Srinivasa Ramanujan: The Self-Taught Genius of Mathematics | National Personalities
Have you ever heard of Srinivasa Ramanujan? He was one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. He was born in India and had no formal education in mathematics. He taught himself everything from books and his own intuition. He discovered many amazing things in mathematics that are still being studied and used today. He also faced many challenges and hardships in his life, but he never gave up on his passion for mathematics. In this blog post, I will tell you more about his life story, his philosophy, his contribution to India, his achievements, and his legacy.
Srinivasa Ramanujan Life Story
Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 in a small town called Erode in Tamil Nadu, India. His father was a clerk in a cloth shop and his mother was a housewife. He had three younger siblings. He was very good at math from a young age and won many prizes and scholarships at school. He also liked to read about religion and philosophy.
He wanted to go to college and study more math, but he failed to pass the exams because he did not care about other subjects. He also lost his scholarship and had to drop out of college. He then tried to study math on his own, but he had no money or support from anyone. He also got married to a young girl named Janaki when he was 22 years old.
He started to look for a job to earn some money for his family. He worked as a tutor, an accountant, and a clerk at different places, but he was not happy with any of them. He wanted to do more math and share his ideas with other people. He wrote some papers and published them in a local math journal. He also wrote letters to some famous mathematicians in England, hoping that they would help him.
One of them was G.H. Hardy, who was a professor at Cambridge University. Hardy was very impressed by Ramanujan’s letters and invited him to come to England and work with him. Ramanujan was not sure at first because he was afraid of leaving his family, his culture, and his religion behind. But he finally agreed to go to England in 1914 with the help of Hardy and some other friends.
Srinivasa Ramanujan Philosophy
Ramanujan was a very religious person who believed that math was a way of understanding God’s creation. He said that he got his ideas from his family goddess Namagiri Thayar, who appeared in his dreams and gave him clues. He also said that “an equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God”. He followed a strict vegetarian diet and other Hindu rituals throughout his life.
Ramanujan did not follow the usual rules of math that were common in the Western world. He did not care much about proving his results or explaining how he got them. He trusted his intuition and imagination more than logic and reason. He wrote down his formulas and theorems without any steps or details, leaving it to others to figure out how they worked. He also used some strange methods and symbols that were hard to understand by others.
Ramanujan’s philosophy of math was based on beauty and elegance rather than formality and rigor. He said that “the true spirit of delight … is to be found in mathematics as nowhere else”. He also had a great sense of humor and wit that he showed in his conversations and writings.
Srinivasa Ramanujan Contribution to India
Ramanujan’s contribution to India was not only in math, but also in culture and nationalism. He was one of the first Indian scholars who got international fame and respect for their original work. He also inspired many young Indians to follow their dreams and pursue math as a career and as a passion.
Ramanujan’s work also helped the development of science and technology in India. His formulas and methods have been used in many fields such as cryptography, computer science, physics, engineering, etc. His name and work have been honored by many institutions and organizations in India, such as the Ramanujan Institute of Mathematics at the University of Madras, the Ramanujan Mathematical Society, the Ramanujan Research Centre, etc.
Ramanujan was also a proud and patriotic Indian who loved his country and its culture. He wrote to Hardy that “I want very much to see you again and talk to you about mathematics. I love mathematics more than anything else, excepting perhaps India and religion”. He also wanted to go back to India after finishing his work in England. He said that “I want to be in India while I am still young. I have a feeling that I may not live long”.
Srinivasa Ramanujan Achievements
Ramanujan’s achievements in math are amazing and unmatched. He did many things in math that no one had done before or even thought of. He worked on many areas of math, such as number theory, analysis, infinite series, fractions, partitions, functions, etc. He found thousands of new formulas and theorems, many of which are still being proved or explored by modern mathematicians. He also invented or predicted many concepts and techniques that were later developed by others.
Some of his most famous and wonderful results are:
- A formula that tells you how many ways you can split a number into smaller parts. For example, you can split 4 into 4, 3+1, 2+2, 2+1+1, or 1+1+1+1. So there are 5 ways to split 4. Ramanujan’s formula can tell you how many ways there are to split any number, even very big ones. His formula involves a very strange number that is related to the circle and a very complex number that has three roots..
- A fraction that is made by putting fractions inside fractions inside fractions and so on. This fraction has many amazing properties and connections with other math objects, such as shapes, functions, curves, etc.
- Some functions that look like other functions but behave differently. These functions were found by Ramanujan in his last letter to Hardy in 1920 and were left as a mystery for many years until they were explained by other mathematicians using different approaches.
Srinivasa Ramanujan Legacy
Ramanujan’s legacy is still alive and growing today. His work has influenced and inspired many mathematicians and scientists around the world. His work has also opened up new directions and possibilities for math research and discovery. His work has also enriched our understanding and appreciation of the beauty and diversity of math.
Ramanujan’s life story is also an example of courage and perseverance in the face of adversity and hardship. He overcame many obstacles and challenges in his life, such as poverty, illness, discrimination, loneliness, etc., but he never gave up on his love for math. He also showed us how to follow our passion and intuition without being bound by conventions or expectations.
Ramanujan was a genius who changed the world of math with his ideas and insights. He was also a human who touched the hearts of many people with his personality and spirit. He was truly a remarkable person who deserves our admiration and gratitude.
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