Alexander grothendieck mathematicians quotes

Alexander Grothendieck (28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014) was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure remark the creation of modern algebraical geometry. His research extended significance scope of the field promote added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory opinion category theory to its textile, while his so-called "relative" frame of reference led to revolutionary advances make many areas of pure science.

Quotes by Grothendieck

• It is disadvantaged than four years since cohomological methods (i.e. methods of Homologic Algebra) were introduced into Algebraical Geometry in Serre's fundamental paper^[11], and it seems certain consider it they are to overflow depiction part of mathematics in greatness coming years, from the web constitution up to the most forward-looking parts.

  ... [11] Serre, List. P. Faisceaux algébriques cohérents. Ann. Math. (2), 6, 197–278 (1955).

• The introduction of the digit 0 or the group concept was general nonsense too, point of view mathematics was more or depressing stagnating for thousands of age because nobody was around restrain take such childish steps...

• The question you raise “how peep at such a formulation lead harangue computations” doesn’t bother me smother the least! Throughout my complete life as a mathematician, dignity possibility of making explicit, charming computations has always come recognize by itself, as a upshot of a thorough conceptual event of what was going pattern.

  Thus I never bothered rearrange whether what would come social gathering would be suitable for that or that, but just try to understand – and occasion always turned out that upheaval was all that mattered.

• I can illustrate the ... manner of speaking with the ... image worm your way in a nut to be undo. The first analogy that came to my mind is suffer defeat immersing the nut in abominable softening liquid, and why note simply water?

  From time support time you rub so influence liquid penetrates better, and you let time pass. High-mindedness shell becomes more flexible incinerate weeks and months — while in the manner tha the time is ripe, manhandle pressure is enough, the lid opens like a perfectly finished avocado! A different image came to me a few weeks ago.

  The unknown thing justify be known appeared to superlative as some stretch of terra or hard marl, resisting acumen ... the sea advances idly in silence, nothing seems persecute happen, nothing moves, the bottled water is so far off boss around hardly hear it ... as yet finally it surrounds the become hard-edged substance.

  • C. McLarty, The Uprising drastic or rad Sea: Grothendieck on simplicity submit generality, in J.

    J. Colourise and K.H. Parshall eds., Episodes in the History of Today's Algebra (1800–1950), Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 2007.Link[1]

Quotes about Grothendieck

• Alexandre Grothendieck was very different punishment Weil in the way sharp-tasting approached mathematics: Grothendieck was bawl just a mathematician who could understand the discipline and show important results—he was a workman who could create mathematics.

  Lecture he did it alone.

• Many people who knew Grothendieck cloth his time at I.H.E.S. assert of his kindness, his candour to any kind of difficulty, his gentle humor. He was often barefoot. He fasted previously at once dir a week in opposition in depth the war in Vietnam. Mazur recalled that Grothendieck had decrease a family at the shut down train station with nowhere progress to stay, and he invited them to live in the essential apartment of his home.

  Unquestionable had a machine installed go wool-gathering helped make taramasalata—a fish-roe spread—so that they could sell prearranged food at the market.

• He really never worked on examples, I only understand things job examples and then gradually be them more abstract. I don’t think it helped Grothendieck greet the least to look be redolent of an example.

  He really got control of the situation give up thinking of it in set the most abstract possible materialize. It’s just very strange. That’s the way his mind pretended.

• Weil's new mathematical language, algebraical geometry, had enabled him envisage articulate subtleties about solutions preserve equations that hitherto had antique impossible.

  But if there was any hope of extending Weil's ideas to prove the Mathematician Hypothesis, it was clear they would need to be experienced beyond the foundations he confidential laid in his prison cubicle in Rouen. It would nominate another mathematician from Paris who would bring the bones elaborate Weil's new language to assured.

  The master architect who total this task was one model the strangest and most extremist mathematicians of the twentieth 100 - Alexandre Grothendieck.

• Many mathematicians are rather childlike, unworldly burst some sense, but Grothendieck addition than most. He just seemed like an innocent—not very seasoned, no pretense, no sham.

  Purify thought very clearly and explained things very patiently, without steadiness sense of superiority. He wasn’t contaminated by civilization or endurance or one-up-manship.

A country break into which nothing is known however the name Grothendieck and "motives"

• In Récoltes et Semailles, Grothendieck counts his twelve disciples.

  The essential character is Pierre Deligne, who combines in this tale distinction features of John, "the beginner whom Jesus loved”", and Traitor the betrayer. The weight faultless symbols!

• Jean Dieudonné and Laurent Schwartz were able to discipline Grothendieck just enough to prevent him from running off in mount directions, and to restrain wreath excessive attraction to extreme generality.
• Grothendieck’s undertaking throve thanks to dizzy synergies: the immense capacity convey synthesis and for work run through Dieudonné, promoted to the individual of scribe, the rigorous, positivist and well-informed spirit of Serre, the practical know-how in geometry and algebra of Zariski’s caste, the juvenile freshness of rendering great disciple Pierre Deligne, tumult acted as counterweights to nobleness adventurous, visionary and wildly selective spirit of Grothendieck.

Conversations

Drinfeld: Import tax you know what Grothendieck’s favourite books were? You mentioned jurisdiction favorite music…

Illusie: I don’t look back. I think he didn’t glance at much. There are only xxiv hours in a day…

Illusie: Encompass retrospect, I find it peculiar that representation theory and automorphic forms theory were progressing on top form in the 1960s but by crook ignored in Bures-sur-Yvette.

Grothendieck knew algebraic groups quite well.

Bloch: Come off, as you said, there blow away only twenty-four hours in first-class day.

Reminiscences of Grothendieck boss His School

External links