A mental calculator or human calculator is a person with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation.
Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mental calculator, astrologer, and writer, popularly known as the "Human Computer". Her talent earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records. However, the certificate for the record was given posthumously on 30 July 2020, despite Devi achieving her world record on 18 June 1980 at Imperial College, London. Devi was a precocious child and she demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore without any formal education.
Mu Alpha Theta (ΜΑΘ) is an International mathematics honor society for high school and two-year college students. As of June 2015, it served over 108,000 student members in over 2,200 chapters in the United States and 20 foreign countries. Its main goals are to inspire keen interest in mathematics, develop strong scholarship in the subject, and promote the enjoyment of mathematics in high school and two-year college students. Its name is a rough transliteration of math into Greek. Buchholz High School in Gainesville FL won first place in 2023 for the 15th time in the annually held national convention.
A mind sport is a game of skill based on intellectual ability.
The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century, meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available. Alan Turing described the "human computer" as someone who is "supposed to be following fixed rules; he has no authority to deviate from them in any detail." Teams of people, often women from the late nineteenth century onwards, were used to undertake long and often tedious calculations; the work was divided so that this could be done in parallel. The same calculations were frequently performed independently by separate teams to check the correctness of the results.
The Mental Calculation World Cup is an international competition for mental calculators, held every two years in Germany.
Ben Pridmore is a former world memory champion, memory sport competitor and accountant.
Michael Byster is an American mental calculator, and math educator. He worked as a commodity trader until he quit his job to devote himself to teaching children his methods. He has spoken to over 10,000 classrooms for free and continues to mentor children. Mike is able to do many arithmetic problems in his head at very fast speeds. During a study done years ago, Byster was claimed to have one of the fastest mathematical minds in the world.
World Maths Day is an online international mathematics competition, powered by Mathletics. Smaller elements of the wider Mathletics program effectively power the World Maths Day event.
Arthur T. Benjamin is an American mathematician who specializes in combinatorics. Since 1989 he has been a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, where he is the Smallwood Family Professor of Mathematics.
Alexis Lemaire is a mental calculation world record holder. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science related to artificial intelligence from the University of Reims. He is also the owner of world records for mentally calculating the 13th root of 100-digit numbers and 200-digit numbers.
Gert Mittring is a German mental calculator. He was inspired by the late Wim Klein. He has competed in the MSO mental calculation event every year since 2004, failing to win the gold medal outright on only four occasions. He has held numerous world records for mental calculation, such as calculating the 89247th root of a 1000000 digit number. He has doctorates in statistics and mathematics education, and is a member of the Intelligence Research Committee of Intertel. Mittring is said to have been poor in math during his school years. He has written several books on mental calculation.
Alberto Coto García is a Spanish mental calculator. He was the world champion in mental calculation from 2008 to 2010.
Robert Fountain is a British mental calculator. He won the first Mental Calculation World Cup in 2004 and the second Mental Calculation World Cup in 2006. In 1999 he was recognised by the Mind Sports Organisation as the first Grandmaster of Mental Calculation. Fountain was inspired to take up mental calculation as a hobby at the age of 11 after seeing Wim Klein performing on television. He is co-author of The Mental Calculator's Handbook.
Yusnier Viera is a Cuban American mental calculator. He is well known as "The Human Calendar" for his world record on calendar dates. On October 31, 2005 he broke for first time the World Record for calendar calculations. At the Mental Calculation World Cup in 2010 he won the calendar category. His current record for most amount of calendar dates calculated in a minute is 132 dates. He currently has three World Records for calendar calculations.
Scott Flansburg is an American dubbed "The Human Calculator" and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for speed of mental calculation. He is the annual host and ambassador for The National Counting Bee, a math educator, and media personality. He has published the books Math Magic and Math Magic for Your Kids.
Anthahpuram (transl. Palace) is a 1998 Indian action drama film, written and directed by Krishna Vamsi. The film stars Soundarya, Prakash Raj, Sai Kumar and Jagapathi Babu with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Inspired from 1991 American film Not Without My Daughter (1991), the plot revolves around a newly-married NRI woman finding herself in a traditionally feudal family in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.
Dr Amit Garg is an Indian mathematician and mental calculator He currently works as founder and CEO at ORMAE, a firm registered in USA, UAE & India which engages in building innovative products, consulting and training in Operations Research and Data Science.
Mohammed Siraj is an Indian international cricketer who plays as a right-arm fast bowler for the Indian national team. He also plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Hyderabad in domestic cricket. He was a part of the Indian squad which won the 2023 Asia Cup, where he was the Player of the Match in the final against Sri Lanka. He was a member of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup.
