Perfect Rigor

Drawing on interviews with Perelman’s teachers, classmates, coaches, teammates, and colleagues in Russia and the US—and informed by her own background as a math whiz raised in Russia—she set out to uncover the nature of Perelman’s genius. What she found was a mind of unrivalled computational power, one that enabled Perelman to pursue mathematical concepts to their logical (sometimes distant) end. But she also discovered that this very strength has turned out to be his undoing: such a mind is unable to cope with the messy reality of human affairs. When the jealousies, rivalries, and passions of life intruded on his Platonic ideal, Perelman began to withdraw—first from the world of mathematics and then, increasingly, from the world in general. In telling his story, Masha Gessen has constructed a gripping and tragic tale that sheds rare light on the unique burden of genius.