When problems equate to happiness
Shaw Prize winner Professor George Lusztig says the beauty of mathematics drives him on
Solving a mathematical problem may sounds like a headache for many of us. But for Professor George Lusztig the challenge has beauty, not least because it allows the solver to be judged on his or her merits.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology mathematician was in town last week to collect the US$1 million Shaw Prize in mathematics - but there is something far more important: "I hope to live long enough to solve the problems I have started."
Lusztig was honoured for a breakthrough, weaving together geometry and algebra in a way that helped "solve old problems and reveal beautiful new connections", the Shaw judges said.
However, Lusztig still has many problems to solve - even though he admits his innovations have no application in real life.
To apply mathematics to real life is almost always not an aim. It's always for the beauty of it."
The beauty of maths has driven Lusztig since the very beginning. "There's an [essence] that is very beautiful, that you can't see anywhere else. It's like watching stars in the sky that don't exist in the earth."
Yet he understands the non-mathematicians may struggle to grasp this particular beauty.