[BITList] Numbers - Fwd: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Hardy Ramanujan Anecdote

[John Feltham]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Arvind Kolhatkar" <akolhatkar at rogers.com>
Date: 8 June 2009 10:44:05 PM
To: <india-british-raj at rootsweb.com>
Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Hardy Ramanujan Anecdote
Reply-To: india-british-raj at rootsweb.com

Dear Listers,

The famous British Mathematician of his days, G.H.Hardy, spotted the  
unique
mathematical talent of Srinivas Ramanujan and was instrumental in
Ramanujan's going to Cambridge.  The following story has been recorded  
by
G.H.Hardy:

"I remember once going to see him when he was ill at Putney. I had  
ridden in
taxi cab number 1729 and remarked that the number seemed to me rather  
a dull
one, and that I hoped it was not an unfavorable omen. "No," he  
replied, "it
is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as  
the
sum of two cubes in two different ways.""

[1729 = 1 + 1728 =1^3 + 12^3,  also = 729 + 1000 = 9^3 + 10^3]

Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, June 08, 2009.


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ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.