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Math Whiz Breaks Calculation Record

Posted by samzenpus on from the show-off dept.

keyshawn632 writes "The Associated Press reports that Gert Mittring, 38, needed only 11.8 seconds to calculate the 13th root of a 100-digit number in his head at a math museum in Giessen, a small town, located in western Germany. It's worth noting though that his feat will not be recognized by The Guinness Book Of World Records because of the difficulty of standardizing such mathematical challenges."

3 of 391 comments (clear)

  1. What? by HardJeans · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can't even read 100 digits in 30 seconds.

    --
    "I'm not talking to myself, I'm just the only one who's listening." - Jimmies Chicken Shack
  2. What he will be doing next week... by jmcmunn · · Score: 4, Insightful


    Probably breaking codes for some government or another. Someone with talent with numbers and such will catch the eye of someone out there. Could it be that this was just to show off his talent as a sort of "job interview"? Probably not, but I expect he will get some calls about it anyway.

  3. Re:I so call bullshit by kfg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There has to be a trick to it aside from "thinking really fast"

    Well of course, there is. Probably two or three tricks combined. . .plus thinking really fast, as well as having a good memory for numbers.

    Walking a tightrope is more than just having "good balance," and it's really just a trick, and not necessarily a very useful one, but. . .

    It is still pretty impressive and you can't do it.

    KFG