Famous physicists and mathematicians sometimes receive letters, essays, and even entire treatises from people who have no formal education in these fields, but who nonetheless believe that they have unique insights into the great unsolved problems of our time. The technical term for a person who sends such a package is "crank," and if the recipients of crank letters pause just a few seconds before dropping the masterpiece into the trash, it is because everyone knows the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887 – 1920). Ramanujan, born in Tamil Nadu, India, was largely self-taught in mathematics. While working as a clerk in Madras, he did mathematics on his own — much of it very unusual and some of it hovering on that fine line that surrounds genius. He sent his stuff to three professors at Cambridge University, but only G. H. Hardy (1877 – 1947) recognized the brilliance of Ramanujan's work. Hardy arranged for Ramanujan to come to England, where he lived and worked until Read More...