"Opinions may differ as to the importance of Ramanujan's work and the
influence it may or may not have but one gift it does show is its
profound and invincible originality. Littlewood once told me that 'every
positive integer is one of Ramanujan's personal friends'. Ramanujan
told me that an equation for him had no meaning unless it expressed a
thought of God. Despite everything in my being set to the contrary,
perhaps he is right. For is this not exactly our justification for pure
mathematics? We are merely explorers of infinity in the pursuit of
absolute perfection. We do not invent these formulae, they already
exist, and lie in wait for only the very brightest of minds ever to
divine and prove. In the end, I have been forced to consider who are we
to question Ramanujan, let alone God?"
G. H. Hardy, The Man Who Knew Infinity
G. H. Hardy, The Man Who Knew Infinity
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