Re: Whacko Russian Declines Field Medal


"HeyBub" <heybubNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:12eom1tan2be0be@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pete Dashwood wrote:

Dr. Grisha Perelman lives in a world most of us cannot imagine. He
did not reject the Fields Medal out of arrogance; neither is he a
"Whacko" (or "wacko"). He solved a problem and posted the solution on
the internet four years ago. His intention was to make it publicly
available, not to seek fame, wealth, or kudos. (Had he wanted the
latter he would have gone through the usual submission process to an
established University.) He simply doesn't see the relevance of a
million dollars or fame for doing something he would be doing anyway,
and, in his universe, anything other than the exploration of
multi-dimensional topologies is of little importance.

Exactly. Certifiable, head-to-the-lab whacko.

:-) Sure, Jerry... He didn't have the advantage of being born and raised
into a capitalist consumer society, so it is no wonder his thouht processes
are a little off the beam... :-)
[...]

If this man is "wacko" mad, then it is a fine madness and the world
could use some more of it...

And deprive so many of the joy of giving?

Seriously, though, the absense of greed is symptomatic of significant
pathological disease or defect.

Really? If we're being serious (and I doubt we are :-)), and having spent a
goodly portion of my life acquainting myself with tomes on psychology and
human behaviour, having observed said behaviours at first hand in various
cultures and countries over many years, and not being averse to thinking, or
incapable of drawing conclusions from observations made, I have not found
the statement above to be true.

Perhaps you could help me remedy this possible omission in my education by
giving a cite for it? :-)

While greed, like most traits, CAN have beneficial effects, the absence of
it does not imply any kind of defect. In fact, for some of us, being driven
by greed is simply stressful and counter productive. Despite what Michael
Douglas said in "Wall Street", greed is, overall, NOT good.

You are suggesting treating cancer with herpes simplex 2. The virus may
attack certain kinds of cancer, but, given the choice, most people would
probably prefer not to have it...

Greed, on balance, is best avoided.

No, if he liked doing what he was doing anyway, his thought processes are
seriously flawed if he did not realize he could do more of it, or do it
better, with $1 million in his pocket.

How exactly does the amount of money I have, improve my programming ability?
Or improve my ability to think generally? OK, if I was starving or didn't
have the basic nutritional requirements, my health could deteriorate to the
point where my thought processes might suffer, but given that the needs for
health are met, what improvement in my mental or spiritual (if you believe
in such things) growth, does having more money afford?

In my life I've been rich and I've been poor. (I mean 'poor'... no food, no
shelter, no work, no assets, didn't speak the language, and only the
clothes I stood up in. While I value that experience, I wouldn't want to do
it again, and I could easily have lived without it....) Rich may be better
from a material comfort standpoint, it doesn't have any bearing whatsoever
on who I am or what or how I think. These days I expect to be fed, clothed
and sheltered, I expect to enjoy myself and have time for the things that
interest me; not quite to the same degree as Grisha Perelman, but I can
certainly relate to his mindset. (And I expect to provide these things for
myself, and not as a handout from Government or friends...)

Dr. Perelman has an environment that affords him the necessities (for him)
and it is enough for him. His absence of greed is not a defect; it is
something he simply has no place for.

Pete.


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