• DOI:10.1007/BF03026638
• Corpus ID: 123311054

Ramanujan—100 years old (fashioned) or 100 years new (fangled)?

@article{Berndt1988Ramanujan100YO,
  title={Ramanujan—100 years old (fashioned) or 100 years new (fangled)?},
  author={Bruce C. Berndt},
  journal={The Mathematical Intelligencer},
  year={1988},
  volume={10},
  pages={24-31}
}

• B. Berndt
• Published 1988
• Education
• The Mathematical Intelligencer

Everyone enjoys celebrating birthdays. Admittedly, as we get older, perhaps we enjoy celebrating others' birthdays more than our own. We also rejoice in commemorating the birthdays of many that have gone before us. Recalling their achievements and deeds provides needed inspiration for our own lives, and gives direction to our endeavors. In 1985, the musical world celebrated the birth tercentenaries of three grea t composers , Johann Sebast ian Bach, George ,Fr ider ic Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Musical celebr~itions occurred throughout the western world, and lectures and articles examined their accomplishments and inf luence on music in the ensuing years after their deaths. The year 1987 marks the birth centenaries of two profoundly influential mathematicians, Erich Hecke and Srinivasa Ramanujan. It is undoubtedly easier to assess the influence of Hecke than of Ramanujan, for much of what Ramanujan accomplished has not been verified, or has not been published, or is still not understood. We make no pretense that we can clarify this situation in this short article, but perhaps readers will gain a greater apprec ia t ion for Ramanujan ' s achievements. The career of Ramanujan was so disparate that it cannot be compared with that of any other mathematician, but, interestingly, there are some similarities with the career of Bach (of course, at a more superficial level), which we will briefly delineate in the course of this article. In fact, because of Bach's inexorable calculated polyphony and planned methodical approach, he was often called the "mathematical" Bach.