>>9190612Galois had to die so that there would be at least one halfway interesting story/tragedy in the history of mathematics. Mathematicians tend to lead extremely dull personal lives, which is exactly what lets them think deeply enough to ply their trade - they are /usually/ not distracted by war, duels, shaving, and so on.
Fully 75% of everyone who has ever been awarded a Fields medal are still /alive/. The cohort's longevity must, at some point, be qualitatively explained in terms such as: these guys don't go skydiving, don't go down the wrong alley at night, don't get in barfights, don't get caught up in lover's triangles...
