The man who knew infinity-A mind that was self-taught

The man who knew infinity-A mind that was self-taught

Roopa Gupta

Mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan, makes us think about the existence of number in our lives andhow each digit changes the meaning of our existence. The movie showcases the life of this Indian genius in a simple manner, providing glimpses ofvirtuousness, intelligence and acumen. 

Ramaujam is played by Dev Patel on the silver screen. This self-taught prodigy from India died pretty early, battling with tuberculosis, at the age of 32, post his pioneering work at the Cambridge University. The movie centers around his work, treading into number theory,focusing on partitions. With this, he understood that growing numbers could reach infinity, and thus, he keeps exploring the entire range.

Ramanujan is seen trying to convince his mentor – Professor G.H. Hardy –about his theory,while his peers suspect that his thoughts might not be original. At one instance,ProfessorHardy asks him to be conscientious before presenting proofs about the concept.

The movie emerges out as a fight between self-awareness and keeping up with societal norms. Ramanujan arrives in Cambridge with thick notebooks that had original formulas. It completely stuns the professors, but they always coax him to provide proofs. Ramanujan while responding to Professor Hardy confesses that he gets all the formula from God.

While, Ramanujan works on solving one equation after another, at some instance he almost experiences seeing God. This awareness about himself and his surroundings create an aurawhich makes Ramanujan tread through complex mathematical equation intuitively rather than just applying logic and calculations.

This young visionary struggled in making people understand the theorems which kept running in his mind so fast that he couldn’t even write them. He adds that no equations have any meaningif it does not give a glimpse of God.

This mathematician provides the world a glimpse of ‘infinity’ within the circle of our lives.Ramanujan’s constant battle with conservatism and racism from British establishment for being accepted, further superimposes the theme of knowing ourselves.

Watch it for the man who knew infinity!

About the author:

An ardent fan of movies, Roopa is a passionate media enthusiast,

strategist and marketier.

 Follow her on Twitter at @guptaroopa.

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