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Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

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Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#111

Post by BLKNSLVR »

elmomle wrote: post #9
datavirtue wrote: post #2

Why aren't we working on drugs to make people smart?

I used to think like you do. But the real place where we could make tons of progress is in relationships. Many stories of great thinkers involve one or a few crucial mentoring/pedagogical relationships. Without those, a person could forever find themselves trying to fit their square peg into the round hole of what "normal" society around them seems to expect. I can easily see how my life could have ended up like that…

Was just discussing various parenting stories with my colleagues over lunch and, like relationships, childhood environment and parental boundaries (or otherwise) would likely be the greatest influence to any individual.

But then, if 'mentors' applies to parents, then I guess I'm saying the same thing.

Having said that, my teenage son wastes a lot of his life playing online games with his friends, but having said that, I heard him say mid-game to a friend of his "Brazilian isn't a language you idiot!". So, I mean it's trivia, but he knows there's no language called Brazilian. He's a smart kid (that's not the only data point).

(I had to look it up: Portugese is the official language of Brazil).

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#112

Post by rramadass »

For people interested in learning more about Ramanujan and his Works;

1) Mathematics Wizard Srinivasa Ramanujan : Some glimpses into his Life and Work by two Indian Mathematicians Narendra Kumar Govil and Bhu Dev Sharma is a good biography with an introduction to his Mathematics and links to further resources. Good complement to Robert Kanigel's book The Man Who Knew Infinity.

2) In order to understand the fascination that Mathematicians have for Ramanujan see this and other lectures by Prof. Ken Ono who credits Ramanujan as his inspiration in becoming a Mathematician; Why Does Ramanujan, "The Man Who Knew Infinity," Matter? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ynhiZJUMzA

3) Mathologer on Youtube has good walkthroughs of some of Ramanujan's most famous identities (eg. 1+2+3+... = -1/12) - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mathologer+rama...

4) All of Ramanujan's published papers and unpublished notebooks can be found online at - http://ramanujan.sirinudi.org/

PS: In the submitted article, George Andrews is wearing a Ramanujan tie :-)

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#113

Post by ecshafer »

jyunwai wrote: post #56
seiferteric wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exposure is good, but success in school requires you to be successful in these subjects as well. I have had similar thoughts recently as OP thinking about what I want for my young kids and what my experiences in school were. Being _really_ good in one thing should allow you to make up for being subpar in other areas, but it doesn't. You can only get an A (or A+) in math for example, even if your a genius. But maybe y…

The admissions process to universities in the province of Ontario in Canada has a direct solution for this, which applies to well-known universities in the global technology industry, such as the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. Most of these universities look at an applicant's grades for just six courses. After looking at the courses required for certain programs (such as calculus and physics fo…

6 courses in your senior year doesn't seem like a great solution. If you figure you take Math, Science, History, English in your senior year, Then take 2 electives, that is basically a full schedule already. Short of replacing one of the poor grades with a freebie like Gym, I am not seeing where that solves the issue. This might be a difference in US and Canadian education, so maybe 6 courses means something different.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#114

Post by throwaway10oct »

datavirtue wrote: post #2

Why aren't we working on drugs to make people smart?

I think modafinil is a wonderful drug, far more potent than caffeine or nicotine. It's also very easy to get with no long term ill effects. There is a whole subreddit dedicated to this.

Wonder why more people aren't using it.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#115

Post by 3vidence »

jyunwai wrote: post #56
seiferteric wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exposure is good, but success in school requires you to be successful in these subjects as well. I have had similar thoughts recently as OP thinking about what I want for my young kids and what my experiences in school were. Being _really_ good in one thing should allow you to make up for being subpar in other areas, but it doesn't. You can only get an A (or A+) in math for example, even if your a genius. But maybe y…

The admissions process to universities in the province of Ontario in Canada has a direct solution for this, which applies to well-known universities in the global technology industry, such as the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. Most of these universities look at an applicant's grades for just six courses. After looking at the courses required for certain programs (such as calculus and physics fo…

Note here, in the current years, grades / competition has exploded so for the more competitive programs it is nearly impossible to get in without high 90s in all the required courses (English is required for all programs).

So responding to OP, you indeed must be an expert in all subjects to have a chance to study in your field of expertise.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#116

Post by BLKNSLVR »

babyent wrote: post #8
NAHWheatCracker wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people are, they're called nootropics. Whether they are successful and whether they are mostly a bunch of snake oil is another question...

I feel way more productive since going sxe. I am naturally so tired around 9pm when I shut the lid of my laptop that I fall asleep within minutes of getting in bed. On a side note.. Somehow my dreams have been insane and I’ve low key enjoyed the vivid worlds I find myself in over the past few months. Wake up around 5 or 6, go for a stroll and then eat some breakfast. Then I can work taking only breaks for lunch and d…

I've always been pretty much straight-edge. Don't drink much alcohol, and recently went off caffeine.

I'm naturally tired at around 2am. I barely dream, or can't remember my dreams. I struggle to wake up at 6:30 even after 7+ hours of sleep.

I do like an afternoon nap, but Sunday's are almost the only opportunity. As a bad consolation prize, I involuntarily micro-sleep at my desk, working from home or in the office, a handful of times most days, generally at peak afternoon nap times (1:30pm - 3:30pm).

I wouldn't say I'm productive, but I would say that the work I produce is generally of a high quality.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#117

Post by AlexandrB »

ChadNauseam wrote: post #105
jojobas wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So in grade 5 you maths is A++++ (like college entry level), you're excused from English, Civics and what not, and when by the time of graduation you've fizzled out (which most prodigies do) you're just an unemployable nerd. School education standards are the barest minimum and anyone of IQ > 85 can make them.

Personally I can’t say I learned anything professionally useful in english or civics. An actually decent math class in just one of my years of k-12 would have been much more useful.

It's weird to say that about English when good communication is essential for success in any engineering field. Even if all English does is force you to read more, it's probably a win in this regard.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#119

Post by geodel »

babyent wrote: post #5

That was a fun read. What really stuck out to me was how R failed in a bunch of other subjects except math because he wasn’t interested in them. I know society and norms expect students to learn all these other subjects. But what if those just aren’t interesting to someone? I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework and getting through boring classes is busywork and memorization for th…

> People like R would be lost in the sea of averages because their genius would be kept shut by norms.

Well norms were in place when R did his work. Even the most strict systems have made concessions for extraordinary people. It is just that mostly average people go around claiming they'd be genius, had system not smothered their creativity.

> I wonder how many geniuses we skip on because doing the chores of homework..

I think from not many to hardly any as I can't believe if kids who are really genius can just go on for more than a decade of primary schooling without ever finding outlet for their creativity.

Re: Math is still catching up to the genius of Ramanujan

#120

Post by nasalspirant »

xanderlewis wrote: post #79
dyauspitr wrote: post #7

Ramanujan’s story is very interesting but I would love more Indian mathematicians and scientists to become household names. Mathematicians like Harish Chandra, C. R. Rao, Manjul Bhargava, Narendra Karmakar etc. Physicists like C. V. Raman, Satyendra Nath Bose, Meghnad Saha. Others like Har Gobind Khorana and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan too.

I've noticed India seems to be full of ring theorists/algebraic geometers. I wonder if that's actually true and, if so, why.

Part of the answer is that research funding in India is predominantly from the public sector, and investments in pure science research have been low for a long time (not that applied sciences are doing much better). Thus many researchers lack the resources for experimental science whereas theoretical study is more accessible.
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