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Stories like these suggest to me that genius level creativity equals intrinsic motivation plus time. They also demonstrate that such motivation cannot be adjus

Stories like these suggest to me that genius level creativity equals intrinsic motivation plus time. They also demonstrate that such motivation cannot be adjusted at will. It amounts to one's deepest understanding of where personal progress or best direction lies. Thus when Grothendieck or Swedenborg had religious experiences later in life their technical output ceased because their motivations had changed irrevocably.

ChrisLomont 6y ago
> their technical output ceased I think Grothendieck was still writing multi-1000-page mathematical manuscripts up until he died. I know there are such unpublished manuscripts floating around the mathematical community. As Wikipedia states " he lived secluded, still working tirelessly on mathematics until his death in 2014". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck
- tangue 6y ago
  Some of his manuscripts can be downloaded here https://grothendieck.umontpellier.fr/archives-grothendieck/# https://grothendieck.umontpellier.fr/archives-grothendieck/# but according to this (reliable) radio program [1] he was fascinated by the devil and only wrote about this at the end of his life [1] https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-conversation-scientifique/alexandre-grothendieck-un-mathematicien-qui-prit-la-tangente https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-conversation-scien...
- bhopballooo 6y ago
  Good point and it's not cut and dried but the character of his output had changed to the extent that it was not published in technical journals as it had been: >Relatively little of his work after 1960 was published by the conventional route of the learned journal, circulating initially in duplicated volumes of seminar notes; his influence was to a considerable extent personal. His influence spilled over into many other branches of mathematics, for example the contemporary theory of D-modules. (It also provoked adverse reactions, with many mathematicians seeking out more concrete areas and problems.) My guess would be that he was working on himself rather than on the mathematics. Mathematics was merely the means and the medium. But I haven't read the material...!
  - ChrisLomont 6y ago
    >but the character of his output had changed to the extent that it was not published in technical journals as it had been Grothendieck didn't publish much in journals at all, ever. He was famous for writing books, not technical articles, such as the EGA and SGA series. His later work was the same, and the resulting manuscripts were widely sought because they were really good stuff. Before he died he also claimed to have many tens of thousands of pages more that would never see the light of day, and people have sought those documents ever since. I'm quite familiar with his output because my PhD is in algebraic geometry, and I've worked through his (known) writings extensively. Here [1] is his complete list of publications. You'll notice by far his output is books and lecture notes, with very few papers at any point in his career. [1] https://webusers.imj-prg.fr/~leila.schneps/grothendieckcircle/AG-bibliotex.pdf https://webusers.imj-prg.fr/~leila.schneps/grothendieckcircl...
    - bhopballooo 6y ago
      Thanks!
bhopballooo 6y ago
I should have written, 'They also demonstrate that such motivation cannot be adjusted at whim.'

ChrisLomont 6y ago

> their technical output ceased I think Grothendieck was still writing multi-1000-page mathematical manuscripts up until he died. I know there are such unpublished manuscripts floating around the mathematical community. As Wikipedia states " he lived secluded, still working tirelessly on mathematics until his death in 2014". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck

tangue 6y ago
Some of his manuscripts can be downloaded here https://grothendieck.umontpellier.fr/archives-grothendieck/# https://grothendieck.umontpellier.fr/archives-grothendieck/# but according to this (reliable) radio program [1] he was fascinated by the devil and only wrote about this at the end of his life [1] https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-conversation-scientifique/alexandre-grothendieck-un-mathematicien-qui-prit-la-tangente https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-conversation-scien...
bhopballooo 6y ago
Good point and it's not cut and dried but the character of his output had changed to the extent that it was not published in technical journals as it had been: >Relatively little of his work after 1960 was published by the conventional route of the learned journal, circulating initially in duplicated volumes of seminar notes; his influence was to a considerable extent personal. His influence spilled over into many other branches of mathematics, for example the contemporary theory of D-modules. (It also provoked adverse reactions, with many mathematicians seeking out more concrete areas and problems.) My guess would be that he was working on himself rather than on the mathematics. Mathematics was merely the means and the medium. But I haven't read the material...!
- ChrisLomont 6y ago
  >but the character of his output had changed to the extent that it was not published in technical journals as it had been Grothendieck didn't publish much in journals at all, ever. He was famous for writing books, not technical articles, such as the EGA and SGA series. His later work was the same, and the resulting manuscripts were widely sought because they were really good stuff. Before he died he also claimed to have many tens of thousands of pages more that would never see the light of day, and people have sought those documents ever since. I'm quite familiar with his output because my PhD is in algebraic geometry, and I've worked through his (known) writings extensively. Here [1] is his complete list of publications. You'll notice by far his output is books and lecture notes, with very few papers at any point in his career. [1] https://webusers.imj-prg.fr/~leila.schneps/grothendieckcircle/AG-bibliotex.pdf https://webusers.imj-prg.fr/~leila.schneps/grothendieckcircl...
  - bhopballooo 6y ago
    Thanks!

bhopballooo 6y ago

I should have written, 'They also demonstrate that such motivation cannot be adjusted at whim.'