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ElliotSmith
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Summary: wow!
Mathematician and autism-spectrum savant Daniel Tammet counts pi to 22,500 digits.
Mathematician and autism-spectrum savant Daniel Tammet counts pi to 22,500 digits.
He did 22514 ;)MathematicalPhysicist said:Good for him, the next step is 22,501.
Then off you go to 22515, can he do all the infinite digits?!mfb said:He did 22514 ;)
Agree! Without offering proof I do not think there has to be a connection between his mathematical ability and a diagnosis with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).Greg Bernhardt said:The mind can be so powerful!
But are there any normal people who can do the kind of amazing math stuff that ASD people can do? I've never heard of any.Klystron said:Agree! Without offering proof I do not think there has to be a connection between his mathematical ability and a diagnosis with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
There are many people with ASD with normal ability at mathematics and superb mathematicians with normal or well developed communication and social skills and no diagnosis of autism.
phinds said:But are there any normal people who can do the kind of amazing math stuff that ASD people can do? I've never heard of any.
Also of relevance:Vanadium 50 said:Memorizing 22,500 words-that-happen-not-to-be-digits is hardly unprecedented. The fact that we have Homeric poems today is a fortunate example of this.
I think you misunderstand what they are doing. They do not memorize anything. They state the digits as they compute them. That IS math, even if only arithmetic.Vanadium 50 said:Memorizing a pile of digits is not mathematics, and I can't see any obvious correlation between these two skills.
No, it's definitely memorization.phinds said:I think you misunderstand what they are doing. They do not memorize anything. They state the digits as they compute them. That IS math, even if only arithmetic.
Interesting. That had not been my understanding. Are you sure there are no cases where they just say the digits as they compute them? I was sure that I saw that mentioned in a science program (but it WAS a pop-sci TV program and we all know how reliable those are).collinsmark said:No, it's definitely memorization.
Rajan Mahadevan explained to me how he memorized PI to over 30,000 digits. He associated each digit with a set of objects or actions and then used those objects or actions to form a story. After that, it was just a matter of memorizing the story.
I doubt there's any of these record holders who mathematically (arithmetically) generated digits of PI in their head, on the fly.
I can't say for certain because I've only known one record holder (very limited sample size).phinds said:Interesting. That had not been my understanding. Are you sure there are no cases where they just say the digits as they compute them? I was sure that I saw that mentioned in a science program (but it WAS a pop-sci TV program and we all know how reliable those are)
Yeah, I've been poking on the internet and it certainly appears that you are right and I had it wrong.collinsmark said:I can't say for certain because I've only known one record holder (very limited sample size).
But I'm confident enough that I'd bet the farm that it's all memorization.
mfb said:There is no way to compute these digits on the fly
The significance of this accomplishment is that it demonstrates the incredible capabilities of the human brain in terms of memorization and mathematical ability. It also showcases the beauty and complexity of the number pi.
It took Daniel Tammet approximately 5 hours and 9 minutes to count pi to 22,500 digits. This was achieved in November 2004 at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory in the UK.
Yes, at the time of his accomplishment, Daniel Tammet's recitation of pi to 22,500 digits was recognized as a world record. However, since then, other individuals have broken this record.
Daniel Tammet has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which different senses are involuntarily and automatically joined together. In his case, he sees numbers as distinct colors and shapes, which makes it easier for him to memorize and recall them.
In addition to counting pi to 22,500 digits, Daniel Tammet has also memorized and recited the mathematical constant Euler's number to 5,000 digits, and has learned 10 languages, including Icelandic and Inuktitut, in one week each.