Who is the Math Genius?
When we think of geniuses, we often picture a person who’s able to solve complex problems in a very short period of time. But sometimes, mathematicians can actually achieve this level of success even with little or no training at all.
One such example is Thomas Fuller, who grew up without any formal education and became known as the ‘Virginia Calculator’. The young slave mastered mathematical concepts that would have taken many years to learn in a classroom, and was so good at it that he was used as an example of black intellectual superiority in a campaign against slavery.
Another great example of a mathematician who didn’t go to university is Sophie Germain, who discovered mathematics in her father’s home library while she was still a teenager. She learned Latin and Greek to understand all of the texts, and was determined not to give up on her passion for numbers.
Then there was Alexander Grothendieck, who was born in Germany but lived most of his life in Paris. During his youth, his father was imprisoned for political reasons and his mother was killed in the Holocaust. But despite the trauma, Grothendieck never let it stop him from pursuing his love of mathematics.
He was able to churn out a string of breakthroughs in algebra and geometrical theory, which were soon published and widely recognized. His work helped pave the way for the field of complex analysis, and he made important contributions to probability.
But while these achievements are hugely significant, they were certainly not the only ones he achieved. As it turns out, the math genius was also a cult leader who claimed to have had visions from a goddess.
Among other things, the guru believed that the universe was a series of circles, and that he was the only one who could figure out how to get back to the centre of the circle. He also was very strict with his vegetarianism, refusing to eat meat or beans.
His obsession with the planet’s plight led him to create a ‘Climate Change’ theory that was later used by scientists to predict how the Earth might fare in the future, as well as creating some of the most famous mathematical formulas. He even swore off drinking and smoking for good.
This may sound unlikely, but he was a true genius and the best mathematical scientist of his time. He is credited with helping to develop the field of complex analysis and has been hailed as one of the most influential mathematicians of all time.
What’s more, he was a very good musician too. He was also very successful in the film industry, producing some of the most popular movies of all time.
In addition to his brilliant work, Ramanujan also had the most incredible story to tell. He had no formal training in maths, yet he was able to discover and form new equations that were mind-blowing to the mathematical community. He was able to do this because of a chance encounter with a textbook and an invitation from a Cambridge professor.