Grigori Perelman

Name:	Grigori Perelman
Date of Birth:	13 June 1966
Occupation:	Mathematician
Ethnicity:	Ashkenazi Jew

Grigori Perelman is a Russian-Jewish mathematician best known for several outstanding achievements in geometric analysis and topology, most notably his proof of the Poincaré conjecture, a major result concerning the characterization of three-dimensional spaces. For this achievement, he was offered the Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics, and the Millennium Prize of $1 million, both of which he declined, reportedly saying "emptiness is everywhere and it can be calculated, which gives us a great opportunity. I know how to control the universe. So, tell me, why should I run for a million?". When asked to elaborate further on his refusal of these awards, Perelman cited concerns about corruption in the field of mathematics and a plagiarism controversy regarding credit for the solution.

Perelman is believed to be celibate, with biographies describing his early years as "an ugly duckling among ugly ducklings... pudgy and awkward," and no acquaintances had recalled him ever having had a girlfriend, despite reports that he is "heterosexual". His celibacy may be voluntary, as he was also described as "uninterested in girls or anything other than mathematics."

His reclusive nature, low agreeableness, lack of patience for academic status games, and capacity for obsessive and extremely precise thinking suggest he may possess elements of Asperger's Syndrome or some other type of high functioning autism, which would further align with evidence that this condition is linked to math ability, with mathematicians being notably elevated in autistic traits.

As of the most recent reports, he lives a reclusive and impoverished life with his elderly mother in a small apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia.

See Also

• Ted Kaczynski
• Nikola Tesla
• Isaac Newton