A RECLUSIVE Russian maths genius has refused a $1MILLION prize for solving a century-old problem.
Dr Grigori Perelman, who has been dubbed "the smartest man in the world", refused the money, despite living in poverty in a cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg.
When told of the prize, which was offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts to anyone who could solve the conundrum, the Daily Mail reports that he refused to open the door, saying only: "I don't need anything. I have all I want."
The Poincare Conjecture basically asserts that any three-dimensional space without holes in it is equivalent to a stretched sphere and had confounded maths experts for more than a century.
But in 2003 Mr Perelman, who was working as a researcher at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St Petersburg, began posting papers on the internet suggesting he had solved the puzzle.
Rigorous tests proved he was correct.
But the bearded genius, 44, is known for his hatred of the limelight.
Four years ago, after posting his solution on the web, he failed to turn up to receive his prestigious Fields Medal from the International Mathematical Union in Madrid.
At the time he stated: "I'm not interested in money or fame. I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo.
"I'm not a hero of mathematics. I'm not even that successful, that is why I don't want to have everybody looking at me."
His friends now say he has given up mathematics.
Neighbours say Perelman spends his days inside the cockroach-ridden flat playing table tennis against a wall.
Dr Grigori Perelman, who has been dubbed "the smartest man in the world", refused the money, despite living in poverty in a cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg.When told of the prize, which was offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts to anyone who could solve the conundrum, the Daily Mail reports that he refused to open the door, saying only: "I don't need anything. I have all I want."
The Poincare Conjecture basically asserts that any three-dimensional space without holes in it is equivalent to a stretched sphere and had confounded maths experts for more than a century.
But in 2003 Mr Perelman, who was working as a researcher at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St Petersburg, began posting papers on the internet suggesting he had solved the puzzle.
Rigorous tests proved he was correct.But the bearded genius, 44, is known for his hatred of the limelight.
Four years ago, after posting his solution on the web, he failed to turn up to receive his prestigious Fields Medal from the International Mathematical Union in Madrid.
At the time he stated: "I'm not interested in money or fame. I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo.
"I'm not a hero of mathematics. I'm not even that successful, that is why I don't want to have everybody looking at me."
His friends now say he has given up mathematics.
Neighbours say Perelman spends his days inside the cockroach-ridden flat playing table tennis against a wall.
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