'Mathematics Gives Meaning to Life'

The moment a mathematician receives the Fields Medal, their inbox crashes and their private life suddenly becomes public property. Yet while the medal creates a dazzling public spotlight, famous mathematician and Tsinghua University professor Caucher Birkar, who won the prize in 2018, sees a remarkably practical side to it.

While calling the honor "one of those exceptional things that can happen to anyone," he explained that it provides him a platform to communicate ideas more easily, especially to the general public, because he becomes a reference point. It makes him busier, he admitted, but overall, it's positive because he can effect change more easily than before.

The village boy who demystified genius

Long before the medal, Birkar grew up in a remote Kurdish village in Iran, drawn to mathematics by an elder brother. "I liked mathematics from primary school, partly due to my older brother, who was also interested in math and technology," he said. "I started learning from him, then read a lot on my own, and got deeper into it." He described finding many interesting things in mathematics, whether learning it, coming up with new ideas, or solving problems. "It became an enjoyable way of life, much like people enjoy sports."

This personal joy forms the bedrock of his philosophy. "Personally, mathematics gives meaning to life," he said. "It's a journey of passion and pleasure, and you feel you're doing something valuable. That personal drive is essential for success." When asked if one needs to be born with a special gift to be a mathematician, Birkar's answer is remarkably grounded: Not every businessperson becomes the richest, but many succeed. If someone has a passion, they should follow it. "Almost anyone can become a mathematician, but the goal is not to be the best in the world; it's to do your best."

This conviction is rooted in his own life. Moving from a village school to a city high school was intimidating. "When I moved to the city for high school, I thought I couldn't compete with city students," he admitted. "But I soon realized they were just like me, nothing special."

The same thing happened when he went to university in the capital. From this experience, he offers a message to students in remote areas today. "It's about you, your books, and your study. It doesn't matter where you come from."

Mapping the unseen landscape

Birkar's intellectual home is algebraic geometry, a field so abstract that he acknowledges how hard it is to explain his work to the public. "Mathematics has its own language," he said. His domain is the study of spaces defined by polynomial equations, the kind most people know from high school. Instead of simply solving those equations, he and his colleagues study the spaces of their solutions. He likened the process to grouping people by gender, age, or wealth, categorizing these spaces and seeing how they relate. His specific work focuses on describing their properties, exploring how many spaces belong to a group and how they interact.

His move to Tsinghua has not altered the fundamental nature of this research. "The research and teaching themselves will be the same; my projects won't change," he confirmed. What differs is the potential for new collaborations. He expects to communicate more with colleagues here, including those outside the field of mathematics. While algebraic geometry already has deep connections with theoretical physics, Birkar sees emerging links in cryptography, biology, chemistry, and computer science. Though he hasn't worked in applied directions himself, he remains open to surprise. "Talking to someone might spark new ideas," he said.

From looking up to lifting others

To understand what the Fields Medal truly means to Birkar, one has to go back to his student days in University of Tehran. He would look up at pictures of Fields Medal winners on the walls of his math club, wondering if he would ever meet one. At that time in Iran, he couldn't even imagine going to the West. The distance between a Kurdish village boy and those icons on the wall felt unbridgeable until it wasn't.

Now, that same boy has chosen to write his next chapter at Tsinghua University in Beijing. His arrival is not a sudden leap but a considered step. He had visited in 2017 and again in 2019 for a conference, staying for more than two weeks. "Before I received the invitation, I was already in contact with Tsinghua," he said. "So I had some familiarity with the university and knew some people here."

What drew him back was both academic strength and something more personal. "Tsinghua is a very strong university, attractive from a mathematical point of view," he said. "But also, I wanted to experience a different culture and a different way of life in China."

His first impressions have been warm. "My impression of Tsinghua and of people in China is that they are very welcoming and hospitable. I really like that." He also appreciated the logistical ease. "They make practical things easy. So I don't have to worry about small matters."

Source: Science and Technology Daily