# What is the greatest mathematician in the world today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 17, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916 "2008-09-17T00:24:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916/21 "2008-09-17T23:05:02Z")

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I came in here to suggest Tao as well. Someone else who came to mind was László Lovász – even though he wouldn’t make any such list, some of his proofs in graph theory are incredibly elegant.

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**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916/22 "2008-09-18T00:22:27Z")

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Probably a human. Or a breadbox.

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**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916/23 "2008-09-18T00:35:35Z")

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Exactly what does it mean to “drop out early?” What are the most common reasons for this?

Is it a lack of interest, interest being replaced by motivation to do something else, disillusionment (as it seems might be the case in Pereleman’s case) or just an inability to perform and develop in mathematics at a similar level as during their prior career?

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**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916/24 "2008-09-18T00:51:38Z")

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Read the Wikipedia page for Grigori Perelman at the link given in post #12 and the page for Alexander Grothendieck given below to see what’s meant by dropping out:

> **[Alexander Grothendieck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck)**
>
> Alexander Grothendieck (/ˈɡroʊtəndiːk/; .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}German pronunciation: \[ˌalɛˈksandɐ ˈɡʁoːtn̩ˌdiːk\] ⓘ; French: \[ɡʁɔtɛndik\]; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014) was a French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry. His research extended the scope of the field a Gro...

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**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mathematician-in-the-world-today/463916/25 "2008-09-18T00:55:49Z")

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> [@threemae](#):
>
> Exactly what does it mean to “drop out early?” What are the most common reasons for this?
> 
> Is it a lack of interest, interest being replaced by motivation to do something else, disillusionment (as it seems might be the case in Pereleman’s case) or just an inability to perform and develop in mathematics at a similar level as during their prior career?

Well, [Perelman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman) and [Grothendieck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck) are very different, so I doubt you’d have the same answer for both… Perelman seems to just feel a little rejected by/disillusioned with with the mathematics community, while Grothendieck… well, he’s the epitome of the stereotype of the brilliant mathematician who is also bordering on insanity (not a slur, just, he goes beyond eccentric).

Disclaimer: what do I know? I’ve never met them.

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