At the age of 12, I developed an intense interest in mathematics. On exposure to algebra, I was fascinated by simultaneous equations and read ahead of the class to the end of the book.

I found a discarded textbook on calculus in a wastebasket and read it from cover to cover.

I abandoned chemistry to concentrate on mathematics and physics. In 1942, I travelled to Cambridge to take the scholarship examination at Trinity College, received an award and entered the university in October 1943.

If one is working from the point of view of getting beauty into one's equation, ... one is on a sure line of progress.

From the age of 13, I was attracted to physics and mathematics. My interest in these subjects derived mostly from popular science books that I read avidly.

When, in school, they were teaching algebra, I was studying differential equations at home.