Arthur Benjamin the methamagician

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The discussion centers around a performer from Comedy Central, likely from "The Daily Show" or "Colbert Nation," who impressively multiplies three-digit numbers quickly, prompting admiration for his mathematical abilities. A TED Talk by Arthur Benjamin is referenced, showcasing his talent in "mathemagic," where he explains techniques for mental calculations, such as substituting numbers with words for easier recall. Despite his skills, he made an error when squaring 722, incorrectly stating the answer as 513,284 instead of the correct 521,284. The discussion highlights both the performer’s remarkable abilities and the occasional fallibility of mental calculation, emphasizing the impressive nature of his skills even when mistakes occur.
cronxeh
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Ok I'll confess, I've seen this guy on the Comedy Central.. either Colbert nation or daily show-cant remember-does not matter. But he got me thinking, he was multiplying 3 digit numbers without even waiting for Jon to finish..

A little more digging uncovered this awesomeness:
http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic.html

This guy is awesome. On par with a statement a la "To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee." He looks like the devil of sexiness. The prince of darkness of algebra. Anyone know what his deal is? He is not a savant, which brings me to another conjecture.. perhaps savants are not that smart either?
 
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He kinda explained how he did it at the end; replacing numbers with words which is easier to remember.
He did get one wrong though, someone gave him 722 to square and he said it's a harder one and said 513,284. The lady on stage verified it as correct, but it's not. It's 521,284.
 
Even with his explanation on the last one that was still amazing. It probably would have taken me that entire episode to figure out the last one. :smile:
 

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