Srinivasa Ramanujan
Self-taught genius who made extraordinary contributions
Most quoted
"I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum. I am now about 23 years of age. I have had no University education but I have undergone the ordinary school course. After leaving school I have been employing the spare time at my disposal to work at Mathematics. I have not trodden through the conventional regular course which is followed in a University course, but I am striking out a new path for myself. I have made a special investigation of divergent series in general and the results I get are termed by the local mathematicians as 'startling'."
— from First letter to G.H. Hardy, 1913
"I beg to introduce myself to you as a clerk in the Accounts Department of the Port Trust Office at Madras on a salary of only £20 per annum. I am now about 23 years of age. I have had no University education but I have undergone the ordinary school course. After leaving school I have been employing the spare time at my disposal to work at Mathematics."
— from Letter to G.H. Hardy, 1913
"I remember once going to see him when he was ill at Putney. I had ridden in taxi cab number 1729 and remarked that the number seemed to me rather a dull one, and that I hoped it was not an unfavourable omen. 'No,' he replied, 'it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.'"
— from Recounted by G.H. Hardy, 1918
All quotes by Srinivasa Ramanujan (688)
I have not given a proof of the formula, but I have verified it for a large number of cases.
The number of partitions of n is given by the coefficient of x^n in the expansion of 1/[(1-x)(1-x^2)(1-x^3)...].
I have discovered a number of results in the theory of partitions which are quite new.
The work I have done is not due to any special cleverness, but to the grace of God.
I can see the truth of a formula, even if I cannot prove it.
My work is not the result of any logical deduction, but of intuition.
I have found a large number of new theorems in the theory of numbers.
I have always been interested in the properties of numbers.
I have no doubt that the results I have obtained are correct.
The infinite series is a powerful tool in mathematics.
I have discovered many new identities and congruences.
The beauty of mathematics lies in its simplicity and elegance.
I have always been fascinated by the mysteries of numbers.
My theorems are not the result of any conscious effort, but of inspiration.
I have a strong belief in the power of intuition.
Mathematics is the language of God.
I have discovered many new formulas for the representation of numbers.
The properties of numbers are endless and fascinating.
I have a strong conviction that my results are true.
I have always been drawn to the beauty of mathematical patterns.
Contemporaries of Srinivasa Ramanujan
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920).