21-year-old Neelakanta Prakash breaks Shakuntala Devi's record, wins ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’

New Delhi, August 26: Breaking mathematics genius Shakuntala Devi's record, the 21-year-old Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash of Hyderabad became ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ after winning first-ever gold for India in Mental Calculation World Championship at Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO).

 

 

Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash said, "My brain calculates quicker than the speed of a calculator. Breaking these records, once held by Math maestros like Scott Flansburg and Shakuntala Devi, is a matter of national pride. I have done my bit to place India on the global level of mathematics."

 

 

This is not the first time Bhanu Prakash has won a title. He already holds 4 world records along with 50 Limca records for being the fastest human calculator in the world. Bhanu Prakash is a student of Mathematics (Hons) at Delhi University's St Stephen College.

 

 

MSO this year was held virtually and there were 30 participants up to the age of 57 years across 13 countries including the UK, UAE, Germany, Greece, France, and Lebanon. He won a gold medal for India at the MSO, London 2020 held on August 15. Leading with 65 points, Neelakanta tops the competition followed by a Lebanese contender in the second position and a UAE contestant in the third position.

 

This is the first time that India has won a gold medal. The MSO is the most prestigious international competition for games of mental skill and mind sports which is held in London every year. This is equivalent to any other Olympic event in the realm of physical sports.

 

Bhanu Prakash said his vision is to create "VISION Math" labs and reach out to millions of children to make them start loving maths."My vision is to create math labs, reach out to millions of children, under what I call in order to make them start loving math and arithmetic calculations.

 

Three out of every four students who study in the government schools of India have trouble understanding basic Mathematics. The phobia caused by math and the demotivation is the number two cause for kids opting out of the rural schools in India." he said.