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How likely do you think it is that there might have been a person in a the last 2000 years who solved one of life's great mysteries but never reported/recorded it? (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by Daft_ish@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[-] BugleFingers@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

Some of these things probably were recorded, then promptly lost or provided no context. Ramanujan and his mathematical equations we are still trying to parce out is one great example of this.

All the math is there, the context is not.

[-] MrsDoyle@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Thanks for that name-check, what an extraordinary man he was!

'Ramanujan initially developed his own mathematical research in isolation. According to Hans Eysenck, "he tried to interest the leading professional mathematicians in his work, but failed for the most part. What he had to show them was too novel, too unfamiliar, and additionally presented in unusual ways; they could not be bothered".'

Ramanujan could easily have lived and died without recognition of his abilities.

[-] BugleFingers@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

It's an amazing story and he is one of the greatest and least known (by people not in related fields) mathematicians. A fantastic rabbit hole to dive into.

[-] tunetardis@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago

I guess if you're talking math, there's Fermat's Last Theorem whose proof (assuming it was legit) was lost for centuries.

this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2024

178 points (95.9% liked)

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