当年他47岁,一位真正地执着追求真理的学者

The competitive aspects of prizes can lead to publicly expressed acrimony. I know of three, perhaps four, serious instances of it during the years of my professional career. Recall that the Trojan war was begun because of the decision of a prize contest. Large prizes can increase secrecy, bickering, and envy. They could disrupt the sense of mathematical community. Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), one of the leading mathematicians of his generation, was strongly of this opinion. It was Wiener who coined the term "cybernetics," which has now entered the common language in a hundred different forms. In a letter (1941) of resignation from the National Academy of Sciences, Wiener wrote:

"As to medals, prizes, and the like, the less said of them the better. The heartbreak to the unsuccessful competitors is only equalled by the injury which their receipt can wreak on a weak or vain personality, or the irony of their reception by an aging scholar long after all good they can do is gone. I say, justly or unjustly administered, they are an abomination and should be abolished without exception."

原文引自
One Million Bucks for a 100% Solution
http://www.siam.org/news/news.php?id=678