'Collaboration is more important than competition'

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Nicolay Nicolov. You don't know it yet, but you'll probably be envious of him as soon as you finish reading this first paragraph. On the second day of the IMO exam in 1995, the Bulgarian handed in his exam much earlier than the other competitors because he wanted to sleep. And, amazingly, he solved all the problems, achieving a perfect score: 42 points. For those who doubt it, Artur Avila, an extraordinary researcher at IMPA and the only Brazilian to receive the Fields Medal, attests to its veracity, as he witnessed the event.

The story was told by Artur himself to an audience made up of a large part of the 623 IMO students, gathered on the afternoon of this Friday (21) in the auditorium of a hotel in Barra da Tijuca. In addition to talking about his career, the Brazilian commented on the work of 1995 IMO medalists who, like him, followed a successful path in Mathematics.

Besides Nicolay, who became a professor at University College Oxford, Artur cited, among others, the British Ben Green; the Frenchman Emmanuel Breuillard; the American Jacob Lurie; and the Romanian Ciprian Manoelescu, who participated in three editions of the Olympiad and, incredibly, achieved three perfect scores.

Artur also spoke of the Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, who died on Friday (14). The two met at the IMO awards ceremony, in that same year, 1995. Both were gold medalists. "She was wearing traditional Iranian clothing, with her head covered. We talked a little," he said, recalling that, years later, in a conversation with Curtis McMullen – Fields Medal winner in 1998 – he heard about her again.

"He told me about a wonderful student who had solved an important problem. It was Maryam," said Artur, recalling that he had met the Iranian woman several times during mathematicians' conferences. They last saw each other in 2014 in Seoul, when they both won the Fields Medal. "She was happy with her daughter," he recalls, also highlighting Maryam's modesty and perseverance, as she spent years dedicated to solving a problem.

Although he didn't pursue a career in Olympic mathematics, Artur said that he occasionally enjoys playing around, solving IMO problems. Regarding the exam given this week, he said it was very difficult. "I managed to solve some problems; others I found very strange," he stated, revealing that he never even usually looks at the geometry problems.

And in front of chairs filled with students of diverse nationalities and ages, boys – and even girls – the Brazilian highlighted the value of respect and diversity: “There are many ways to do mathematics. No one needs to sacrifice anyone because of how someone else does things,” he emphasized, stressing that, in mathematics, “collaboration is more important than competition.”

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