Scott Flansburg
| Scott Flansburg | |
|---|---|
Flansburg in 2011
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| Born |
December 28, 1963 Herkimer, New York |
| Pen name | The Human Calculator |
| Occupation | Mental calculator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works |
Math Magic Math Magic for Kids |
| Notable awards | Guinness World Record 2001 |
| Website | |
| www |
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Scott Flansburg (born December 28, 1963) is an American man who is often called a mental calculator. Dubbed "The Human Calculator" by Regis Philbin, in 2001 he was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for speed of mental calculation. He is the annual host and ambassador for World Maths Day, and is a math educator and media personality. Flansburg has published the books Math Magic and Math Magic for Your Kids.
Scott Flansburg was born on December 28, 1963, in Herkimer, New York. Scott has stated that he was nine years old when he first discovered his mental calculator abilities, after he was able to solve his teacher's math question without needing to write down the calculations. Afterwards he would keep a running tally of his family's groceries at the store, so his father could give the cashier an exact check before the bill had been rung up. In his youth he also began noticing that the shape and number of angles in numbers are clues to their value, and began counting from 0 to 9 on his fingers instead of 1 to 10.
Flansburg can subtract, add, multiply, divide, and find square and cube roots in his head almost instantly with calculator accuracy. Around 1990 he began using his ability in an entertainment and educational context. He was dubbed "The Human Calculator" by Regis Philbin after appearing on Live with Regis and Kathy Lee.
The Guinness Book of World Records listed him as "Fastest Human Calculator" in 2001 and 2003, after he broke the record for adding the same number to itself more times in 15 seconds than someone could do with a calculator. In 1999 Flansburg invented a 13-month calendar that uses zero as a day, month, and year alternative to the Gregorian calendar that he called "The Human Calculator Calendar."
In 1998 he published the book Math Magic for Your Kids: Hundreds of Games and Exercises from the Human Calculator to Make Math Fun and Easy on Harper Paperbacks. A revised edition of his book Math Magic: How to Master Everyday Math Problems was published in 2004.
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