

Debunking Daniel Tammet - byrneseyeview
http://infopractical.livejournal.com/77298.html

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randomwalker
In a previous life as a math nerd, I used to do memory and mental arithmetic
tricks, so this post rings true -- i.e, these calculations are all in fact
easy to do with practice, even if they might not appear to be so at first.

It appears that the only way to make math cool is by focusing on the least
useful part of it, and further, by giving it an aura of mystery by making
exaggerated or false claims, when in fact the purpose of math is to clarify.
Sad.

In this vein, see also my deconstruction of Arthur Benjamin's "mathemagics"
performance: <http://arvindn.livejournal.com/82413.html>

~~~
whacked_new
I thought Art Benjamin's performance was obvious, but he does it under the
guise of a "magician," so I would cut him some slack. After all, everybody
knows magicians are entertainers. It's hard to be impressed when you can
quickly deconstruct the process though.

I was quite impressed by the Tammet documentary, but your analysis is pretty
stunning. I actually took everything from the original video at face value,
perhaps because I _wanted_ to be amazed by synesthesia.

I won't call it BS just yet -- there could be the possibility that the shape
transformations he "sees" are the result of using algorithms in a subconscious
manner, the clues of which only manifest themselves like play-doh imagery. It
is rather suspicious that after the high-profile reports, there haven't been
other publicized and scrutinized reports further documenting his abilities.

In any case, thanks for supplying a kick of realism back into the picture.

~~~
randomwalker
Whoa.. I think you've got me confused with the person who wrote the Tammet
article?

~~~
whacked_new
Oh dear, HAHA, you're right! I was thrown off by "see also my ..." :-P

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redsymbol
I wrote a couple of short math books on a related topic:
<http://hilomath.com/>

They're different in that they focus on more abstract math - algebra and
calculus. In other words, how to solve algebra equations mentally, and how to
do calculus operations mentally. Most books I've seen about "mental math" are
actually about "mental arithmetic". While I personally see value in it, there
is more to math than that.

Actually, I'd love any feedback people may have - both from an educational
standpoint, if you have taught algebra and calculus; and from a business
standpoint - the two math books are the two products I have now, and I'm
thinking about how to better monetize it all, perhaps developing a larger
study course kit. Thanks in advance.

(By the way, let me say right away that I'm not claiming to be unusually
talented at math, because I'm not... just a typical engineer. Probably most
people with an engineering or hard science degree (mine is in physics) will
not find much new in the books. I just examined how I and some others solve
algebra and calculus problems mentally, and attempted to explain how to
replicate it.)

EDIT: see also <http://blog.hilomath.com/>

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sireat
Still, those kind of "tricks" are great to teach schoolchildren, IF it gets
them interested in mathematics.

For example, it is actually not that hard (just takes practice/time like
everything else) to multiply random 3 or 4 digit numbers:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachtenberg_system> (great story behind it, as
well)

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logjam
Rapid calculating has about as much to do with real mathematics as double-
entry accounting has to the Tao, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what this
fuss is really all about.

~~~
HSO
Agree. There are some areas where numerical affinity is correlated to actual
work being done, say in number theory, but I've seen professional
mathematicians stumble over much lesser calculations. Without detracting from
the auteur's own talents and achievements, it is of note that he teaches
middle school math and is not working on actual research problems.

