I’m no whizkid,’’ says the 74-year-old, his eyes smiling behind thick glasses. ‘‘I started out by changing local currency into foreign currency everywhere I travelled as a child and ended up making money. That’s when my father realised that I would be a mathematician some day.’’
Michael Atiyah’s father got it more than right.
For, that child grew up to traverse boundaries other than mere geographical: his K-theory—now almost 40 years in practice—laid the foundation for linkages between different branches in mathematics: algebra, geometry and calculus. Add one more link, his current obsession—particle physics.
In the city to address students at St Stephen’s College, Atiyah calls his work a continuation of Einstein’s dream. ‘‘It (his work linking geometry and physics) will help us understand the forces of gravity, magnetism, and nuclear forces and give them geometric configurations.’’
All this may seem too rarefied but at St Stephen’s this week, where he has been invited by the Mathematical Science Foundation, his presence is the buzz in the maths and physics departments. Says Dinesh Singh, professor of mathematics, Delhi University, ‘‘The students have not left his side for a moment, their lunch today extended for more than four hours. We want to encourage a life of mathematics and the idea is to expose the students to living mathematicians. He is one of the creators of mathematics and when he does a round of math with them and then they do a round with him, the subject truly comes to life. We are honoured to have him here.’’
And Atiyah returns the compliment: ‘‘I have never received the kind of audience that I have in India. I feel like a pop star.’’
Getting back to matters more mathematical, Atiyah praises the work being done in India in the field. ‘‘I feel there has been a good attempt here,’’ he says, ‘‘but it’s shocking to see that some of the textbooks still being used are the ones introduced during the British Rule. The country needs to modernise and elevate the level of higher education.’’
Speaking of modernisation, he chuckles: ‘‘I can barely manage to send an e-mail myself.’’ Unlike his contemporaries, Atiyah says he still prefers the blackboard to solve his sums instead of the computer.
The reason is understandable: it’s the concepts that move him more than the calculations. ‘‘Math for me is a living thing,’’ he says, ‘‘and even though it can never be an easy subject, I wish more people would start enjoying it. It’s a lot of fun.’’
Fun and mathematics? Yes, he says. And no, not all mathematicians are nerds. ‘‘They are balanced, adaptable and mathematicians can never be stupid.’’
With a Lebanese father and a Scottish mother, Indian curry suits the professor well. His other interests include walking in the hills. And when you ask him if he wishes to walk in the Himalayas, he gasps: ‘‘That would be a bit too high for me.’’
Maybe physically but certainly not in his mathematical mind.