Math Genius Solves 100 Year Old Problem, Then Refuses Million Dollar Prize

[[deleted user]]

The Poincare conjecture was a seemingly unsolvable theorem that was first proposed in 1904. Dealing with a branch of spatial mathematics called topology, the theorem sought to prove that any shape without a hole can be formed into a sphere. Sounds simple enough, right? Tell that to the math world, which, for over a century, struggled to prove the elusive conjecture even possible, inadvertently turning it into one of the community's Holy Grails.

But Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman published two proofs of the theorem back in 2002 and 2003, and according to The Utopianist, it wasn't until last year that a team of advanced mathematicians at the Clay Mathematical Institute (CMI) finally proved his results valid.

Full story here: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/03/m...

[Jimmy]

That is such a cool story, but is he serious about calculating the walking on water rate?