Numbers Everywhere

I read this news on Yahoo, and was so amazed by it I chose to post it on my blog. Whatever this man is drinking...let me have it.

My favorite part is this "He sat down and it was all very quiet -- and all of a sudden he amazingly just cracked it." Whooa! Sat down and cracked the 13th root of 200 digit numbers - err..without calculator just pure brains..

Anyways thats a lot of spoiler from me. Read the news for yourself and ask the person sitting next to you - "Cracked?"

'Mathlete' smashes human calculation record: museum

Tue Dec 11, 12:21 PM ET

The world's fastest human calculator on Tuesday broke his own record for working out a 200-digit number using nothing but brain power to produce the answer in just over 70 seconds.

Alexis Lemaire, a 27-year-old Frenchman, correctly calculated the 13th root of a random 200-digit number from a possible 393 trillion answers.

The so-called 'mathlete' produced the answer of 2,407,899,893,032,210 in 70.2 seconds, beating his previous record of 72.4 seconds, at London's Science Museum.

A computer was used to produce a random 200-digit number before he sat down to calculate the answer in his head.

The museum's curator of mathematics, Jane Wess, said: "He sat down and it was all very quiet -- and all of a sudden he amazingly just cracked it.

"I believe that it is the highest sum calculated mentally.

"He seems to have a large memory and he's made this his life's ambition. It's quite remarkable to see it happen. A very small number of people have this extraordinary ability; nowadays there is only a handful."

Lemaire, who attends the University of Reims in northern France, began demonstrating his prowess by finding the 13th root of a random 100-digit number but gave up trying to improve his performance when he calculated an answer in under four seconds in 2004.

Like an athlete, he trains his brain daily for the far harder task of finding the 13th root of 200-digit numbers.

Article URL:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/britainsciencerecordoffbeat

footnote:
The fastest mathematical equation I solved in my whole life was "Who killed Magellan?", and I was able to solve it for only 5 minutes, minus the time I looked for a calculator.

An Unlikely Encounter

Singapore 2007

Yesterday I got a chance to be interviewed by a Singaporean. The company is in the business of providing design solutions for different clients. I never got the chance to apologize to Mr. Recruiter because I did not understand his words when he introduced his company to me.

So what’s there to write about a regular day on a normal interview procedure?

Nothing I supposed, except that this person in front of me is so proud of Filipino employees. He says he prefers Pinoys over other nationality because we perform our tasks better. It was a shining moment for me that very hour; I can not help but tell him how I wish that employers back at home would have the same perspective such as his. How I wish Filipino employers would boast about the workmanship of their fellow Filipinos instead of not giving them much preference and opportunity to work.

I remember the story of my colleague who happens to be a software developer; one time a foreigner arrived at their office which is also an employee of one of their companies which is based in Asia. My friend told me that the fellow was really good in theories but when it comes to practicing those theories, Pinoys are really better. And here before me, a Singaporean confirms… “Filipinos can beat those people (referring to a set of nationalities) head to head".

Wow! Head to head!

The interview ended casually, without an assurance that I am hired, he asked me to perform some tasks and return at his office to discuss how we would proceed. But employment was not my primary concern that day.

I left by thanking him, in a few minutes talk, I learned a lot from him.

I went home excited, not because of getting a new job.

I am excited of the magnitude of passion and nationalism that was birthed in my heart. Yes, I might be over-reacting but that’s how it affected me, to hear from the words of a foreigner that Filipinos are great workers.

I seldom hear this back at home, I don’t even speak about this. For as far as I am concern, we are not that good in doing our job, but I was wrong. It is not how we perform our job, but how we love our country that makes a great impact over our co-workers.

I pray that the wings of nationalism would cover the hearts of each and every one of us. Regardless if we are home or not.

God bless the Philippines!