Here is a portrait of a young Sophie Germain, the French mathematician whose celebrated work involved the properties of elasticity and number theory (especially prime numbers). When we read about Germain, we quickly encounter a narrative that focuses on the multiple limitations placed on her life: her parents initially discouraged her scholarship, she was banned from studying in the men-only schools, and her male peers in mathematics frequently used her work to build their own theories without acknowledging her contributions. . . . However, when I think about Sophie Germain, the thing that sticks in my mind isn’t the story of her victimization, but rather of her passion. Sophie spent a lifetime continuously pursuing questions about mathematics for the pure love of the subject. . . At only thirteen, with France torn apart by the French Revolution, Sophie took safety within her parent’s house, pouring in study over her father’s library. Perhaps her own experiences in civil strife resonated with her readings, because Sophie discovered in a book a legend that captivated her, the story of the Greek Archimedes who died while failing to flee his town when warfare raged due to his fascination with Geometry. Sophie reasoned that if Geometry was important enough for Archimedes, it must be worthy indeed — and that changed her life. . . . Until she died in 1831 from breast cancer, she researched the questions that mattered to her most. Sometimes the mathematicians she wrote to failed to answer her; the French Ecole refused to admit her; and scholars who used her work failed to cite her or help proofread her theorems. From start to finish, Sophie had no expectations that her work would be valued — or even perfected — so her studies depended on her perfect curiosity. . . . Her work might not have brought her material rewards or personal recognition, but it held enormous meaning, something all of us can aspire to.
Source(s): See _The Calculus Diaries_, by Jennifer Ouellette_ (Penguin, 2010).
