Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> “An equation for me has no meaning unless<br> it expresses a thought of God.” – Srinivasa Ramanujan<br> <br> <br> Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematical<br> genius from India, who moved to Cambridge University in 1914 to work with the<br> eminent mathematician, GH Hardy <br> <br> <br> His story, as told in the movie The Man Who Knew Infinity, not only<br> tells of a brilliant mind capable of remarkable work, but of an unlikely<br> friendship between a devout Hindu, and an atheist who was a stickler for<br> proofs.<br> <br> <br> “Your theorem is wrong,” Hardy tells<br> Ramanujan in the movie, “this is why we cannot publish anymore until you<br> finally trust me on this business of proofs.”<br> <br> <br> Once described as “the most romantic figure<br> in recent mathematical history”, Ramanujan’s life also speaks to the idea of<br> finding beauty in maths – and this is what we explore in this episode of Life<br> and Faith.<br> <br> <br> You’ll hear from a homegrown mathematician<br> about how Ramanujan’s work has been influential in her own. Then, Oxford<br> mathematics professor, John Lennox, shares his thoughts about the beauty of the<br> world of numbers and patterns. Finally, we wrap up the episode with a beautiful<br> poem from former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams – you won’t want to<br> miss it.<br> <br> <br> “Why are numbers beautiful? It's like<br> asking why is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don't see why,<br> someone can't tell you. I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful,<br> nothing is.” – Paul Erdős<br> <br> <br> --- <br> <br> <br> SUBSCRIBE to our podcast: <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeandfaithpodcast">http://bit.ly/lifeandfaithpodcast</a> <br> <br> <br> READ a review of The Man Who Knew Infinity from<br> ISCAST: <a href="http://iscast.org/node/1144">http://iscast.org/node/1144</a> <br>
