> Grothendieck spoke of problem-solving as akin to opening a hard
nut. You could open it with sharp tools and a hammer, but that was
not his way. He said that it was better to put the nut in liquid, to
let it soak, even to walk away from it, until eventually it opened.
This is a lovely way of looking at solving hard problems as a
life-project, instead of a rushed performance. There's a pernicious
pressure in academia for students to be world-class before they're 25,
whereas I think the best insights seem to pop out quite naturally
after putting them in the background for 10 or 20 years.
I have not met many brilliant mathematicians, but a few do seem
especially sensitive to wounding by the ugliness in the human
condition. It's a shame both Alexander Grothendieck and Theodore
Kaczynski didn't find ways to tough it out against the ugliness
instead of succumbing to withdrawal or anger - because truth is the
greatest weapon against the violence of ignorant tyranny.
This is a lovely way of looking at solving hard problems as a life-project, instead of a rushed performance. There's a pernicious pressure in academia for students to be world-class before they're 25, whereas I think the best insights seem to pop out quite naturally after putting them in the background for 10 or 20 years.
I have not met many brilliant mathematicians, but a few do seem especially sensitive to wounding by the ugliness in the human condition. It's a shame both Alexander Grothendieck and Theodore Kaczynski didn't find ways to tough it out against the ugliness instead of succumbing to withdrawal or anger - because truth is the greatest weapon against the violence of ignorant tyranny.