It isn’t often that the human experience of mathematics is explored in the arts, but it does happen. A Beautiful Mind and Proof are two recent examples of math-related dramas. But it seems that, by many accounts, A Disappearing Number has succeeded in weaving mathematics itself into the mystery of human lives. The play premiered in England in 2007 but was performed again this past July at Lincoln Center. I was intrigued by the reviews I read and the clips and interviews one can find on youtube. The images and words of this particular story suggest the real confluence of mathematics, the world, desire, and creativity, as the body lives. NPR did a spot about it on Morning Edition and there it indicates that a video version of the play will be shown in select theaters beginning in October.
The story being told is one which has been told before. It is about the working and personal relationship between G.H. Hardy and Srinivas Ramanujan. When I was first told about how this collaboration happened it enlivened my own love affair with mathematics because it revealed something about the power of intuition in mathematical quests. Ramanujan, an Indian clerk without working ties to the mathematics community of his time, investigated theorems from first principles and communicated some of his results in letters to Hardy, a prominent Cambridge mathematician at the time. Hardy was not the only mathematician Ramanujan reached out to, but he was the only one who recognized the significance of Ramanujan’s results despite his unconventional notation and presentation. Hardy brought Ramanujan to Cambridge and they began working together in 1914. Later, when Hardy was asked what he thought his greatest contribution to mathematics was, he said it was the discovery of Ramanujan.
The play was conceived and directed by Simon McBurney who was intent on not leaving the mathematics out of the story. It’s in the music, the dialog and the visuals. It lives in the individuals and in their relationships, a unique and refreshing perspective. About the necessity of this approach, McBurney has been quoted as saying, “When the brain gets lost, it doesn’t stop working. It tries to make sense of things. It begins to speculate and guess, and that’s when things open up. That’s exciting.”
I completely agree.
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