Even if some doubt it, religion and science can mix. Today the X-Files examines how a Russian mathematician solved one of the most puzzling math mysteries to date after studying how quickly Jesus walked on water.
According to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, the secluded scientist, who is unemployed, and who has refused millions of dollars for his findings as well as numerous distinctions from the global math society, finally decided to speak after avoiding the press for the past decade.
But getting the interview was no easy task. Perelman, who is 44 and who still lives with his mother in a timid apartment complex in St. Petersburg, was persuaded to give the interview by his mother after reporters contacted her and told her that they wanted to interview her son as well as make a documentary about him. That was quite an achievement indeed - no other journalist has managed to ask any question to Mr. Perelman before.
After meeting and speaking with this mystery genius, the reporter said that "Perelman produces an impression of an absolutely sane, healthy, adequate and normal person. He is realistic, pragmatic and clearheaded, but also sentimental at the same time. What the media says and writes about him - that he is off his head - is nonsense. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it."
The above-mentioned documentary is not going to be about Grigori Perelman's life. The film will be about the cooperation and the struggle between three major mathematical schools in the world: the Russian, the Chinese and the American ones. These three schools are the most advanced in the world in terms of the path of learning and the control of the Universe.
When asked why he refused from the prize of one million dollars, Perelman responded: "I know how to control the Universe. Why would I run to get a million, tell me?"
Perelman also said that he does not communicate with journalists because they are not interested in science. Instead, they want to know all details about his everyday and personal life. They want to know why the mathematician refused from the million and whether he cuts his hair and nails. The scientist also said that he is offended by the media calling him Grisha, which is a usual short for Grigori.
In the interview, the excerpt of which was published on the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Perelman said that he had been training his brain since his school years. Recollecting the time when he, representing the USSR, received a gold medal at the mathematical competition in Budapest, he said: "We were trying to solve the tasks which required abstract thinking. The distraction from mathematical logic was exactly the point of the daily training. One had to imagine a piece of the world in order to find the correct solution. Do you remember the Biblical story about Jesus Christ walking on water? I had to calculate the speed with which he had to move on the water surface not to fall through."
Since that time, Perelman devoted his activity to studying the nature of three-dimensional space of the Universe. "It's very interesting. I am trying to embrace the boundless. Anything that is boundless can be embraced," he said.
The scientist was working on his dissertation under the direction of academician Aleksandrov. "The subject was not hard: "Saddle surfaces in Euclidean geometry." Can you imagine equal-sized and irregularly spaced surfaces in infinity? We have to measure the cavities between them," the mathematician said.
According to Perelman, every theoretical development of mathematicians has applied relevance. "Why did we have to struggle with the Poincare conjecture for so many years? To put it in a nutshell, the essence of it is the following. If a three-dimensional surface is reminiscent of a sphere, then it can be spread into a sphere. It is known as the Formula of the Universe because it is highly important in researching complicated physical processes in the theory of creation. The Poincare conjecture also gives an answer to the question about the shape of the Universe.
"I've learned to compute hollowness. My colleagues and I are studying the mechanisms that fill social and economic hollowness. Hollowness is everywhere, it can be computed, and this opens large opportunities. I know how to control the Universe. Why would I run after a million, tell me?"
The article went on to say that both Russian and foreign special services are showing interest in Perelman's discoveries. The scientist has learned some super-knowledge which helps realize creation. Special services need to know whether Perelman and his knowledge may pose a threat to humanity. With his knowledge he can fold the Universe into a spot and then unfold it again. Will mankind survive after this fantastic process? Do we need to control the Universe at all?
For those who are not aware the Poincare conjecture is regarded as one of the most important questions in topology -- a geometry-related branch of mathematics that deals with spatial properties. It essentially asserts that any shape without a hole can be stretched or shrunk into a sphere. Perelman published his findings on the Internet in 2002 and 2003.
He won the Fields Prize -- awarded every four years since 1936 -- in 2006 and then famously turned down the prize money by saying he did not want to be a figurehead for the mathematics community.
He won the Fields Prize -- awarded every four years since 1936 -- in 2006 and then famously turned down the prize money by saying he did not want to be a figurehead for the mathematics community.
Segments of this article have been reprinted from:
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