The God of Maths

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician born on December 22, 1887, in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India.
He is renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to mathematics, particularly in the areas of number
theory, continued fractions, infinite series, and mathematical analysis.

Despite growing up in relative poverty and lacking formal training in higher mathematics, Ramanujan
displayed an exceptional aptitude for mathematical concepts from a young age. His talent was discovered
by G.H. Hardy, a prominent mathematician from Cambridge University, who recognized the extraordinary
brilliance in Ramanujan's work.

In 1913, Ramanujan began a prolific correspondence with Hardy that led to his relocation to England in
1914, where he worked closely with Hardy at Cambridge. During his short life, Ramanujan produced a
wealth of mathematical discoveries, formulating new theories and generating numerous theorems, many of
which were ahead of their time. His work on partition functions, mock theta functions, and modular forms
significantly impacted various branches of mathematics.

Ramanujan's insights were often accompanied by cryptic, unproven formulas and conjectures that later
mathematicians worked hard to prove and understand. His genius was widely acknowledged, and he was
elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918, becoming the youngest person ever to receive this honor.

Tragically, Ramanujan's life was cut short, and he passed away on April 26, 1920, at the age of 32. Despite
his relatively short career, his work profoundly influenced and continues to impact various fields of
mathematics, inspiring further research and discoveries even in the modern era. Ramanujan's legacy
remains a testament to the power of innate mathematical genius and the pursuit of knowledge against
formidable odds.
Ramanujan's number is a mathematical constant named after the famous Indian mathematician Srinivasa
Ramanujan. It is denoted by the 1729. Ramanujan encountered this number in a conversation with British
mathematician G.H. Hardy, which led to its association with his name.

The story behind Ramanujan's number goes like this: Hardy visited Ramanujan in the hospital and
mentioned that he came in a taxi with the rather uninteresting number 1729. Ramanujan quickly responded
that 1729 was actually quite an interesting number because it is the smallest number that can be expressed
as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. This property of 1729makes it a "taxicab number" or "Hardy-
Ramanujan number."

Mathematically, 1729 can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two distinct ways:

-1729 = 1^3 + 12^3 \)

-1729 = 9^3 + 10^3 \)

This property makes it unique and interesting in number theory. Taxicab numbers or sums of two cubes in
multiple ways have fascinated mathematicians for a long time, and 1729 stands out as one of the earliest
known examples.

Ramanujan, with his extraordinary mathematical insights, contributed significantly to several areas of
mathematics, including number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. The number 1729 became a
symbol of his brilliance and intuition in the realm of numbers.

Written and Illustrated by,

Ritvik Pathangey
VI C