8
$\begingroup$

I just read something about Rüdiger Gamm, who recited $81^{100}$ (191 digits), which took approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds. So I asked myself:

Are there any kind of mathematical discoveries (proofs, theorems,...) that were made or supported by savants?

  • 0
    I've actually thought about this for awhile. My searches so far have come up empty.2012-06-25
  • 1
    What are the advantages of savants over computers for the purpose of mathematical discoveries? Of course, according to Roger Penrose they should have some, but in this case the savants are probably real mathematicians and will be able to successfully hide that they are savants.2012-06-25
  • 5
    According to the _Oxford English Dictionary_, a _savant_ is "A man of learning or science; esp. one professionally engaged in learned or scientific research". Someone coined the term "idiot-savant" and somehow in popular speech that gets abbreviated (and in this case even spelled with an inexplicably capitalized initial "s" in the subject line). So that usage convention does exist, but should it?2012-06-25
  • 2
    My first thought was Ramanujan, but though many sources stress that his mathematical insights were reached in mysterious ways, it doesn't appear that he displayed the lack of functioning _outside_ his particular area of genius that one typically associates with the "savant" moniker -- or at least not more than most other mathematicians. So exactly what are your criteria for being a "savant"?2012-06-26
  • 0
    @HenningMakholm I would go with definition from [Savant syndrome@Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autistic_savant): *Savantism is a rare condition in which people with 'developmental delays' of the brain, and/or brain injury, demonstrate profound and prodigious capacities and/or abilities far in excess of those considered normal.*2012-06-26
  • 1
    If you are interested, here it is dicussed, [how are autistic savants able to perform certain mathematical computations so quickly?](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/1287/370)2012-06-27
  • 0
    of http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ how many savants will become?2014-01-09
  • 1
    @janmarqz let's see what cogsi.SE says, see [here](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/5328/370)...2014-01-09
  • 0
    Surely "savant" here is merely an unfortunate truncation of "idiot savant", since a "savant" is simply a scholarly expert. Presumably the "pop interest" in the question is only about "idiot savants", since, of course, nearly all important mathematical discoveries are made by savants.2014-01-09
  • 1
    @janmarqz ["1 and 5 people out of 10,000 are capable of being mental calculators"](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/a/5331/370)2014-01-11
  • 0
    ... interesting2014-01-11

3 Answers 3

6

According to Wikipedia, Zacharias Dase "calculated a 7-digit logarithm table and extended a table of integer factorizations from 7,000,000 to 10,000,000." It also says he "calculated $\pi$ to 200 decimal places in his head, a record for the time," but it's not clear to me whether that was a record for calculating $\pi$, or just a record for calculating $\pi$ in one's head. I don't know whether Dase qualifies as a savant.

EDIT: Perhaps I should have mentioned that Dase did this in the 1830s or thereabouts, hence, without mechanical aids to computation.

  • 0
    How did he calculate pi to 200 digits in his head, what formula did he use? That is amazing.2015-04-07
  • 0
    @Neil, the Wikipedia page on Dase, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacharias_Dase tells you the formula he used.2015-04-07
  • 0
    Thanks Gerry Myerson :) Also I don't think he did it in his head, it says it took him 2 months to get 200 digits.2015-04-08
  • 0
    @Neil, I've seen sources that say he could start a lengthy calculation in his head, drop it for a period of time, and then start up again where he left off, so he might have done all the pi calculations in his head. If you type "200 places in his head" into Google, you'll find some sources that confirm, and others that are skeptical.2015-04-08
1

I don't know if he qualifies as a savant, but Simon Plouffe (of the Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe formula) has also held a world record in reciting the digits of $\pi$.

0

Although not mathematical, but worth to mention:

Mental calculators were in great demand in research centers such as CERN before the advent of modern electronic calculators and computers. See, for instance, the 1983 book The Great Mental Calculators, whose introduction was written by Hans Eberstark.

from Mental calculator