Most of us imagine
mathematical geniuses as mad eccentrics with unkempt Einstein hair and almost
total unawareness of everyday society. The stereotype fits Grigori Perelman
like a comfortable shoe. After posting online the solution to one of math’s
most challenging problems, the Russian recluse refused to accept a
million-dollar prize and other honors. Eventually, he stopped answering his
phone. In Perfect Rigor, Russian-born
journalist Masha Gessen explores the Soviet math subculture that nurtured
Perelman. Always an awkward child prodigy, Perelman was raised as “a human math
project.” As an adult he appeared deranged by the rigorous demands of logic in
an illogical world. The realm of pure mathematics didn’t prepare him for life.
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