INFINITY AND BEYOND:
BLESSED BY THE GOD OF MATHEMATICS
(Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar)
Have
you not come across the name,Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar.
The
most brilliant mathematician of pre-independence days of India, Ramanujan was born
in 18887 & lived up to 1920 in his physical abodes. His name needs no
introduction now as a distinguished mathematician, awarded with a FRS at very young age.
He is always remembered as a talent outburst developed among scant resources.
Known for his famous works like Ramanujan prime, Ramanujan theta function,
Ramanujan Squares and many infinite series, he was definitely blessed with
godly talents in mathematics.
Born in south India, at pious
bank of Cauvery river in a small religious town of Kumbakonam, Ramanujan ways
of developing extraordinary facets in mathematics have been well known in the
world today, but needless to say, during his lifetime he had to fight tooth and
nail to get recognition in his field. His mother, Komalatammal, was a housewife and also
sang at a local temple and his father was a clerk at some sari shop. Not to
mention, income wise placed in lower strata, the Brahmin boy of south Indian
Iyengar family was right in his equations of spiritual and religious practices
and duties also.
He was intrigued by two
areas of mathematics, infinite series and integrals. His invented so many
infinite series and provided general solution for them. His ways, however, were
out of the world type. He put forward many complex theorems of mathematics
without providing any sufficient proof. His initial days of mathematics
learning were influenced by trigonometry of S. L. Loney,
After clearing his high
school, he became so centered on mathematics that he did not bother to study
other subjects. He could not clear his FA exams and failed in physiology
measurably as the subject was out of taste, he lacked interest in English study
also.
At age of sixteen, a mathematics
book by G.S.Carr, A synopsis of Elementary results in pure and applied mathematics,
which was a collection of 5000 theorems, became his source of ignitions towards
numbers and algebraic theorems. He studied the contents of the book in detail and
devised his own methods to prove the theorems and further advanced to higher
level with his own theorems. His first paper published in journal of Indian mathematical
society was on Bernoulli numbers and further he wrote on Euler-Mscheroni
constant also.
He begged for petty jobs of
clerk for his livelihood and finding some time for mathematics. He was shy but
brilliant and although he found some supporters who were in good bureaucratic
posts and lovers of mathematics also, his crucial years were full of anxiety
for minimal money for livelihood. His resolve was firm and he further started
writing renound mathematicians of Cambridge and other international
universities to get some way out for more research works as well for
recognition of his works. Most of the mathematician could not understand his
way of mathematics and so could hardly appreciate his work. Lastly, he found
Prof G Hardy, who was not only a renowned mathematician but a critique and well
established name in the world of literature and science also. They worked in
close association and Hardy could equip Ramanujan with formal style of
presenting papers, but at times even Hardy could not understand Ramanujan’s
mystic style of mathematics.
Well, Ramanujan appeals to
me for many reasons, first is finding his own way of brilliance with least
resources and perseverance towards his thought and goal and second his spiritual
way of mathematical understanding, he said once, no mathematical equations
matters for me if it does not represent God’s greatness and will. A true
devotee to God and mathematics, whosoever reads about him is intrigued with the
talent with which he traversed his journey to mathematics of infinity and he must
have been blessed by the God of mathematics.
My salutes to late great Ramanujan
with a wish that our country should inculcate an effective system for identifying
such genius in different areas of science and math from rural and deprived
population of India.
Comments
Post a Comment