What's 869,463,853 times 73?

While the average person would still be reaching for their calculator, 20-year-old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash already has the answer. It's 63,470,861,269 and it takes just 26 seconds for him, known in India as the "world's fastest human calculator," to work it out in his head.

According to the Limca Book of Records -- India's equivalent to Guinness World Records -- Bhanu's mind processes numbers at an average speed of 12 per second, around 10 times faster than a regular brain.

Bhanu says he's able to make such complex calculations at breakneck speed through "structured practice." "Let's say I am doing a multiplication of 8,763 multiplied by eight," he says. "I'll probably multiply: 8,000 by eight which is 64,000, 700 by eight which is 5,600, 60 by eight which is 480, three by eight is 24. And I add all of these. But this requires the human brain to remember all this.

"The methods which I use are very similar to general methods but certain things -- basically (it's) brain optimization. I optimize my methods and make them better than before.

"At the end of the day whatever I call my methods, sometimes it just happens. There's a certain process, obviously, but since you have trained your brain, it just happens."

On August 15, Bhanu, from Hyderabad in India's southern Telangana state, became the first Asian to win gold at the Mental Calculation World Championship at the Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) in London. He's also the first non-European winner in the event's 23-year history.

In his competition debut, he beat 29 opponents from 13 countries to take the gold -- his speed so extraordinary that judges made him jump through extra hoops and solve more calculations to confirm his accuracy.

Just don't call him a prodigy.

"Definitely not, because I find the word 'prodigy' a little troubling as it just doesn't capture the efforts and experience, it's just a state that's obtained out of nowhere," he says, stressing that his extraordinary mathematical ability didn't come easily. In fact, it could have all been very different.

Life-threatening injury

In 2005, aged 5, Bhanu fell from his cousin's scooter when it was hit by a truck, banging his head on the road. He fractured his skull. He needed 85 stitches and multiple operations, before doctors put him into a medically induced coma.

When he woke up almost seven days later, the doctors told his parents that Bhanu could be cognitively impaired for the rest of his life due to his head injuries. He spent the next year bedridden.

"That accident changed the way I used to define fun and it is the reason why am here today," he says. During his recovery, he learned how to play chess and solved puzzles to keep his brain engaged -- eventually progressing to math problems.

"I remember the pain vividly ... this is the most traumatic experience I have had in my life," he recalls. "I couldn't even go to school for a year. All I had to rely on to get better were numbers and puzzles."

The head injury left him with an "ugly looking scar." To protect his feelings, Bhanu's parents removed all mirrors from around the house for a year. But he was determined to not let the scar define him. "It drove me forward and I knew there's something that I am good at and I will prove myself there," he says.

In 2007, aged 7, he finished third in the sub-junior category at a state level speed arithmetic competition in Andhra Pradesh state. His performance brought his father to tears, Bhanu says. "It wasn't the medal, it was what led me there that moved my father," he says.

Bhanu has since secured many wins, including the open category in India's 2011 National Speed Arithmetic Competition. And from the age of 13, he's represented India in international competition and broken four world records for fastest human calculation, power multiplication, super subtraction, and mental math: powers of 2 and 3. He's also broken 50 Limca records, earning comparisons with legendary Indian mathematician Shakuntala Devi.

"When I am attempting a world record it's almost like the world around me slows down," Bhanu explains, drawing a comparison with a DC Comics superhero.

"It's kind of like 'The Flash' -- where when he runs everything else around is blurred. It definitely feels nice but also feels extremely liberating to actually do these complex calculations at this pace.

"So the neurons firing in the brain lead us to make believe that we are capable of doing things which we don't imagine. So I would say you almost feel like a superhero. Almost."

Making math cool

Bhanu says he is passionate about his goal to "eradicate math phobia," the fearful feelings many of us have toward mathematics that can lead us to avoid situations in which we have to perform calculations and negatively impact our life choices.

"Bhanu dominated the Mental Calculations World Championship and finished 65 points ahead of everyone else," says Mind Sports Olympiad CEO Etan Ilfeld.

His recent success caught the attention of India's President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, who congratulated him on his MSO win.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/01/world/fastest-human-calculator-intl-scil-hnk/index.html

I like watching badass Maths prodigies do their thing. It makes me believe there are higher dimensions than we know.

Wonderful

Mathematically Gifted. This one nor be hard work. Na grace

This remembered me of a mad man in my village, Dee Zubby. There is no Mathematical problems he cannot solve. He is so expert at Chemistry and Physics.

This used to be me o... In those days. Na too much play just spoil things for me.

what
I no know multiplication table pass 12 sef!

wow...soo amazing...na people like this go make man de reason if we really get the same brain size..
for me jus small 12 x 3, i go de find my calculator..

Wow gift

chatinent:
This remembered me of a mad man in my village, Dee Zubby. There is no Mathematical problems he cannot solve. He is so expert at Chemistry and Physics.

Bush boy like me will say NA TOO MUCH BOOK MAKE AM MAD lol

Fck the records. There are lots of competitors on this one.
I doubt if Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash would have solved his first calculation by the time Daniel Tammet would be on his second calculation.
In the jungle called life, there's no king of the jungle. Your end point is the starting point for someone else.
While Bhanu is still glued to using different methods to do his own calculation, Daniel Tammet only sees shapes in his head and that's just it. I mean, that's just it. No method, no brainstorming, just give him the question and the answer is already in his head.

There are many phenomena in life which hint us that there is more to life than meets the eye. One of these mysteries is the 'savant syndrome.'
Well, how some savants got this savant syndrome is another mystery itself.
On January 15, 1979, Orlando Serrell got a head injury while playing Baseball, but since that day on, he started to recall everyday of his life, including the date, day of the week and the weather. The list of such accidental, extraordinary flair goes on.
I can vividly remember many many years ago, what happened and how it happened. I was on the bed drowning in deep-sleep state in the middle of the night, when suddenly something bit me on the pee-pee. The experience was painful but my eyes were too heavy to thoroughly investigate what happened. I woke up in the morning and headed to the lavatory to pee, when i brought out my dck, it has doubled the size of what i slept with. I slept with a baby preek but I woke up with a horse preek.
This is just one of the different instances of accidental genius and extraordinary endowments. It is one aspect of life science is yet to unravel or fathom.

chatinent:
This remembered me of a mad man in my village, Dee Zubby. There is no Mathematical problems he cannot solve. He is so expert at Chemistry and Physics.

Reminds me. Not remembered me. BTW why didn't you end up as his student

Just know maths girls will always rock your world. sweet memories.

I am � sure he has a brain tumor which they are yet to diagnose....

Most likely savant tendencies...

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in conclusion hes a genius

That's nice but no offense I want to know his position in the world richest people.

Pls don't quote me, I'll ignore.

ACxxxMAN:
Mathematically Gifted. This one nor be hard work. Na grace

yea exactly.its like dat calander boy in Nigeria,it just talent

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Wow!

chatinent:
This remembered me of a mad man in my village, Dee Zubby. There is no Mathematical problems he cannot solve. He is so expert at Chemistry and Physics.

hmmmm yes ooo is b long we hear anything about him

ACxxxMAN:
Mathematically Gifted. This one nor be hard work. Na grace

Grace from who....? their Cow gods?

Lol

Nova1988:
That's nice but no offense I want to know his position in the world richest people.

Pls don't quote me, I'll ignore.

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Mere looking at him...one can easily deduce that his brain is mathematically encrypted

The dude is good,he can calculate anything of hand

E no go carry you go anywhere bro.

We have same neega in 9ja na


Go to ur nta news channel every Sunday
Dem show d guy 4 news

They call the guy human calculator

Just google

muller101:
Just know maths girls will always rock your world. sweet memories.

lol

Most of these people acquire their savant or ingenious ability after hitting their head on something. sometimes I wonder how humans would have interacted if we had access to 80 % of our brain capabilities. it would have been a crazy world I tell ya.