The Man Who Knew Infinity ∞

You would have easily inferred from the title that this article is about Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan or more commonly S. Ramanujan, who is a remarkable example of mathematical brilliance. He was born in Erode, Tamil Nadu on 22 December, 1887. India celebrates his birthday as National Mathematics Day.

While most of us may be tormented by the mere idea of Trigonometry, Ramanujan was thorough with trigonometry at the age of 12. So, if I try to fit Ramanujan in today’s India, he would be a typical non-medical science student, attending coaching classes to crack JEE to make it to the dream education brand of India. Nevertheless, this piece is about Ramanujan and not about the poignancy of the education system. About how this man, who against all odds, went on to become the first Indian to be elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

When he was 16, he came across a book – ‘A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics’, which aroused his curiosity in mathematics to an extent that his interest in studying any other subject completely died. From being a meritorious student, he became one who failed terribly in subjects other than mathematics. He first failed in Government college in Kumbakonam and then again in another college in Chennai.

His life took a turn, when while working as a clerk in the Chennai Accountant General's Office, he was advised by an Englishman to contact researchers in Cambridge. From the three mathematicians, to whom he wrote letters along with his work; it was only Godfrey Harold Hardy who recognized the genius. Himself an extraordinary mind, G.H. could write numbers up to millions at the age of only two. Hardy invited Ramanujan to England. Initially, Ramanujan faced a lot of problems. G.H. Hardy described it as "A poor and solitary Hindu pitting his brains against the accumulated wisdom of Europe." 

Hardy knew that though Ramanujan was one hell of a genius, he lacked proper techniques quintessential for reaching the pinnacles he deserved. He wanted Ramanujan to have some formal knowledge. So in 1916, Ramanujan completed his BA from Cambridge. Then, there was no looking back. He published many papers. He went on to earn a fellowship of the Royal Society of London and fellowship of Trinity. This was Ramanujan’s Zero to One moment.

Hardy’s remarks exhibit his endearment for Ramanujan- 

“I have to form myself as I have never really formed before. I am trying to help you to form some sort of reason to estimate the most romantic form in the recent history of mathematics. Ramanujan was an Indian and I suppose it is always difficult for an Englishman and an Indian to understand one another properly. I owe more to him than to anyone else in the world and my association with him is the one romantic incident of my life.”

Intrigued by how Ramanujan was able to arrive at the results without proofs, Hardy solicited an explanation from him. Ramanujan told him that his family goddess Namagiri scrolled mathematical material in front of his eyes and in his dreams. He even said, “An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of God”. This is a paradox that Hardy who had an inextricably interlaced life with Ramanujan was himself an atheist and a pragmatic man.

This mathematical prodigy considered every number up to 10,000 his “personal friend”. When 1729 seemed a dull number to G.H. Hardy, it was Ramanujan who explained to him that it is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of 2 cubes, in 2 different ways. Now, this magic number is also known as Hardy-Ramanujan number.

Ramanujan was a strict vegetarian because he was a Brahmin and his health deteriorated during wartime when the supply of vegetables was interrupted. He was diagnosed with Tuberculosis.  In 1919, he returned back to India. He died in 1920 at the age of 32. He compiled about 3900 results in such a short span of life. Who knows what breakthroughs would have been discovered if this world would have been fortunate enough to have him for a longer time.