When asked how many 869,463,853 times 73?
The average person would still reach for their calculator, but not Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash.
Bhanu is a man who is 20 years old.
To get the answer to that question, he only needed 26 seconds.
Because of that Bhanu, known in India as “the world’s fastest human calculator,”.
Bhanu’s mind processes numbers at an average rate of 12 per second, about 10 times faster than an ordinary brain.
Bhanu said that he was able to make such complex calculations very quickly through “structured practice.”
“Say I’m doing the multiplication of 8,763 times eight,” he said.
“I would probably multiply 8,000 by eight which is 64,000, 700 with eight being 5,600, 60 times eight is 480, three times eight is 24.
And I added all of this. But this requires the human brain to remember everything. this.
“The method I use is very similar to the general method but certain things – basically (it’s) brain optimization. I optimize my method and make it better than before.
“Ultimately whatever I call my method, sometimes it just happens. Obviously there is a certain process, but because you have exercised your brain it just happens.”
On August 15, Bhanu, from Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana, became the first Asian to win a gold medal at the World Mental Calculation Championships at the Mind Sports Olympics (MSO) in London.
He is also the first non-European winner in the event’s 23-year history.
In his competitive debut, Bhanu defeated 29 opponents from 13 countries to win gold.
However, based on investigations, in 2005, at the age of 5, Bhanu fell from his cousin’s scooter when he was hit by a truck, and hit his head on the road.
Bhanu breaks the skull. She needed 85 stitches and several surgeries before doctors put her into a medical coma.
When he woke up nearly seven days later, the doctors told his parents that Bhanu could suffer cognitive impairment for the rest of his life due to his head injury.
He too spent the next year lying in bed.
“The accident changed the way I define fun and that is the reason why I am here today,” he said.
During his recovery, Bhanu learned how to play chess and solve puzzles to keep his brain active – which eventually developed into a math problem.
“I remember the pain vividly … this was the most traumatic experience I had in my life,” he recalls. “
All I have to rely on to get better is numbers and puzzles. “
Even the head injury left scars that made him look ugly.
To protect her feelings, Bhanu’s parents moved all the mirrors from around the house for a year.
But she was determined not to let those scars define her.
