《Perfect Rigor》 by Masha Gessen

2021.9.11-2021.9.15

Perfect Rigor: A Genius and the Mathematical Break through of the Century

Garold Nastanson works at Herzen Pedagogic Institute and is the author of the authoritative calculus textbook in Russia. He has a female graduate student named Lubov. She works as a math teacher in a middle school. Perelman is Lubov's child.

A few years later, Perelman's mother found her teacher and said something about Perelman. She wanted Perelman to start rigorous mathematics learning.

Nastansont asked them to find a math coach, Rukshin. In the following decades, this coach's students won more than 70 international mathematics Olympic medals. His teaching method is worth mentioning. Other math clubs let children show their correct answers to the class, which means that as long as one correct answer appears, the discussion is over. Rukshin asked each child to talk to the teacher alone and asked the child to talk about his problem-solving process. The author says this is perhaps the most labor-intensive teaching method ever invented.

The content taught is not limited to mathematics, but also introduces students to Literature and music. Perelman's talent is so great that all students know Perelman is smarter than them. He became coach Rukshin's favorite student.

In September 1980, school 239 opened the first class composed of members of the Mathematics Club. Rukshin paid a lot for the creation of this class. Rezik is in charge of mathematics teaching in this class

Rezik's method is to select the best five students at the beginning of each school year, put all his experiences on these five children, and the other children learn by listening. Some people criticized rezik for not caring about middle school students, but rezik said: "the focus is to teach these gifted children."

Perelman hardly raised his hand to ask questions in Rezik's class.

"It's strange that such children are generally modest and implicit. You can't see that they are complacent. I think this is one of the necessary conditions for achieving great things in the future." Rezik said.

Perelman is not a student often asked by rezik in class, but as rezik's "Reserve Command", Rezik often gives him the most difficult questions to answer.

In 1982, Perelman, 16, represented the Soviet Union in the International Mathematics Olympics. Perelman won the gold medal and got a full score of 42 points.

Therefore, he entered the Department of mathematical mechanics of Leningrad University without examination. Started five years of study.

Soviet Universities provided highly specialized education. The goal of the Department of mathematical mechanics is to train professional mathematicians, and unsuccessful students are trained as mathematics teachers and computer programmers. Perelman takes every course, even those that many students in the Department of mathematical mechanics think are not worth taking. Such as ideological courses.

In his junior year, Perelman chose to specialize in geometry and mathematics. Perelman came to reality from different time and space. Even in a place full of strange characters such as the Department of mathematics in the University, he also seemed to be independent and different from others.

He chose the Geometer Viktor Zalgaler as his instructor.

Viktor Zalgaler later said, 'I had nothing to teach him from the beginning.'

Near graduation, the Stekolov Institute is Perelman's next destination. Due to Perelman's Jewish identity, it is impossible for him to enter this ' no Jews exist ' Institute. Brago of the Leningrad branch of the Stekolov Institute and his teacher Tolgal Cooperated with a letter of recommendation from Alexander Danilovich Alexandrov, who was a legendary veteran in the Soviet mathematics circle at that time. Successfully sent this mathematical genius to the stekolov Institute.

Perelman went to the United States as a visiting scholar in the 1990s. During his stay in the United States, he solved many mathematical problems, including the famous "soul conjecture".

After returning to St. Petersburg in 1995, Perelman cut off contact with the world.

In 2002, Perelman suddenly published a paper in arXiv and then two more. Therefore, Poincare conjecture, one of the seven world-class mathematical problems, was completely proved!

What I want to say is that from the beginning, Perelman received elite education. He himself is a mathematical genius. In the process of his growth, he was surrounded by elites in the field of mathematics.

I like mathematics, but I may not have a chance to open a door in the magical world of mathematics. Is it too late? Maybe.

Here are the three papers.