The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan

Reviews

1. 

   Hamid Nassiri – August 11, 2024

   When Intuition And Rigor Did Mathematical Wonders
   This book is the story of the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the brilliant Indian mathematician who lived a short but productive life around one hundred years ago. I had heard about Ramanujan before, and his collaboration with the renowned British mathematician G. H. Hardy made me want to know more about him. So I read this book and have learned so much about Ramanujan’s life in India and England. This is not a technical book about his work per se, but mentions areas of mathematics like number theory on which he worked. It describes his upbringing in Southern India, his passion for exploring mathematics on his own, and his change of fortune when Hardy recognized his genius and the two collaborated in mathematics at Trinity College. Ramanujan was the source of intuition and Hardy the master of rigorous proof of theorems. Eventually, Ramanujan’s knowledge caught up with the latest methods in mathematics of the time and he published several of his papers with Hardy’s help. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society and obtained the Trinity fellowship despite some racist opposition to it. Hardy was instrumental in Ramanujan’s path to fame. Unfortunately, Ramanujan’s life came to an early end due to tuberculosis as the likely cause. This book is well-researched and gives a realistic view of what Ramanujan’s life must have been like. I even learned some about Hindu deities, history of some buildings and places, and people who shaped the events in Ramanujan’s life. The author has a descriptive style of writing that made some sentences too lengthy for me to keep track of what was being expressed, so I had to reread them. Overall, though, it is a complete and informative book.

2. 

   Iryna – August 11, 2024

   Good
   It is good

3. 

   Kenneth W. Farminer – August 11, 2024

   Genius Discovered
   Robert Kanigel’s biography of Ramanujan is a well researched and well written book about the all-too short life of a man who remains largely unknown outside of the world of mathematics. Ramanujan was born of poor parents in Southern India in the late 1880s. His only interest outside of his religion was mathematics and he was unable to complete a formal university education. After several attempts to attract the attention of prominent British mathematicians he finally became the protégé of G.H. Hardy, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge. Hardy brought Ramanujan to Cambridge based on some of his preliminary work and was surprised to find that his protégé’s thinking was far in advance of the then, and possibly current, state of mathematics.Publication of many joint papers resulted in Ramanujan’s election to the Royal Society.Unfortunately he had by this time contracted tuberculosis and he died in 1920 shortly after his return to India. Even today Ramanujan’s theorems are still being studied and he is ranked among the world’s greatest mathematical thinkers hence the book’s subtitle.This book not only provides a valuable insight into a great mind but it also gives us a penetrating glimpse of the culture of Southern India in the early 20th century.The contrast between Hardy’s British public(i.e. private) school background and Ramanujan’s Indian schooling makes the collaboration between the two even more interesting.This is a fascinating read that leads one to speculate how many more similar sparks of genius remain undiscovered.

4. 

   Mit Sengupta – August 11, 2024

   Fascinating book delving into imagination of Ramanujan, his life in India and then his life abroad. The man wanted to nothing more than to dream about mathematics day and night! Before his death he was only scribbling maths. And GH Hardy when asked what was his greatest discovery? He remarked : Ramanujan!

5. 

   XVB – August 11, 2024

   La vida de este matemático autodidacta es fascinante. Paraxaquellos que kquiersn profundizar en su vida mas allá de la simplista película que omite demasiados detalles. E-book bien formateado y editado.

6. 

   Leonardo P. – August 11, 2024

   Una delle più affascinanti storie della Matematica, un libro che potrebbe motivarti a studiare matematica!

7. 

   anderson – August 11, 2024

   Algumas vezes somos levados a acreditar que alguém que nasce com um dom não necessita de nada mais além disso.Foi com essa ideia que eu adquiri esse livro e, ao longo da leitura, fui notando que além de um dom existiu muito trabalho, problemas , dificuldades no caminho de Ramanujan. E é exatamente esse lado da estória que faz com que qualquer um se identifique com Ramanujan e é isso que torna a leitura tão agradável.

8. 

   Kemal Koeksal – August 11, 2024

   On one of many trans Atlantic flights I saw the movie and the story has caught my attention. The book is, as usual, much better then the movie. The author does a good job in explaining mathematical concepts very easy to understand. Your perfect holiday book !