THE NATURE OF WORK
BY
S. MAHESHKUMAR
BY
S. MAHESHKUMAR
I am presenting a view of my own as regards work. I wonder why Ramanujan tried to commit suicide. Was it because of his mind’s rapid outpouring of mathematics? Was he not able to control his mathematical thoughts? Or any other torture in his self due to family affairs. He wanted to visit his family but his mother refused and asked him to stay at Cambridge until his studies were totally finished. Parvathi Menon quotes in Frontline of 1987, last issue that he lost belief in gods. Was it due to his perverted education? He did greatest work in his field with very short span of time. Was he fooled himself by doing so? What happened in him to let himself lay on the underground rails of busy London? Was it because of the longing for love?
Because, I suppose love, knowledge and happiness must be in harmony with work. In England, total strangers accompanied him. He could have overcome his loneliness by letting himself, his heart completely to mathematics. But mathematics is a thought cultivating subject, as Boole titled his treatise on mathematical logic, ‘THE LAWS OF THOUGHT.’ It is appropriate that he called likewise. Therefore one familiar with the laws of thought must have got into the habit of practising it. It is said that when Ramanujan was at work, his denial of meals, other things were overcome by the proper assistance of his wife or mother at home. In England, there was nobody to take care of himself. So he stayed with work for such prolonged hours of 17 and above at a stretch. It is evident that before few days of his death, he was severely engaged at working on ‘MOCK-THETA FUNCTIONS.’ Perhaps if he were managed to control his Thoughts, he might have compensated the work to an elaborate period of time and also might have lived a happier life than what he actually had lived.
Take Hardy, for example. Apart from lecture hours, he allowed not more than 5 hours for mathematical study. He was a bachelor all his life accompanied by his only younger sister, Gertrude Hardy, who too was a spinster. He was a sportsman and played tennis, cricket and was very interested in watching cricket. Also he allowed little philosophy. Thus, a balanced life constituted a glorious life! He discovered Ramanujan, collaborated with Littlewood, wrote classical books, guided many students and more than 200 research papers were due to his credit. Even in Genetics, he formulated his results, that later became the ‘HARDY-WEINBERG LAW.’ He lived more than seventy years.
In the case of Ramanujan, what he did was splendid. Such self-control, such a resistance, such patience and above all the sacrifice towards mathematics finds a rival within himself alone. But he was obdurate to know that mathematics cannot give him food, mundane things so as to make his body able to carry on with his investigations. He did mathematics both while awoke and asleep. Gauss married twice and had a lot of children. Euler was also not exception. But in the case of Newton, there was a custom then practised at Cambridge that the faculty should stay unmarried as long as they remain at the college premises. So he hesitated to marry Miss Storey on the behalf of his study though he once became engaged to her. But they continued to remain friends, as it is evident from Newton’s giving forty shillings to Miss Storey whenever he happened to meet her. As regards Rene Descartes, he too was no exception. Évariste Galois loved a girl without any reciprocation and went into depression. He was imprisoned for his radical activities and was killed in a pistol duel with a policeman. He died at the tender age of 21. Cauchy refused to pay attention to Young Galois’ research papers. Cauchy was a spiritual person and was busy with his own researches alone.
The problem with any creative worker of mathematics is that the mathematician is overwhelmed by divine ecstasy and wants to live in that premises alone. Poetry and music are aimed at pleasure to the soul but mathematics is truly and purely a distilled divine pleasure derived from the working of thinking. The satisfaction while we get during mathematical study is something, which gives our Life a justification and meaning. Mathematical pleasure is derived purely from the perfection of thinking. The output of mathematical serendipity is not always applicable to mundane entities, i.e. they are not useful to us physically. But they are GOD-SEEING MIND’S consolations to the soul. The physical desires are not at all OF ANY USE TO ETERNAL BLISS. But they can do a lot more to the body by temperament so that the body is made good to indulge along with the quest of the mind for truth. I agree with Whitehead who recommends the following phrase in ‘THE PHILOSOPHY OF A. N. WHITEHEAD’, edited by P. A. SCHILPP that ‘PHILOSOPHY IS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPRESS THE INFINITY OF THE UNIVERSE IN TERMS OF THE LIMITATIONS OF LANGUAGE.’ So a perfect drive for any mathematician is philosophy alone so that it would bestow upon him peace of mind, rest and relaxation to thinking, etc. It gives him the aesthetic impulse to maintain the regular courses of Life. It shows him how to pronounce in unison with nature. To me, mathematics and philosophy are not ‘are’ but ‘is.’ That is, they are two different ways of an expression. Like mathematics, philosophy has many branches but the mathematics and philosophy we have been so far engaged are pure. They constitute a vast division to adopt themselves for practicalities, but we are talking about the essence and truism of mathematics and philosophy, which is singular in character. I would call pure mathematics and pure philosophy, their true source, as ZEROICS.
—S. Maheshkumar.
“MATHEMATICS IS THE MANHOOD OF LOGIC AND LOGIC IS THE BOYHOOD OF MATHEMATICS.”
—A. W. BERTRAND RUSSELL.
“IF MATHEMATICS IS THE MAN, PHILOSOPHY, THE WOMAN, THEN ZEROICS IS THE MIND.”
—S. MAHESHKUMAR.
“MATHEMATICS IS GENERAL, PHILOSOPHY IS PARTICULAR AND ZEROICS IS GENERALISED.”
—S. MAHESHKUMAR.
REFERENCES:
1. “INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL PHILOSOPHY” BY ARTHUR WILLIAM BERTRAND RUSSELL.
2. “A MATHEMATICIAN’S APOLOGY” BY GODFREY HAROLD HARDY.
3. “MEN OF MATHEMATICS” BY ERIC TEMPLE BELL.
4. “MATHEMATICAL GENIUS RAMANUJAN” BY RAGAMI.
5. “THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY” BY ROBERT KANNIGEL.
{Composed on 24th July 1989 between 2 PM - 4 PM Indian Standard Time.}
Because, I suppose love, knowledge and happiness must be in harmony with work. In England, total strangers accompanied him. He could have overcome his loneliness by letting himself, his heart completely to mathematics. But mathematics is a thought cultivating subject, as Boole titled his treatise on mathematical logic, ‘THE LAWS OF THOUGHT.’ It is appropriate that he called likewise. Therefore one familiar with the laws of thought must have got into the habit of practising it. It is said that when Ramanujan was at work, his denial of meals, other things were overcome by the proper assistance of his wife or mother at home. In England, there was nobody to take care of himself. So he stayed with work for such prolonged hours of 17 and above at a stretch. It is evident that before few days of his death, he was severely engaged at working on ‘MOCK-THETA FUNCTIONS.’ Perhaps if he were managed to control his Thoughts, he might have compensated the work to an elaborate period of time and also might have lived a happier life than what he actually had lived.
Take Hardy, for example. Apart from lecture hours, he allowed not more than 5 hours for mathematical study. He was a bachelor all his life accompanied by his only younger sister, Gertrude Hardy, who too was a spinster. He was a sportsman and played tennis, cricket and was very interested in watching cricket. Also he allowed little philosophy. Thus, a balanced life constituted a glorious life! He discovered Ramanujan, collaborated with Littlewood, wrote classical books, guided many students and more than 200 research papers were due to his credit. Even in Genetics, he formulated his results, that later became the ‘HARDY-WEINBERG LAW.’ He lived more than seventy years.
In the case of Ramanujan, what he did was splendid. Such self-control, such a resistance, such patience and above all the sacrifice towards mathematics finds a rival within himself alone. But he was obdurate to know that mathematics cannot give him food, mundane things so as to make his body able to carry on with his investigations. He did mathematics both while awoke and asleep. Gauss married twice and had a lot of children. Euler was also not exception. But in the case of Newton, there was a custom then practised at Cambridge that the faculty should stay unmarried as long as they remain at the college premises. So he hesitated to marry Miss Storey on the behalf of his study though he once became engaged to her. But they continued to remain friends, as it is evident from Newton’s giving forty shillings to Miss Storey whenever he happened to meet her. As regards Rene Descartes, he too was no exception. Évariste Galois loved a girl without any reciprocation and went into depression. He was imprisoned for his radical activities and was killed in a pistol duel with a policeman. He died at the tender age of 21. Cauchy refused to pay attention to Young Galois’ research papers. Cauchy was a spiritual person and was busy with his own researches alone.
The problem with any creative worker of mathematics is that the mathematician is overwhelmed by divine ecstasy and wants to live in that premises alone. Poetry and music are aimed at pleasure to the soul but mathematics is truly and purely a distilled divine pleasure derived from the working of thinking. The satisfaction while we get during mathematical study is something, which gives our Life a justification and meaning. Mathematical pleasure is derived purely from the perfection of thinking. The output of mathematical serendipity is not always applicable to mundane entities, i.e. they are not useful to us physically. But they are GOD-SEEING MIND’S consolations to the soul. The physical desires are not at all OF ANY USE TO ETERNAL BLISS. But they can do a lot more to the body by temperament so that the body is made good to indulge along with the quest of the mind for truth. I agree with Whitehead who recommends the following phrase in ‘THE PHILOSOPHY OF A. N. WHITEHEAD’, edited by P. A. SCHILPP that ‘PHILOSOPHY IS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPRESS THE INFINITY OF THE UNIVERSE IN TERMS OF THE LIMITATIONS OF LANGUAGE.’ So a perfect drive for any mathematician is philosophy alone so that it would bestow upon him peace of mind, rest and relaxation to thinking, etc. It gives him the aesthetic impulse to maintain the regular courses of Life. It shows him how to pronounce in unison with nature. To me, mathematics and philosophy are not ‘are’ but ‘is.’ That is, they are two different ways of an expression. Like mathematics, philosophy has many branches but the mathematics and philosophy we have been so far engaged are pure. They constitute a vast division to adopt themselves for practicalities, but we are talking about the essence and truism of mathematics and philosophy, which is singular in character. I would call pure mathematics and pure philosophy, their true source, as ZEROICS.
—S. Maheshkumar.
“MATHEMATICS IS THE MANHOOD OF LOGIC AND LOGIC IS THE BOYHOOD OF MATHEMATICS.”
—A. W. BERTRAND RUSSELL.
“IF MATHEMATICS IS THE MAN, PHILOSOPHY, THE WOMAN, THEN ZEROICS IS THE MIND.”
—S. MAHESHKUMAR.
“MATHEMATICS IS GENERAL, PHILOSOPHY IS PARTICULAR AND ZEROICS IS GENERALISED.”
—S. MAHESHKUMAR.
REFERENCES:
1. “INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL PHILOSOPHY” BY ARTHUR WILLIAM BERTRAND RUSSELL.
2. “A MATHEMATICIAN’S APOLOGY” BY GODFREY HAROLD HARDY.
3. “MEN OF MATHEMATICS” BY ERIC TEMPLE BELL.
4. “MATHEMATICAL GENIUS RAMANUJAN” BY RAGAMI.
5. “THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY” BY ROBERT KANNIGEL.
{Composed on 24th July 1989 between 2 PM - 4 PM Indian Standard Time.}
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