In 1913, a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G H Hardy, begging the pre-eminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. Realising the letter was the work of a genius, Hardy arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. Thus began one of the most improbable and productive collaborations ever chronicled. With a passion for rich and evocative detail, Robert Kanigel takes us from the temples and slums of Madras to the courts and chapels of Cambridge University, where the devout Hindu Ramanujan, 'the Prince of Intuition,' tested his brilliant theories alongside the sophisticated and eccentric Hardy, 'the Apostle of Proof'. In time, Ramanujan's creative intensity took its toll: he died at the age of thirty-two and left behind a magical and inspired legacy that is still being plumbed for its secrets today.
罗伯特·卡尼格尔，科学作家，曾获格雷迪—斯塔克科学写作奖，是《师从天才——一个科学王朝的崛起》等书的作者。作品散见于多种刊物，其中有《纽约时报杂志》、《文明》、《今日心理学》、《健康》、《科学》等等。他定期为《纽约时报图书评论》和《洛杉矶时报》写书评。卡尼格尔还是巴尔的摩大学耶鲁·高登文学艺术学院语言、技术和出版设计研究所的高级研究员，曾在约翰斯·霍普金斯大学执教新闻文学。