The fastest brain calculator

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Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash- “the fastest human calculator” in the world, is the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Mental Calculation World Championship, an event held during Mind Sports Olympiad in London recently.

He is just 20-year-old from Hyderabad, studying Mathematics at Delhi St Stephen College and holds four world records and 50 Limca records.

“Mental calculation may have been popularized recently by a Bollywood movie Shakuntala Devi. And on Independence Day, I represented India at Mind Sports Olympics” he said.

“Beating 29 competitors, up to 57 years of age, from 13 countries, I won the first gold medal with a clear margin of 65 points. The judges were spellbound by my speed; they required me to perform more calculations to confirm my accuracy,” he told.  

The Mind Sports Olympics, for those who don’t know what that is, are an annual multidisciplined world competition that prizes feast of mental skill and agility. The first Mind Sports Olympics was held in 1997.

“No Indian has ever won gold at this event. This is moment of pride for the entire nation and a good remainder that there is a more to do to promote mathematics and mental calculation in the country.

The fear of mathematics-a fear of several school students will readily admit to-and the general phobia around the subject is something Mr. Prakash is eager to dispel.

“I am not a born genius. I don’t believe that anyone is a born genius. I believe that everybody is born with a numeral competency. And at the end of the day, the blame is never on the individual. The system, the policies and the curriculum…all these determine how you take first step towards the subject,” he explained. He had trained hard for 15 years, starting as a child.

“If Mathematics is like a ocean, when the first wave hits you get scared. But once you go in a little and if you are taught properly, it can become peaceful,” he added.

Mr. Prakash also explained his plans for Mathematics in India-to create “VISION Math” labs, to reach out children and help them discover their love for the subject. “The contribution of Mathematics is not just about numbers and solving problems faster than calculators. It is about celebrating how brain functions and what it is capable of,” he said.

Pointing out that, while Usain Bolt could run 100m in 9.81 seconds, a Tesla electric car could cover that distance in three seconds. But Usain Bolt, Prakash argued, inspired physical fitness, just as a mental calculation skill could inspire people to learn about ability of the human brain.

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