Conversation with Vladimir Igorevich Arnol'd (Q581372)

This article provides excerpts from a conversation (in Russian, translated here by the author into English) with Vladimir Igorevich Arnol'd on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 1987. A short preface describes Arnol'd and his work, including his contributions to superpositions and perturbation theory, as well as his contributions to hydrodynamics and real algebraic geometry. In the course of the interview, Arnol'd describes his thesis supervisor A. N. Kolmogorov. He also explains how he works with his own students, and how he approaches his mathematics. In addition to presenting his views on the nature and future of mathematical research, he offers interesting comparisons between mathematical life in the West and in the Soviet Union (along with brief descriptions of mathematics at Moscow University and at the Steklov Mathematics Institute). Arnol'd places considerable emphasis upon the consistent failure of Western authors to cite Russian publications, and discusses the kinds of priority disputes that arise because of their lack of familiarity with what is published in Russian sources. Two photographs of Arnol'd accompany this article.