Uncovering Ramanujan's "Lost" Notebook: An Oral History

TL;DR

This paper narrates the discovery, analysis, and ongoing influence of Ramanujan's 'lost' notebook through interviews with key mathematicians, highlighting historical context, recent breakthroughs, and the notebook's significance.

Contribution

It compiles firsthand accounts and recent developments related to Ramanujan's 'lost' notebook, providing a comprehensive historical and mathematical perspective.

Findings

Discovery of the 'lost' notebook by George Andrews.

Recent proofs and extensions of Ramanujan's work by Ono and colleagues.

Historical insights and personal anecdotes from leading mathematicians.

Abstract

Here we weave together interviews conducted by the author with three prominent figures in the world of Ramanujan's mathematics, George Andrews, Bruce Berndt and Ken Ono. The article describes Andrews's discovery of the "lost" notebook, Andrews and Berndt's effort of proving and editing Ramanujan's notes, and recent breakthroughs by Ono and others carrying certain important aspects of the Indian mathematician's work into the future. Also presented are historical details related to Ramanujan and his mathematics, perspectives on the impact of his work in contemporary mathematics, and a number of interesting personal anecdotes from Andrews, Berndt and Ono.