Srinivasa Ramanujan

[travisjeffery]

If you count him as unknown then you might as well count just about every other Mathematician other than Newton as an unknown as well.

[yummyfajitas]

I've discovered that John Nash ("that beautiful mind guy") is probably about as well known as Newton. So is "that Numbers guy" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numb3rs).

[ciupicri]

Not really. Most people know Newton as a physicist, but any pupil knows about Pythagoras. Also, any high school pupil that studies science (not human arts) knows about (Joseph Louis) Lagrange.

[eru]

And some of the Greeks.

[numbchuckskills]

agreed..I recall first studying his work in highschool math. and that was in Canada.

[Chirag]

Ramanujan was also mentioned in "Good Will Hunting". However I do agree that Indians have done a bad in terms of Marketing our selves.

Our brand image over some time has been: Some time Back: Snake Charmers and Kings Now: Bangalore(Outsourcing) & Spicy Food

[mahmud]

However I do agree that Indians have done a bad in terms of Marketing our selves.

What is this "we", and since when are people brands?

Bit parochial and jingoist eh? Nations are an illusion, and better image "betterment" can be done by caring for one's immediate neighbor.

Don't succumb to regionalist propaganda that serve none other than the ruling classes; all earth is yours, and all (wo)men your kin.

[FraaJad]

"Snake Charmers" is not a brand image "We" wanted nor created. It is the product of ignorant western minds.

Compared to other eastern cultures (chinese and japanese at least) India has suffered from mis-understanding and underwhelming understanding for a long time.

You only have to read English literature on India from 18 and 19th century to realize the extent of misinformation generated by the British to legitimise their occupation of India. "Victorial Morals" were not helpful either.

[ypavan]

I loved reading Robert Kanigel's biography - "The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan." Recommended for people who want to know more about the genius mathematician.

[mwerty]

My intro to him was http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051838/

God bless the bbc.

[muon]

The Music of Primes by Marcus Du Sautoy also has an excellent chapter on Ramanujam.

[recurser]

Seconded, a great read.

[ivenkys]

Why is this article at the top of the page ? As so many people have pointed out - he is neither an unknown nor has there been any recent incident/discovery which would require a re-iteration of his "geniusness".

[TheElder]

White guilt.

[ramanujan]

I probably should pipe up on this thread :)

The most amazing thing about Ramanujan is that there are literally multiple Springer Volumes devoted solely to the task of proving the results in his notebooks.

See for example:

http://bit.ly/iWIQP

[pchristensen]

Long url: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&client=firefox-a...

[chubbard]

One of my coworkers used to talk about Ramanujan. He remarked Ramanujan called every prime number a close personal friend. He sort of had this deep relationship with numbers.

Then I saw a documentary on people who could do complex math without the aide of a calculator (e.g. given any large number and tell if it was prime in their head). I thought there might be a parallel between people like this and Ramanujan. The documentary focused on a couple of people who were not savants, but by all accounts normal people. They followed a young British kid. He described how he saw and felt about numbers, and each number had a distinct personality. I found it remarkably similar to the description about how Ramanujan felt about numbers.

[zaph0d]

[...]Hardy contacted the Indian Office to plan for Ramanujan's trip to Cambridge. Secretary Arthur Davies of the Advisory Committee for Indian Students met with Ramanujan to discuss the overseas trip. In accordance with his Brahmin upbringing, Ramanujan refused to leave his country to "go to a foreign land."

So much for being a Math genius.

Disclaimer: I am an Indian.

[gsk]

Being a Genius in Mathematics does not necessarily mean being a genius in everything else (including bringing an exciting future forward in time). Galois, another mathematical genius from France (1800s), died at twenty because he fought a duel and got killed. It may be tempting to call him 'stupid'. He may be somewhat irrational in his love affair but that does not make his mathematical genius any lesser.

[keeptrying]

Newton was supposed to have been an absolute coward.

As a member of parliament the only thing he mentioned, during any session, was a request to open the window.

Feynman was a womanizer who was known to sleep with wives of colleagues. His biography "Genius" is a pretty good read by the way.

Genius doesnt mean "adventurous" or "virtuous" or "worldly". Its just one facet of a human.

[andrew1]

What does your disclaimer mean?

Ramanujan was a tremendously talented mathematician. Just because you come from the same country as him or find his religious beliefs archaic and/or irrational doesn't mean you can just dismiss his achievements.

[muon]

Maths and Culture are not related in any way.

[wglb]

How can you say that the inventor of taxicab numbers is unknown? Most people I know know who he is.

[coliveira]

This guy was huge, and he is very well known.

[ilkhd2]

Ramanujan is well known.

[eric_t]

He is the most well-known "unknown" mathematician...:)

[adamc]

I think I first read about him in a Martin Gardner book as a kid. So yeah, not that unknown.

[sanitybit]

But does he have his MCSE?

[capablanca]

Well known. Now, do you know Slava Pestov?