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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Littlewood and Hardy see as mathematically important?

2. How did Ramanujan respond to Hardy's request for proofs?

3. What were Ramanujan and Hardy looking for in their work on partitions?

4. What society was Ramanujan elected to?

5. What does Kanigel say prevented Ramanujan from getting the care he needed?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way was Ramanujan's experience of England similar to Ghandi's?

2. How much did Ramanujan's bride share in his mathematical life?

3. What problems did Ramanujan have on account of his Indian cultural practices?

4. Describe Ramanujan and Hardy's work on partitions.

5. What was Ramanujan's interest in pi?

6. What was the conflict between Ramanujan's family and his wife?

7. What was Ramanujan's decline like, and death?

8. What did Ramanujan write to Hardy?

9. What cultural practices did Ramanujan hold on to from India?

10. What is a formalist in mathematical thinking?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To what extent is Ramanujan's (or Hardy's) life an example to be followed? What lessons do these two lives teach? What lessons did they fail to learn themselves that they teach as negative examples?

Essay Topic 2

To what extent was math a social enterprise for Ramanujan? How much did his career depend on other people? What made other people believe in him? What values did those people have that made it important to help Ramanujan?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Ramanujan's life and Hardy's. How are they similar? How are they different? What did they offer each other? Was Ramanujan truly Hardy's greatest accomplishment? Does that make Ramanujan's depression, suicide attempt and death Hardy's greatest failure?

(see the answer keys)

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