Mathemagics

[Gymjunkie]

Watch this incredible, mind-blowing video from one guy who performs mathemagics:

Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic" | Video on TED.com

Enjoy

 

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[Russ H]

Hey, is Gymjunkie's name Russ too?

(not a whole lot of us Russ's around)

Russ -

Thanks for posting this! In high school and college, I was often used by my friends as a party trick because I could multiply any two or three digit numbers in my head almost as quickly as this guy. Nothing magic about it...just a good head for numbers, and figuring out a bunch of shortcuts...

But, the problem I always had with multiplying larger numbers is that I could never remember the intermediate calculations within a larger calculation (as he pointed out, the multiplication is just broken down into steps and then added together at the end).

The key -- now that I see him do it -- is to create mnemonics for the large numbers to help remember them as you're doing intermediate steps. I don't know why I never thought of that!

Damn...I wish I would have known that back then...I would have been an even nerdier geek than I already was...

Funny you mention this. The way my brain works, I used to put myself to sleep by doing 3 digit multiplication in my head (gets easier once you do it and can visualize the equation, and additions). Got so bad i would not go to sleep, so I had to press on to stronger stuff (integrals, etc).

Now I can barely remember a phone number. Sheesh. Age. :smx4:

Still, the way I "unwind" in the evening is my brain naturally goes to numbers. Pretty simple stuff these days (occupancy, average daily rates, annual revenues, etc).

I forget and ask my wife a question like "what's our mortgage on XXX property?" (yeah, like she has these numbers in her head).

Drives her bonkers, cause the way *her* mind is wired, once I ask a numbers question, she HAS TO get the answer to it- HAS TO-- can't go to sleep otherwise (she'd be awake all night thinking about what it was).

So at that point, she has to go look it up.

Fun for me. Not for her!

Great example of 2 numbers people who have a really dangerous (or rather, obnoxious) numbers incompatibility after about 7 pm. I have to watch myself.

Still, running numbers in my head each night is just plain relaxing. Can't describe it any other way . . . :smxF:

-Russ H.

 

[Gymjunkie]

Whoops! For some reason I thought you were the OP...I guess I had just read one of your posts before I came across this one...sorry!



Agreed. Being able to do these sorts of things doesn't take any special skill (unless you consider OCD a skill )...if you think about it long enough, you figure out the "tricks" and "shortcuts", and then if you practice enough, it starts to become easy.

And like you said, once I stopped "exercising my brain" in this way, I pretty much lost it...

Getting old sucks...

No problems JS!

It's not getting old, it's lack of practice... I loved this video and the guy definitely has a great system that works for him on these huge calculations.

Glad you liked it!

 

[fanocks2003]

I have an intuitive way about mathematics myself. That is why I never got along with my math teacher. We always had long debates during lessons. Ended up in me and the teacher being mad as hell at each other. But I still got the answers right (not by looking for the answer at the end of the math book though). Genius? Nah.

 

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[ryanpal]

wow the grand finale was very entertaining and impressive.

great video

 

[JayKim]

Have you seen this video? I used to love this show. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUsD2V6ijyQ"]YouTube - Extraordinary people - The human calculator - Pt1 of 2[/ame]


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbASOcqc1Ss"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbASOcqc1Ss[/ame]

 

[Sparlin]

I posted this a few weeks ago. Some of the exercises on this site are similar to the ones in the video.

http://www.lumosity.com/home

 

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