Inspirations from Scientists of Manipur : Dr. Jayanta Manoharmayum
Downloadable Book Extract – Serial No : 8
Research Institute Of Science & Technology (RIST) *
Dr. Jayanta Manoharmayum
A mathematical passage, from Imphal to Sheffield
Dr. Jayanta Manoharmayum,
School of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of Sheffield,
United Kingdom
My first introduction to Mathematics was through the books used for the Matric exam in Manipur till the mid 1980s. There were three books: Algebra by K P Basu, Geometry by Hall and a book on numerical calculations (most likely titled Arithmetic). There were multiple copies of these around my extended household, in use by my older siblings and cousins. I distinctly remember trying to copy down what one of my cousin’s schoolwork, sat across the man-gol phak. It wasn’t that I understood what they were working on: I just found the mix of symbols and numbers utterly compelling!
As I grew older, I found more incomprehensible books around the family home. My father, Manoharmayum Brajamani Sharma (late), was one of the first engineering graduates from Manipur, and my oldest brother was already studying for an engineering degree. That meant my fascination with incomprehensible symbols progressed from basic algebra to multivariable calculus.
So my informal conditioning to Mathematics began, wittingly or not, from a very early age. For the formal side, I suppose I ought to begin with my school education: up to Class IV at Little Flower School (as one of the last mixed batches there), and then up to Class X at Don Bosco School (DBS), Chingmeirong, sitting HSLC (Matric) Examination in 1986.
Manipur in the eighties was a troubled place; it was the time when insurgency exploded. School closures, late exams, bandhs and shutdowns, were a common theme; sadly, many of the same troubles remain to this day. Nonetheless, the teachers at DBS gave us an outstanding all round education; I cannot help but admire the commitment and sacrifice the Salesian staff made, and continue to make, for the betterment of society.
At school, I began to realise that I was quite able in Mathematics, in the sense that I had no issues with the textbooks we were following and would often teach myself ahead of the class schedule. However, my proper introduction to mathematical thinking came from a completely different source: doing puzzles! What happened was this: we used to get at home a magazine called the Illustrated Weekly of India.
Amongst other things, the Weekly had a regular puzzles corner (Mindsports, if I remember correctly) run by Mukul Sharma. The puzzles ranged from classic chestnuts to modern mathematical puzzles, and even the odd Mathematical Olympiad problem. Here is an example:
Given twelve identical coins except that one of is a counterfeit and has a different weight. The task is to find the fake coin, and determine whether it is lighter or heavier, using only a simple balance and no more than three weighings.
Although I did not realise at that point, this was when I learnt the joy of problem solving and, in some sense, what doing mathematics was about: a lot of frustration, and ecstasy when you finally see the light!
Download Inspirations from Scientists of Manipur - Serial No : 8 here ( 430 KB - PDF)
* Ngangkham Nimai Singh sent this Book Extract to e-pao.net
The sender can be contacted at nimai03(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
This article was webcasted on 24 May 2024
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