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A couple of months ago, the article “Endris Mohammed: Unfortunate
Mathematical Genius” by Seifu Mahifere caught my eye as I was browsing the
Addis Tribune WEB page. As I was reading the first paragraph about Endris
Mohammed’s incredible mathematical abilities, images of the Indian
Mathematical Genius, Ramanujan, flashed across my mind. So I sent an email
expressing my interest in this remarkable Ethiopian when I finished reading
the article. After a long delay, last week, I got a response from some one, on
behalf of Mr. Endris , soliciting for some donation. After a bit of reflection
on the matter, I felt more than just a gesture of kindness on my part must be
done to save Mr. Endris, hence this appeal for involvement of Ethiopian
Mathematicians.
To appreciate the mathematical faculty of Endris Mohammed, a
few introductory words about Ramanujan are in order. India, that big mass of
humanity, has produced a few geniuses, but none equals Ramanujan in stature.
Not even the late noble laureates in physics – C. V. Raman and S.
Chandrasekhar.
A couple of years ago, I read, a biography of Ramanujan - The
man Who Knew Infinities: A life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel. It
was a spell binding read of not just a mathematical genius, but of an
interesting journey of a young man from a small Indian town to the citadels of
one of the best universities in the world, Cambridge, and of his untimely
death back in India at the age of 32. It is a story of mathematical triumphs,
of cultural confusion, of racist encounters and poor ill health.
What is absolutely fascinating about Ramanujan was that he
came from very humble background. His parents had no formal education, nor did
they have much of anything else that is of significance. Young Ramanujan
taught himself math. He got hold of some math book, which helped him hone his
mathematical skills, all in his own. He enjoyed math and nothing else. In
fact, he had a hard time finishing formal education as he showed very little
interest in anything else.
In those old days, for a research paper to be published, it
had to be sponsored by a notable person in the field ( I think this is the
case, but not quite sure). So Ramnujan sent one of his first papers on number
theory to a number of prominent mathematicians in England. Most of them
perhaps never bothered to read something that came from the remote back woods
of India and did not respond. For some strange reason, the most eminent
mathematician of Cambridge University, G. Hardy, who had a leftist disposition
in his worldview, responded. And the rest is history.
G. Hardy was responsible for bringing the young Brahmin to
Cambridge and introducing him to the rest of the world. Hardy, a leading
mathematician of his time and certainly the best in Cambridge, was mesmerized
by Ramanujan’s exceptional way of doing math. “Ramnujan does magic with
numbers”, Hardy said something of that sort in one of his profuse adulations
for the wonder young man he ‘found’.
There are somewhat certain similarities between Ramanujan and
Endris Mohammed. Like Ramanujan, Endris Mohammed has no formal education ,
suffers from poor health, but has an incredible mathematical talent according
to the article. To get an idea of this phenomenal Ethiopian, here is a quote
from the article by Mr. Seifu:
“Consider the number 100,000,000,000,000,000,000….. Actually
this clumsy number represented the maximum number of digits that, by just
thinking about it for thirty or so seconds, Endris could calculate any
mathematical operation using the five functions of addition, subtraction
multiplication and division. Any more surprises and Endris’s super-computer
mind began executing these kinds of miraculous mathematical calculations
beginning from his young age of five.” (There are more anecdotes about Endris
Mohammed’s genius. The interested reader could search the archives of Addis
tribune for the original article.)
Once in a while in human history, unique human beings with
incredible brainpower come up. The likes of Newton and Einstein in physics,
Gauss in mathematics or Mozart in classical music are such examples. They are
exceptional: one in a billion, a class on their own. They are giants
worshipped not only by their colleagues, but also by the public at large.
Usually they radiate their brilliance early in life. In their teens or
twenties, they have already made a major contribution in their field. By the
end of their career, they leave an indelible mark on ,or change the course of,
human history.
I hope it is not too late to rescue Endris Mohammed from his
destitute existence in the streets of Addis Ababa. According to the article,
he suffers from epilepsy and requires immediate medical attention. In this day
and age, such an affliction can be managed with proper medication. And May be
Endris Mohammed, with the help of Ethiopian Mathematicians, could unleash his
mathematical talent.
To Ethiopians of goodwill, especially Mathematicians here in
the U. S. and those in Ethiopia, I plead that we rescue this exceptional
fellow from the streets of Addis Ababa. If the department of math in Addis
Ababa could lend its hand in arranging for his well being first, and then
hopefully for his intellectual pursuit, who knows, miracles could happen. May
be an Ethiopian could be famous for a great distance running in math!!
The author Mogus Degoyae Mochena can be reached at degoyae@yahoo.com
to organize something for Mr. Endris.
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