify my original comment, and then I’ll shut up on this: There is, in my experience, a flat acceptance of eccentricity in brilliant minds. Yet, when those of less accomplishment display similar eccentricities, peers may be more apt to question behavior. The evidence in that article, when measured against a "normal" man suggests to me depression, or mental disease. My comment was made in earnest, I hope that somebody along the way has made that consideration - ultimately we're arguing the same thing, don't make assumptions.
        raganwald 17y ago
        You are right, the "money is your currency" line was inappropriate, I apologise.
- ericb 17y ago
  Yeah, and there's a big difference between the hyperbole of "roach infested" in an article that clearly benefits from creating a juxtaposition and what his reality actually is. I've lived in a "roach infested" apartment on Beacon st. (most aptmt buildings have some) in Brookline Mass on a "dirty couch" (coffee stains--my own damn fault) and paid quite a lot of money to do that... But if you're writing a story, you're going to focus on the drama.

aresant 17y ago

"Or maybe he just isn't interested in money or fame." There's a big difference between not interested in money or fame, and living in a 1 bedroom apartment, sleeping on a dirty matress, and living with a roach infestation.

scorpioxy 17y ago
I see his choice comparable to the one often taken by start up founders when they realize that all they need is a computer and decide to be frugal and live off somebody's couch or work from their smelly garage. I completely understand his decision. To an intellectual, a lot of the things that you would consider necessary, aren't.
- aresant 17y ago
  You are attempting to fit a square into a circle here. Working in a "smelly garage" or from a "friends couch" as a founder in the USA dreaming of success is Apples to Oranges vs. living in a roach motel, on a dirty mattress, turning away visitors from behind a closed door, in Russia, since 2003. One is the romantic prototype of an entrepreneur, one is an unimaginably harsh and depressing life from which this guy has completely denied himself sanctuary.
  - gloob 17y ago
    If the big difference is that the first one is romanticized[1] and the second one isn't, I'm not entirely certain they're all that different (although it's entirely possible I'm misunderstanding you). It's not like the guy hasn't had chances to change his situation; his refusal to do so suggests that he's in it more or less willingly. [1] At least, that's what I think you mean by "romantic".
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      His point is the conditions are a lot worse than any founder is likely to face - even short term. Why does that point to choice more than possible depression problems? It is classic depressive behaviour.
  - raganwald 17y ago
    You have zero idea of what he thinks. If he is depressed about living with his mom, he hides it well. He is depressed about teh state of politics in math, not about his lifestyle. He didn't say, "I have no choice," he said, "I have everything I need." Those are not the words of a depressed man. Furthermore, a founder couch surfing does not hate their existence and only endures it because they hope to strike it big. A founder is having fun working on their dream and will later have a different kind of fun when they later strike it rich. lA friend of mine hit it out of the park. When I was living in Parkdale (a poor neighborhood in Toronto that is fighting gentrification tooth and nail), he visited my apartment. His words? "This reminds me of my college days in Montréal. Those were good times!" I later asked him whether money changed anything. He said, and I kid you not, that he and his wife used to drive to Grateful Dead concerts, now they flew and could take friends with them. I am not so sure Perelman needs anything else. His mathematical achievement is on par with anything else done in the last century. If this were business, he would be Gates or Ellison or Buffet. If one of those guys declined an award that had no cash value, we wouldn't blink. Why should Perelman desire an award that has no mathematical insight attached? It literally has nothing to offer him, nothing. Money is your currency. Knowledge is his. Don't accuse him of a harsh and depressing life until you can make a case that his life lacks the things that matter to him.
    - aresant 17y ago
      You disagree with me making a generalization, yet you sling one right back at me in your "Money is your currency." comment above, which I guess brings us sort of full circle. Beyond that, well argued. Let me clarify my original comment, and then I’ll shut up on this: There is, in my experience, a flat acceptance of eccentricity in brilliant minds. Yet, when those of less accomplishment display similar eccentricities, peers may be more apt to question behavior. The evidence in that article, when measured against a "normal" man suggests to me depression, or mental disease. My comment was made in earnest, I hope that somebody along the way has made that consideration - ultimately we're arguing the same thing, don't make assumptions.
      - raganwald 17y ago
        You are right, the "money is your currency" line was inappropriate, I apologise.
ericb 17y ago
Yeah, and there's a big difference between the hyperbole of "roach infested" in an article that clearly benefits from creating a juxtaposition and what his reality actually is. I've lived in a "roach infested" apartment on Beacon st. (most aptmt buildings have some) in Brookline Mass on a "dirty couch" (coffee stains--my own damn fault) and paid quite a lot of money to do that... But if you're writing a story, you're going to focus on the drama.