Perspective

The Man Who Knew Infinity is written from the perspective of the layman attempting to understand the relationship of two mathematical geniuses and their interactions with the world around them. The main interest of the author is not to explain or laud either Ramanujan's or Hardy's work, but rather to explain their significance in history. In many ways, Hardy and Ramanujan were worlds apart. Hardy, although he came from a middle class background, attended and was a product of the most exclusive schools in England, Winchester, and Cambridge. On the other hand, Ramanujan was a poor young man living in a backward area of India without much schooling. Understanding how these men became what they were and accomplished what they did is the chief goal of this book.

The average reader will not be able to understand the important contribution that either Hardy or Ramanujan made to mathematics...