Mental calculators are people with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation, such as multiplying large numbers or factoring large numbers. Some rare mental calculators are autistic savants, with a narrow area of great skill and poor mental development in other directions, but many are people of normal mental development who have simply developed advanced calculating ability. A good many are also experienced scientists, linguists, writers, and so on.
Mental calculators were in great demand in research centers such as CERN before the advent of modern electronic calculators and computers. See, for instance, the 1983 book The Great Mental Calculators, whose introduction was written by Hans Eberstark.
The world's best mental calculators are invited every two years to compete for the Mental Calculation World Cup. On July 2nd, 2008, Alberto Coto Garcia of Spain succeeded Robert Fountain of Great Britain as world champion.
Michael O'Boyle, an American psychologist previously working in Australia and now at Texas Tech University, has recently used MRI scanning of blood flow during mental operation in mathematical prodigies to display startling results. These math prodigies achieve blood flow to parts of the brain responsible for mathematical operations at six to seven times the typical flow (see Cognitive Brain Research, October, 2005).
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Mental calculators from history
- Lakkoju Sanjeevaraya Sharma,Kadapa,Andhra Pradesh India
- Aitken, Alexander Craig, [1]
- Bidder, George Parker
- Shakuntala Devi
- Buxton, Jedediah,
- Colburn, Zerah
- Dase, Johann Zacharias
- Deshong, Peter M.
- Diamandi, Pericles
- Eberstark, Hans
- Chintapalli
- Euler, Leonhard
- Finkelstein, Salo
- Fuller, Thomas
- Gauss, Carl Frederich
- Gamm, Rüdiger
- Griffith, Arthur F.
- Inaudi, Jacques
- Klein, Wim (a.k.a. Willem Klein) [2]
- Willis Dysart (a.k.a. Willie the Wizard)
- van Koningsveld, Jan
- Lemaire, Alexis
- Dubrulle, Emmanuël
- McCartney, Daniel
- von Neumann, John
- Ruckle, Gottfried
- Safford, Truman Henry
- Tammet, Daniel
- Sidis, William James
Mental calculators in fiction
In Frank Herbert's novel Dune, specially trained mental calculators known as Mentats have replaced mechanical computers completely. Several important supporting characters in the novel, namely Piter De Vries and Thufir Hawat, are Mentats. Paul Atreides was originally trained as one without his knowledge.
In Roald Dahl's novel, "Matilda", the lead character is portrayed having exceptional mathematical skills as she computes her dad's profit without the need for paper computations.
Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby is a calculating prodigy in Robert A. Heinlein's story Methuselah's Children.
In Haruki Murakami's novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, a class of mental calculators known as Calcutecs perform cryptography in a sealed-off portion of their brains, the results of which they are unable to access from their normal waking consciousness.
In the Fox television show Malcolm in the Middle, Malcolm Wilkerson displays astounding feats of automatic mental calculation, which causes him to fear his family will see him as a "freak," and causes his brother to ask, "Is Malcolm a robot?"
In Darren Aronofsky's film, Pi, Maximillian Cohen is asked a few times by a young child with a calculator to do large multiplications and divisions in his head, to which he promptly answers.
In the movie Little Man Tate, Fred Tate in the audience blurts out the answer during a mental calculation contest.
In the sci-fi thriller Cube, one of the prisoners, Kazan, appears to be mentally retarded but is revealed later in the film to be an autistic savant, who is able to calculate prime factors in his head.
Mental calculators in competitions
The Mental Calculation World Cup is an international competition to attempt to find the world's best mental calculator, and also the best at specific types of mental calculation, such as multiplication or calendar reckoning.
The top three calculators from the inaugural championships, held in 2004, were:
| 1 |  Robert Fountain |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Jan van Koningsveld |
| 3 |  Alberto Coto García |
The top three calculators from the second championships, held in 2006, were:
| 1 | Robert Fountain |
|---|---|
| 2 | Jan van Koningsveld |
| 3 | Gert Mittring |
The top three calculators from the third championships, held in 2008, were:
| 1 | Alberto Coto García |
|---|---|
| 2 | Jan van Koningsveld |
| 3 |  Jorge Arturo Mendoza Huertas |
The Mind Sports Olympiad has staged an annual world championships since 1997.
MSO mental calculation gold medal winners
| 1997 |  Karl Galle |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Robert Fountain |
| 1999 | George Lane |
| 2000 | Robert Fountain |
| 2001 | John Rickard |
| 2002 | George Lane |
| 2003 | George Lane |
| 2004 | Gert Mittring |
| 2005 | Gert Mittring |
| 2006 | Gert Mittring |
| 2007 | Gert Mittring |
| 2008 | Gert Mittring |
The Mind Sports Organisation recognises three grandmasters of mental calculation: Robert Fountain (1999), George Lane (2001) and Gert Mittring (2005).
See also
External links
- Prodigy Calculators by Viktor Pekelis
- Willem Klein
- Thought and machine processes
- Tricks and techniques
- 13throot.com - Alexis Lemaire website about mental calculation of 13th roots
- The "Great" Mental Calculators
- Lightning Calculators is a three-part essay that discusses these individuals, their methods, and the media coverage of them.
- The organisation teaching Mental Calculation
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