A superb speech by Dr KC Chakrabarty of RBI.
He speaks at The Vivekananda Education Society:
The Vivekananda Education Society has successfully completed fifty years in its “Pursuit of Excellence in Higher Education” and I congratulate the Society on this achievement. I understand that the Society is organizing frontline seminars and conferences for our younger generation to sow the seeds of curiosity and to enhance their knowledge base. You may recall that this year, we are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest spiritual leaders of India. He once observed: ‘you know how many sciences had their origin in India. Mathematics began there. You are even today counting 1, 2, 3, etc. to zero, after Sanskrit figures, and you all know that algebra also originated in India.’ It is, therefore, very appropriate that the college, which is named after Swami Vivekananda, is organizing this conference on Mathematics coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
2. This conference is most appropriately timed for several reasons. First, the year 2013 has been designated by the International Mathematical Union as The Year of Mathematics of Planet Earth. Second, we have recently celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of one of India’s greatest mathematics geniuses, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920). Ramanujan’s true legacy is the demonstration of how a humble, untutored village boy, with sheer passion, inspiration and inherent talent, rose to become one of the world’s greatest mathematicians. From this perspective, this conference is perfectly positioned to create awareness amongst the undergraduates about the collaborative nature of mathematics, technology, commerce, science and social sciences and the vast opportunities that mathematics can offer. In this background, I plan to talk briefly about the attractions of mathematics, the need for studying mathematics, its applications, the challenges in mastering the subject, prospects it holds for those who pursue the discipline and about the risk of misusing mathematics.
Nice bit. He quotes from Bollywood and shows importance of math in everyday life. And of course its importance in C-banking..
