Robert Kanigel

The Man Who Knew Infinity

1. IDEA 1

   Ramanujan was a self-taught genius

   Kanigel tells the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, who grew up in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu with little formal training in advanced mathematics. Working from an old textbook of results, he filled notebooks with remarkable formulas of his own.

2. IDEA 2

   He failed college but kept working

   Ramanujan focused so intensely on mathematics that he failed other subjects and lost his scholarship. He lived in poverty while continuing his research. Kanigel shows that his single-minded focus brought him great hardship even as it fed his talent.

3. IDEA 3

   A letter changed his life

   In 1913, Ramanujan wrote to G. H. Hardy, a famous Cambridge mathematician, enclosing pages of formulas. Hardy recognised his genius and invited him to England. Kanigel shows that this one bold letter opened a door that had seemed closed.

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