Still looking for a list of Ramanujan identities, very expensive

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the high cost of books containing Ramanujan's identities and equations, with participants expressing their frustrations and seeking alternatives for accessing this material. The conversation touches on the historical context of Ramanujan's work and the challenges of finding comprehensive lists of his identities without the accompanying proofs.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express surprise at the high prices of books containing Ramanujan's work, suggesting that while the proofs may be extensive, the costs are prohibitively expensive.
  • One participant provides a link to a resource that may contain the identities, noting that users will likely need to compile their own list from it.
  • Another participant shares insights about university libraries being a potential resource for accessing expensive texts without purchasing them, highlighting the value of public funding for such collections.
  • There is a discussion about the quality and accessibility of PDF facsimiles of Ramanujan's work available online, with some being difficult to decipher.
  • Participants recount the history of Ramanujan's notebooks, including the story of the 'lost notebook' and its near destruction, emphasizing the fragility of historical documents.
  • Some participants engage in a debate about writing in library books, with differing opinions on the appropriateness of this practice and its impact on future readers.
  • There is a clarification that one participant prefers to write in their own books rather than library copies, which leads to a discussion about respect for public resources.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the high cost of Ramanujan's works and the value of university libraries, but there is disagreement regarding the practice of writing in library books, with some expressing strong disapproval and others defending personal note-taking.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes varying perspectives on the accessibility of Ramanujan's identities and the implications of library book usage, reflecting differing values and practices among participants.

mesa
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It is surprising how expensive the books are that contain the Ramaujan identities and equations. I understand the work to 'prove' them must have been a tremendous undertaking however I find the price of the 'notebooks' for Ramanujan's work prohibitively expensive.

I believe wolfram put it best:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Ramanujan.html
(last paragraph, last sentence)

Does anyone just have a 'list' (partial or otherwise) of his work? I could care less about the proofs at the moment.
 
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mesa said:
It is surprising how expensive the books are that contain the Ramaujan identities and equations. I understand the work to 'prove' them must have been a tremendous undertaking however I find the price of the 'notebooks' for Ramanujan's work prohibitively expensive.

I believe wolfram put it best:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Ramanujan.html
(last paragraph, last sentence)

Does anyone just have a 'list' (partial or otherwise) of his work? I could care less about the proofs at the moment.

This is one reason to check out any university libraries you might live near, even if you aren't a student. University libraries buy and collect all sorts of special interest, insanely priced books and journals, which you can read at your leisure on the premises, and they probably do a lot of it with your tax dollars. You might inquire about borrowing privileges for books or inter-library loan with your public library.

The history of Ramanujan's journals is interesting. Most of what he wrote is thought to be a summary of his work, with just the results being saved by him. The pdf facsmilies which were put on the web by the Indian universities are of highly varying quality, and some of it is quite difficult to decipher without a lot of effort.

At least one of the notebooks, the famous 'lost notebook', was left to an English mathematician, G.N. Watson, famous for his book on elliptic functions. After Watson's death, his papers were scheduled to be incinerated when someone going thru them one last time happened to notice some of Ramanujan's work. These pages were quickly saved from the pyre.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanujan's_lost_notebook
 
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AlephZero said:
It is (probably) all here: http://www.imsc.res.in/~rao/ramanujan/contentindex.html

But you will (probably) have to make the "list" for yourself.

That is an excellent link, although I am a little surprised. From everything I have read about the man I was expecting his notes to be more... chaotic (like mine for example:).

SteamKing said:
This is one reason to check out any university libraries you might live near, even if you aren't a student. University libraries buy and collect all sorts of special interest, insanely priced books and journals, which you can read at your leisure on the premises, and they probably do a lot of it with your tax dollars. You might inquire about borrowing privileges for books or inter-library loan with your public library.

The history of Ramanujan's journals is interesting. Most of what he wrote is thought to be a summary of his work, with just the results being saved by him. The pdf facsmilies which were put on the web by the Indian universities are of highly varying quality, and some of it is quite difficult to decipher without a lot of effort.

At least one of the notebooks, the famous 'lost notebook', was left to an English mathematician, G.N. Watson, famous for his book on elliptic functions. After Watson's death, his papers were scheduled to be incinerated when someone going thru them one last time happened to notice some of Ramanujan's work. These pages were quickly saved from the pyre.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanujan's_lost_notebook

It's amazing how many 'close calls' there have been with important documents. It makes you wonder how much has been lost...

The local libraries are a good call, our campus library has a good selection although most of the books are only available for 2 hour checkouts within the confines of the building :P

I like making notes in books, marking interesting pages, adding my own, etc. which our librarian typically frowns upon :-p although it is nice to see what is worth acquiring a copy of before making a purchase.
 
mesa said:
I like making notes in books, marking interesting pages, adding my own, etc. which our librarian typically frowns upon :-p although it is nice to see what is worth acquiring a copy of before making a purchase.

A lot of people do this, but to their own books. Please have some consideration for the folks coming after you who might pick up these books.

What's worse, people see something they want in a library book and they rip entire pages out and leave the carcass behind. These are the people who should be shot on sight, IMO.
 
mesa said:
I like making notes in books, marking interesting pages, adding my own, etc. which our librarian typically frowns upon :-p although it is nice to see what is worth acquiring a copy of before making a purchase.

You actually write your own stuff in library books? Don't you have any respect at all for other people? Didn't they teach you basic manners in schools?

And then you're even joking (with a smiley: :-p) about the librarian not liking it. Really? What kind of person does this.
 
micromass said:
You actually write your own stuff in library books? Don't you have any respect at all for other people? Didn't they teach you basic manners in schools?

And then you're even joking (with a smiley: :-p) about the librarian not liking it. Really? What kind of person does this.

I think mesa means that he wants to own his own copy so that he can do this, as he wouldn't do this to a library copy.
 
George Jones said:
I think mesa means that he wants to own his own copy so that he can do this, as he wouldn't do this to a library copy.

I sure hope this is the case. Sorry, but people writing in library books is a major pet peeve of mine.
 
SteamKing said:
A lot of people do this, but to their own books. Please have some consideration for the folks coming after you who might pick up these books.

What's worse, people see something they want in a library book and they rip entire pages out and leave the carcass behind. These are the people who should be shot on sight, IMO.

micromass said:
You actually write your own stuff in library books? Don't you have any respect at all for other people? Didn't they teach you basic manners in schools?

And then you're even joking (with a smiley: :-p) about the librarian not liking it. Really? What kind of person does this.

Only joking around guys, hence the smiley face ;)
Library books belong to the public, my personal copies on the other hand are well used.

George Jones said:
I think mesa means that he wants to own his own copy so that he can do this, as he wouldn't do this to a library copy.

Thank you George, your statement is correct.
 
  • #10
mesa said:
Only joking around guys, hence the smiley face ;)
Library books belong to the public, my personal copies on the other hand are well used.



Thank you George, your statement is correct.

My sincere apologies then!
 
  • #11
micromass said:
My sincere apologies then!

No problem, I would be bent too if I thought someone were messing with public books so in that regard job well done!
 

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