Humans have brains, brains look similar among humans. It is true that differences exist and that some are incredible such as the man with a brain of the size of a chick pea who behaved as anybody do. But basically all humans have the same brain. Anyways, anyone think differently. Education and the environment are the factor influencing our way to think. But what is about our faculty to calculate? Some are genius musicians; some are genius architects… and some are genius calculators. Indeed in this world, there are men and women able to calculate as fast as computers (at least computers from twenty years ago). They can multiply and divide big numbers very quickly without even thinking, for some of them. Some of them never went to school and didn’t know how to write or read. A common thing among them is often their capacity to see the numbers in their head. Often the answer comes directly in their mind. No one is able to understand and explain these capabilities. Studies showed that their body works very hard when we ask them a calculation to do. For example, experiments show that lots of blood is directly forward to the active part of the brain that needs it in order to find the answer of the calculation. Several of the calculator men have been studied enough to be sure that their capacities were real. Here is some example:
Alexis Lemaire, a French student from Reims have the world fastest record of calculation of the 13th root of 200 digits number in less than 2 minutes as well as of a 100 digits number in less than 10s. He beat the precedent record three times faster. He used many algorithms that he invented in order to be able to guess these numbers very quickly as he did. Take a look at http://www.13throot.com.
Zerah Collburn was a child prodigy, he was seen as retarded but his father found in him a capacity to calculate very fast. He could count the number of second in 200 years for example in one second.
Jacques Inaudi, an Italian calculating prodigy. He didn’t know how to write neither read but could calculate so fast. He didn’t know how to write calculation. It is maybe why he learned to do them in his mind.
Shakuntala Devi is an Indian woman known as the “human calculator”. During her childhood she practices card tricks only with its memory and its faculty to count instead of using her hands. In contrary to other calculating prodigies, she didn’t loose her ability while growing to adult. She is now astrologist.