BLACK COCKTALE

If someone asked you to calculate a two-digit number to the power of eight, chances are you’d hand them a scientific calculator and ask them to do the math. But when that question was thrown at 40-year-old Rudiger Gamm during an onstage demonstration at this year’s BOLDtalks community event, he simply stood still for a moment — eyes closed, feet apart, fingers dancing like they were crunching numbers in the air — and then returned the 16-digit answer almost instantly.

This is an inspiring case of RUDIGER GAMM who went from being poor in mathematics to a Genius;  In the 2008 Mental Calculation World Cup in Leipzig, he recited 81°100 (81 to the power of 100), which took approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

He clarifies anything to do with numbers back then as absolute nightmare. “It was terrible,” Rudiger recalls. “I failed school very often because of either Physics or Math". I’ve actually had a good memory for numbers since I was a child but interestingly, He only discovered his ability for mental calculations only at the age of 21 — exactly two weeks after He left school.

For Rudiger, it all started with a table of squared and cubed numbers that he came across in a book of history. The next day, he realised he was still able to recall all the numbers in that table. It was, as he says, the beginning of everything. He began training hard till he could calculate powers up to the power of 20 and higher. A few years ago, he says, he was able to memorise about 10,000 digits of Pi as well. He went from ranking at the bottom of his Math class to being called back to teach by the very same headmaster who had expelled him 45 years before. Apart from his numerical abilities, Rudiger can also speak backwards (in German) and calculate calendars with total ease. “If you ask him what the fourth of March 1834 was, for example, He will tell you it was a Tuesday,” 

It has been proven he is not to be a savant neither did he suffer from the savant syndrome.  “Most people in Germany respect what I do but there are people who are scared of me,” he reveals, adding there’s even a sect in his home country that “prays against” him because they believe his extraordinary abilities “come from the devil”. 

His greatest ambition in life” — is to become famous around the world for his unique capabilities. “Everybody wants to do something special in this life,” he says. “Most people forget their dreams eventually — but I’m going to keep on reaching for mine.

This is to say that "our minds are capable of doing incredible things. If only we can figure out the strategies to tap into these mental capabilities" 

TIPS--- When we do something and when we simple imagine doing the same action, similar parts of our brains are activated. Activating neuronal connections strengthens them, therefore visualizing actually helps to improve performance.

DO YOU THINK WE HAVE SUPERHUMANS IN AFRICA OR NIGERIA? Let us know...