GUJCOST celebrated National Mathematics Day to mark the birth anniversary celebration of the Indian Mathematical genius Srinivas Ramanujan
Mathematics is an important part of everybody’s life. It is used as a lifelong tool to excel any work and project. It lays the foundations for complex thinking abilities.
Mathematics can be used to explain many of the phenomena which we observe in the world around us. After all, mathematics forms the basis of many other natural sciences. From the laws of physics to creating models in biology, mathematics enables us to describe various processes in a systematic and rational manner.
India had the strong roots of mathematics.
It should come as no surprise that the first recorded use of the number zero, recently discovered to be made as early as the 3rd or 4th century, happened in India.
Mathematics on the Indian subcontinent has a rich history going back over 3,000 years and thrived for centuries before similar advances were made in Europe, with its influence meanwhile spreading to China and the Middle East.
As well as giving us the concept of zero, Indian mathematicians made seminal contributions to the study of trigonometry, algebra, arithmetic and negative numbers among other areas. Perhaps most significantly, the decimal system that we still employ worldwide today was first seen in India.
Born 134 years ago today, Srinivasa Ramanujan had almost no formal training in pure mathematics but made substantial contributions to analysis, number theory and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems considered to be unsolvable.
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a pioneering mathematician who gave the world new theories and formulas that revolutionized this field of study. He is considered as one of the world’s greatest-ever mathematicians, proving over 3,000 theorems.
In order to inspire the life and work of this mathematics genius to the younger generation, the Govt of India has announced 22nd December to be celebrated as National Mathematics Day since 2012.
Gujarat Council on Science & Technology (GUJCOST) in collaboration with the National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of India had organized a series of scientific programs and outreach activities at different Community Science Centers in every districts in the State for children and community members at large.
The program aimed to stimulate mathematical interest with real-world problems.
The National Mathematics Day program included talks and interactions with eminent mathematicians, math fairs and workshops, puzzles and quizzes, demonstrations and exhibitions and so on, which was attended by more than 5000 secondary and higher secondary school students. GUJCOST have curated the perfect collection of inspirational math quotes to motivate students into loving math!
Math is an important part of a student’s life. Mathematics accompanies us throughout our lives, even after we are done with school.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Narottam sahoo, Advisor GUJCOST informed that, Math teaches us multiple problem-solving abilities like equations, computations, or algorithms which help us further in multiple aspects of life.
So, if one wants to convert negatives into positives, mathematics may not teach us everything, but it can teach us to add love or subtract hate, and if you know how to convert numbers, equations, computations then mathematics is the music for you.
Without mathematics it would be impossible to realize that life is a math problem, it is the recipient of hate but it gives us hope that every person needs.
We are fine to work on any problem so long as it generates discussion about all aspects of life, from the idea of a powerful creation, to the way the poetry of a math equation in order generates interesting mathematics along the way!
A State level programme was organized at Gujarat Science City, Ahmedabad. Dr. Manoj Sahni, Professor in Mathematics in Pandit Dindayal Energy University (PDEU) and Dr Dhawal Bhatt, Faculty in Mathematics in St Xaviers College conducted interactive sessions on the life and work of Srinivasa Ramanujan and the significance of his pioneering work.
About 200 students participated in the program in Gujarat Science City and also screened the film, The Man Who Knew Infinity.
GUJCOST is developing four Regional Science Museums (RSM) at Rajkot, Patan, Bhavnagar and Bhuj. At RSM Bhuj, there is a unique gallery, Fields Medals in Mathematics, which will be the first in the country. The Fields Medal is regarded as one of the highest honour a mathematician can receive, and has been described as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics