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Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 10 2013 @ 04:10 PM EST |
It's not just idiot savants who can do that. Alex Aitken for
example: a mathematician who worked for example decoding
ULTRA at Bletchley, and extending linear regression; clearly
a very very bright man indeed, and famous for using his
trick memory to help with really rapid calculation.
There are limits though to the power of mental arithmetic no
matter how single-minded the calculator, which computer
easily surpass.
There are techniques like the Trachtenberg system of speed
arithmetic - invented by a concentration camp victim with no
pencil or paper, to pass the time - which speed up an
ordinary person's mental arithmetic by orders of magnitude,
surpassing an idiot savant.
It's main advantage, lasting even into the era of 8-bit
microprocessors, was the ability to almost instantly
multiply/add/divide arbitrarily large numbers (yes, really,
the size doesn't matter). But these days a computer would
flash the result up on a screen faster than the poor human
could write the result down.
[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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- Trachtenberg - Authored by: Wol on Monday, February 11 2013 @ 01:14 PM EST
- Trachtenberg - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, February 11 2013 @ 05:42 PM EST
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