Ramanujan

Reading my 1968 edition of A History of Mathematics by Carl B. Boyer, I came across this jewel:

"Bhaskara died toward the end of the twelfth century, and for several hundred years there were few mathematicians in India of comparable stature. It is of interest to note, nevertheless, that Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), the twentieth-century Hindu genius, had the same uncanny manipulative ability in arithmetic and algebra that is found in Bhaskara. ...In Ramanujan's work we notice also the disorganized character, the strength of intuitive reasoning, and the disregard for geometry that stood out so clearly in his predecessors."

I do not know about you, but after having read Dick Teresi's Lost Discoveries, I feel a condescending attitude from Western to Indian mathematicians.

In any case these Indian geniuses are doing very well in the software industry, thank you.

Some Srinivasa Ragavan, has just been hired by Intel to develop their new netbook Moblin platform. Elegance, or whatever high quality Western mathematicians require, to belong to the math hall of fame, mean squat in the real world, where Indian, Chinese, and Russian mathematicians are performing well.