"Recently, having refreshed my understanding of the mathematics of relativity theory, I called one of my old Berkeley professors to ask him some questions about the geometry of general relativity. S. S. Chern is arguably the greatest living geometer. We spoke on the phone for a long time, and he patiently answered all my questions. When I told him I was contemplating writing a book about relativity, cosmology, and geometry and how they interconnect to explain the universe, he said, "It's a wonderful idea for a book, but writing it will surely take too many years of your life ... I wouldn't do it." Then he hung up."
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Mathematicians from the United StatesNational Medal of Science laureatesWolf Prize in Mathematics laureatesUniversity of California, Berkeley facultyMathematicians from China
Original Language: English
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Amir D. Aczel as quoted in his book:
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shiing-Shen_Chern
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Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern (陳省身 October 26, 1911 – December 3, 2004) was a Chinese-American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geometry" and is widely regarded as a leader in geometry and one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century, winning numerous awards and recognition including the Wolf Prize and the inaugural Shaw Prize.
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