The Man Who Knew Infinity
Karl Mahlburg: Mathematics is a basic language of science. This means that we cannot describe, measure, or understand natural or scientific phenomena without using mathematical language. 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.
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. 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). 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!
Today I had the chance to see the new biopic called The Man Who Knew Infinity. While nothing too spectacular it is a solid inspirational true story about someone I knew nothing about before seeing the film.
Infinity stars Dev Patel as real-life mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan who grew up in a poor neighborhood in Madras, India but had a knack for numbers and mathematical formulas. He even believed the formulas came as visions from God to him, and he knew he needed to share them with the world.