Annals of Mathematics Genetics of Homotopy Theory and the Adams Conjecture Author(s): Dennis Sullivan Source: Annals of Mathematics, Second Series, Vol. 100, No. 1 (Jul., 1974), pp. 1-79 Published by: Annals of Mathematics Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1970841 Accessed: 07-12-2015 16:50 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Annals of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Annals of Mathematics. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 146.96.147.130 on Mon, 07 Dec 2015 16:50:45 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Geneticsof homotopytheory and the Adams conjecture By DENNIS SULLIVAN Dedicated to Norman Steenrod This is the firstin a seriesof papersdevoted to the invariantsand classi- ficationof compactmanifolds. One mighthope for a classificationtheory of manifoldshaving the follow- ing form: First, there is an understandablealgebraic descriptionof the homotopytheory of manifolds. Second, the salient geometricproperties of manifoldsbeyond homotopy theory can be isolated and understood. Third, the algebraic structureof these geometricinvariants can be determined. And fourth,this structurecan be successfullyintertwined with the algebraic descriptionof the homotopytheory of manifoldsto completethe theory.