Manjul Bhargava: An Artist of Music and Math
Number theorist Manjul Bhargava is also a tabla master. Rebecca Davis, NPR hide caption
At 28, Manjul Bhargava has already won a coveted full professorship at Princeton University. An expert in number theory, the study of the properties and relationships of numbers, Bhargava is also a master of the tabla, a small Indian hand drum used to create music with rhythmic, precise patterns.
Number theory is the type of math that describes the swirl in the head of a sunflower and the curve of a chambered nautilus. Bhargava says it's also hidden in the rhythms of classical Indian music, which is both mathematical and improvisational. He sees close links between his two loves -- both create beauty and elegance by weaving together seemingly unconnected ideas.
Hear Bhargava Play the Tabla
Bhargava on Number Theory and Its Links to Poetry, Visual Art and 'The Da Vinci Code'
As part of a Morning Edition series exploring the intersection of art and science, NPR's Richard Harris reports on the beauty of mathematics, its ties to art -- and the man who straddles both worlds.