Grigory Perelman does not want our attention but he may merit it. He offers a model of behavior which very well may be foreign to our time, but, still, we ought to know that it's an available option: grumpiness, misanthropy, and a radical lack of interest in publicity -- and, it seems, money, too.
To be able to close the door. To slam the door.
Perelman is a mathematician from St. Petersburg, Russia -- where he lives with his mother and sister -- who, a few years ago, solved a century-old math problem, Poincaré's conjecture. This is one of seven fabled math problems, the solution for which the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Mass., has offered $1 million -- for each solution.
Perelman has not only so far shunned the dough, but when reached by a reporter said, with fabulous succinctness and practicality: "You are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms."
My modest proposal is that we should all start to say this, to phone solicitors, spouses, and certainly to the media. This can be the universal mantra for a new right of peace and quiet.
In 2006 Perelman apparently declined, or just didn't show up to collect, the Field Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics--its Oscar. (Indeed, there once was a time, almost impossible to believe, when actors of a certain stature and mien didn't show up for their Oscars.)
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Grigory Perelman is the exact opposite of Sarah Palin!
If it is true that opposites attract, then Todd Palin should not ever let these two be in the same room unsupervised.