And his insight profited. He was like the biological researcher who sees things others miss because he’s there in the lab every night to see them. His friends might later choose to recall how he made short work of school problems, could see instantly into those they found most difficult. But the problems Ramanujan took up were as tough slogging to him as school problems were to them. His successes did not come entirely through flashes of inspiration. It was hard work. It was full of false starts. It took time.
