Wonderful story. Perhaps there is autism involved; people with this condition can be frighteningly intelligent. But it’s not for me to make a diagnosis from afar, of course.
He’s a real individual, an authentic person, who values personal choices more than conventional societal routines.
He seems to be functional enough — and antisocial enough — that he might have Asperger’s Syndrome and not full-blown autism.
Amazing fellow. Take the contrast between Zer0 and the genius. Both are celebs of a sort.
One is real one is false.
Wisdom and character with virtue.
It wouldn’t take conforming to conventional societal norms for him to make at least his mother’s life a little more bearable.
Reminds me of the movie “A Beautiful Mind”.
Amen, let the man live the life he chooses, he’s not hurting anyone.
He was invited to teach at Berkeley (any other school in the world, from Princeton and Harvard all the way down) would be honored to have him on faculty. What did he do in Berkeley? He saved almost every penny of his salary. Later, people commented, and understood why, he was eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. He lived like a student and saved every penny. Later, after returning to Russia, he actually said that those savings will allow him financial independence if he continuous to live frugally. But he does not want any honors because they corrupt.
And he is right. You receive something from a university or an institute, how can you refuse to give a lecture? He will be mobbed to give invited plenary lectures at practically every conference happening in the world. How can you refuse the community that has honored you? In this sense, and most people are simply unaware of how scientific and academic worlds work, awards are NOT free.
He simply does not want to set on that path and continue his life as a thinker.