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jyl jyl is online now
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Nor California & Pac NW
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When I was a kid, I studied mathematics. My dad was a mathematician, although he later moved to aerospace engineering. I got my BA in mathematics, then changed direction. Today i remember algebra, trig, some calculus, and that is about it.

Anyway, as a child I also read a lot about the history of mathematics. When I ran across this article, I immediately recognized the guy's name. Ramanujan is one of the most mysterious, improbable, and romantic figures in the field. You don't need to follow the math discussed to appreciate how remarkable his story is.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/srinivasa-ramanujan-was-a-genius-math-is-still-catching-up-20241021/

He's a reminder that unimaginable talent exists in the most obscure places, almost all of which goes wasted. Some big famine or civil war in Africa that kills millions - multiple talents like Ramanuian will be among the dead and we'll never know what was lost. Individual talent needs collective civilization to flourish. Ramanujan had to get to England to make his contributions.

Reminds me also of Philip Jose Farmer's "Riverworld" scifi books, there is a place where all the greatest composers of history are celebrating a man no-one ever heard of, who never composed a note, but as it turns out had more talent than any of them.
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What? Uh . . . “he” and “him”?
Old 10-23-2024, 09:29 AM
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