Mental Caculators & Mental Calculation World Cup

Why are Mental Calculators so SPECIAL ??
Mental Caculators are people having exceptional mathematical calculation ability like such as multiplying large numbers or factoring large numbers.

Where can I meet one ??
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.

How did they become one ??
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. 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). 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.

Name a few.....

* Aitken, Alexander Craig
* Bidder, George Parker
* Shakuntala Devi
* Buxton, Jedediah
* Colburn, Zerah
* Dase, Johann Zacharias
* Deshong, Peter M.
* Diamandi, Pericles
* Eberstark, Hans
* Euler, Leonhard
* Finkelstein, Salo
* Fuller, Thomas
* Gauss, Carl Frederich
* Gamm, Rüdiger
* Griffith, Arthur F.
* Inaudi, Jacques
* Klein, Wim (a.k.a. Willem Klein)
* Willis Dysart (a.k.a. Willie the Wizard)
* van Koningsveld, Jan
* Lemaire, Alexis
* McCartney, Daniel
* von Neumann, John
* Ruckle, Gottfried
* Safford, Truman Henry
* Tammet, Daniel
* Sidis, William James

What is Mental Calculation World Cup??
Mental Calculation World Cup is an international competition of mental calculators.

Details of Mental Calculation World Cup 2004 :

The first Mental Calculation World Cup was held in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany on 30 October, 2004. There were 17 participants from 10 countries. The World Cup involved the following contests (and two surprise tasks):
* Adding ten 10-digit numbers, ten tasks in 10 minutes
Winner: Alberto Coto (Spain) ; 10 correct results; 5:50 minutes, world record
* Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner:Alberto Coto (Spain), 8 correct results
* Calendar Calculations, two series one minute each, dates from the years 1600-2100
Winner: Matthias Kesselschläger (Germany), 33 correct results, world record
* Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner: Jan van Koningsveld (Netherlands)

In the overall ranking the first place is taken by Robert Fountain (Great Britain), the runner-up was Jan van Koningsveld (Netherlands).

Details of Mental Calculation World Cup 2006 :

The second Mental Calculation World Cup was held on 4 November 2006 in Gießen, Germany. 26 Calculators from 11 countries took part. The World Cup involved the following contests (and two surprise tasks):

* Adding ten 10-digit numbers, ten tasks in 10 minutes
Winner: Jorge Arturo Mendoza Huertas (Peru) ; 10 correct results
* Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner:Alberto Coto (Spain)
* Calendar Calculations, two series one minute each, dates from the years 1600-2100
Winner: Matthias Kesselschläger (Germany)
* Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner: Robert Fountain (Great Britain)

Robert Fountain (Great Britain) defended his title in the overall competition, the places 2 to 4 have been won by Jan van Koningsveld (Netherlands), Gert Mittring (Germany) and Yusnier Viera Romero (Cuba).

Details of Mental Calculation World Cup 2008 :

The Mental Calculation World Cup 2008 was held at the university of Leipzig, Germany on 1 July 2008. It attracted 28 calculators from 12 countries.

* Adding ten 10-digit numbers, ten tasks in 10 minutes
Winner: Alberto Coto (Spain), 10 correct results in 4:26 minutes (world record)
* Multiplying two 8-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner: Alberto Coto (Spain), 10 correct results in 8:25 minutes (world record)
* Calendar Calculations, dates from the years 1600-2100, one minute
Winner: Jan van Koningsveld (Germany), 40 correct results
* Square Root from 6-digit numbers, 10 tasks in 15 minutes
Winner: Jan van Koningsveld (Germany)

Alberto Coto (Spain) won the overall title. Jan van Koningsveld, starting for Germany this time, became second, and Jorge Arturo Mendoza Huertas (Peru) finished third. Robert Fountain, who won the title in 2004 and 2006, achieved a fourth rank.