

And this is mainly due to significant advances in mathematical modeling of turbulent systems, rather than improvements in radar. As another example, although an unexpected storm can still ruin plans, weather forecasting has actually improved significantly in recent decades.

However, this quote also has a deeper purpose, which is to highlight that the development of mathematics has always been intertwined with applications in other sciences, industry and military.įor example, some of the early developments in calculus arose from attempts to mathematically model the trajectories of cannonballs and other ballistics on the battlefield, where it is vital to understand the effects of a small change in angle or the amount of gunpowder. Karl Mahlburg: In one sense, this quote is simply meant to illustrate the character of a brilliant mathematician like Ramanujan - that he is constantly driven to seek meaningful patterns and order in the world. You see there are patterns in everything." How does this analogy relate to math? Are there really patterns in nature that can be solved with math? LSU College of Science: In the film, Ramanujan was quoted as saying, "Imagine if we could look so closely we could see each grain, each particle. Modern mathematicians continue to be amazed that Ramanujan was able to develop his incredible insights while working in isolation, without access to even a major library, let alone modern computers! For example, he developed a theory for efficiently constructing very large networks on which it is easy to communicate today these are known as "Ramanujan graphs" (see below). So yes, one of the reasons that Ramanujan is often referred to as "the man who knew infinity" is that he demonstrated incredible skill in understanding these limiting behaviors. When a mathematician discusses "infinity," this is not just an abstract idea, but rather refers to a way of modeling large-scale or long-term behavior. This means that we cannot describe, measure, or understand natural or scientific phenomena without using mathematical language. Karl Mahlburg: Mathematics is a basic language of science.

LSU College of Science: What does the title of the film refer to? Did Ramanujan work on mathematical equations that deal with infinity?
