Uncovering Ramanujan's "Lost" Notebook: An Oral History

Robert P. Schneider

doi:10.1007/s11139-012-9445-z

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1208.2694

Uncovering Ramanujan's "Lost" Notebook: An Oral History

Robert P. Schneider

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Here we weave together interviews conducted by the author with three prominent figures in the world of Ramanujan's mathematics, George Andrews, Bruce Berndt and Ken Ono. The article describes Andrews's discovery of the "lost" notebook, Andrews and Berndt's effort of proving and editing Ramanujan's notes, and recent breakthroughs by Ono and others carrying certain important aspects of the Indian mathematician's work into the future. Also presented are historical details related to Ramanujan and his mathematics, perspectives on the impact of his work in contemporary mathematics, and a number of interesting personal anecdotes from Andrews, Berndt and Ono.

Explore related subjects

math.HO math.NT

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Robert P. Schneider. 2012-10-06. Uncovering Ramanujan's "Lost" Notebook: An Oral History. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11139-012-9445-z

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Come for the vibe, stay for the math

This article describes our experiences in mathematical outreach over the past decade. We talk about specific activities, but also general principles that we've learned along the way.

math.HO↗

arXiv2026

Notes on a strongly aperiodic monotile in $E^3$

We provide a clearer presentation of the Chair44 monotile, a new strongly aperiodic monotile in three-dimensional Euclidean space $E^3$.

math.HO↗

arXiv2026

From foundations to applications: reverse mathematics and philosophy

Reverse mathematics is a branch of mathematical logic dedicated to determining the minimal set existence principles necessary and sufficient to derive ordinary mathematical theorems about concrete structures like the real line. Since the mid-1970s, reverse mathematics has developed a systematic classification of the strength of theorems in areas of mathematics ranging from real and complex analysis to infinitary combinatorics. This essay will place reverse mathematics in its historical and philosophical context, and reveal its relevance to central issues in the philosophy of mathematics, from the foundational programmes of Hilbert and Brouwer to contemporary debates about realism, determinacy, and applicability of mathematics. In doing so, it will discuss the role of computability theory in measuring the strength of set existence principles, as well as related questions about idealisation when these principles are applied in the physical sciences and in philosophy.

math.HO↗