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Akram Khan on Srinivasa Ramanujan

Choreographer Akram Khan chooses the intellectually daring Indian mathematician, Ramanujan. With Matthew Parris. From 2017.

In 1914, a self-taught Mathematics student named Ramanujan left India for Trinity College Cambridge.

Here, alongside the celebrated English mathematician GH Hardy, he completed some extraordinary work on Pi and prime numbers.

What was even more extraordinary was that he couldn't prove a lot of his work, and attributed many of his theories to a higher power.

For the renowned UK choreographer Akram Khan, there is a beauty in patterns and maths, and he sees Ramanujan's genius as a clash between Eastern and Western cultures.

Together with presenter Matthew Parris, he explores the mathematician's life.

Guest Professor Robin Wilson, who once visited Ramanujan's home, takes them through some of the maths, and explains why you'll never look at the number 1729 in the same way again.

Producer: Toby Field.

First broadcast on Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4 in January 2017.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 Jul 2021 05:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Matthew Parris
Interviewed Guest Akram Khan
Interviewed Guest Robin Wilson
Producer Toby Field

Broadcasts

  • Tue 10 Jan 2017 16:30
  • Fri 13 Jan 2017 23:00
  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 18:30
  • Fri 2 Jul 2021 00:30
  • Sat 3 Jul 2021 07:30
  • Sat 3 Jul 2021 17:30
  • Sun 4 Jul 2021 05:30

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