Meet Bhanu Prakash, the world’s fastest human calculator who broke Shakuntala Devi’s record
How quickly can you perform mental math? Shakuntala Devi, the famous Indian mathematician, once held the world record for the fastest calculation at 15 seconds! But now, Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash has broken that world record. He is now the world’s fastest human computer. This isn’t the only honour he’s received, there are plenty more! He now runs a start-up company dedicated to eradicating math phobia in our country.
Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash: The growing up years
Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash hails from Andhra Pradesh. At the age of 5 years, he met with a fatal car accident that left him bedridden for a year. His doctors warned his parents that his head injury could cause cognitive impairment. So, to keep his mind active, his parents introduced him to various puzzles. From puzzles, he moved on to speed mental math calculations. Thus began his journey to becoming a math wizard! He won several speed math competitions as a child and went on to earn a math degree from St Stephen’s College in Delhi. He has many titles and world records to his name.
The many accolades of Bhanu Prakash
At the age of 17, this math wizard had broken many world records, including Shakuntala Devi’s! At 21, he holds 4 world records and 50 Limca records for solving math problems at a high speed! He is the first Indian and Asian to win a gold medal at the 2020 World Mental Calculation Championships in London. He defeated 29 competitors, some of whom were as old as 57. He had a 65-point lead over the number two calculator, Mohammad El Mir from Lebanon. What an amazing achievement! Along with a gold medal, he was given the nickname, ‘Usain Bolt of Mathematics’ by the BBC. A befitting title, indeed. He definitely is an inspiration and role model to many math enthusiasts,
The man on a mission
Bhanu Prakash has embarked on a journey towards eradicating math phobia among students. So, he is on a mission to develop a cognitive curriculum that will make learning math more enjoyable. According to him, 3 out of every 4 students in government schools struggle with basic math. This has caused children to be afraid of the subject. So, to make math fun, he has initiated a new initiative named ‘Exploring Infinities’. It focusses on engaging students through online classes and teaching math through games and puzzles. But it is not a tutorial platform. Exploring Infinities is a website where anyone can learn about mathematics through history, music and art. Sometimes, you might look at a mathematical equation and wonder, where am I going to use it? Exploring Infinities aims to demonstrate the social applications of mathematics in our daily lives. Bhanu Prakash is driven towards the objective of enhancing math learning experiences through an AI-driven maths learning platform!