Title covers it. Internet searches have so far yielded no pleasing results. Thanks for any potential help, didn't think this was postable anywhere else.

Why? It is best untranslated and unread.

I haven't read any rendition of it, can you explain?

http://www.math.jussieu.fr/~leila/gr...lefsummary.pdf

some more info into it until the final victory of the real copy is achieved it it exists lol!

You can always of course learn french (lol) or get a google translation of a text of the book in french somewhere that probably can be found in some page and then using chrome try to translate?

Seriously why do you want to read probably the worse thing a great mind thought had discovered when its probably just wishful thinking and totally contrary to his work in math.

Of course nothing wrong with curiosity and an open mind so by all means read it if you can find it. But really...

"This chapter expresses the
meaning and the importance of dreams and the author’s empirical conviction that dreams
are sent by an outside force, called “le Rˆeveur”, who knows each of us intimately and sends
dreams in order for each of us to know himself fully."

Lolz...well said.

Why do you want to read it?

I suppose because I'm interested in the radical conceptions of gifted minds. It may consist entirely or mostly of nonsense, but it evidently addresses Grothendieck's realization of his creative potential and its former suppressors, which I would assume and hope is not worthless reading.

Curiosity with presumably accurate expectations of an outlier in an otherwise good body of work carried Einstein into reading Edgar Allan Poe's 'Eureka'. I guess that is my answer.

Masque: I am under the impression that the majority of this is not dedicated to the God from Dreams thing.

What you will find is a brilliant mathmetician showing exactly why you should not wish to be a brilliant mathmatician. One should aspire to less lofty goals, such as being sane.

There is a reason why we keep them locked up in ivory towers. They are quite useful, but quite unhealthy. He has escaped, and I sincerely hope that he is currently happy.

Oh, and wanting to read a book is an excellent reason to learn a new language. It is nearly as good a reason as wanting to talk to an interesting person who doesn't speak your language.

How do you know that?

Because it is generally accepted that being happy and feeling good are the prime motivation. They (the nutters) aren't happy and don't feel good. Therefore they are not getting what they really want out of life on a basic level.

Beware the path of swords, huh?

No. One can be quite happy as a warrior* for the most part.** Being a nutter is different.***

*or ground-breaker.

**the last part often being particularly unpleasant.

***most of it is unpleasant.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think I'm more uneasy than you about making judgements about greatness. Do we normals have any idea what it is like to be great at something?

I think that the standard caveats apply, but in all things if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it probably is a duck. Most likely people who look and act cranky are, in fact, cranky. Even if they are really massively good at something due to several parts smartness at that thing and several hundred parts obsessiveness over it.

It is, of course, the obsessiveness that is either (depending on who you talk to) the disease or just a symptom.

Would be truly horrible to be not-so-bright and have similar single-minded obsession. All the misery, and no one gets to benefit from it other than the psychiatrist who hopefully makes a boat payment or two from Mr Cranky McIncompetent pants.

What about being great but nobody else realizing it in your lifetime, like van Gogh? That has to suck.