David Letterman Mathematics Genius Prodigy Daniel Tammet Math 3.14 Pi Day

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what I say will of goofy I'm I'm young but love that forever sooner look lovely over here in a charming way and a lovely beautiful woman yeah she is okay here we go our next guest is the subject of a fascinating new documentary called brain man it airs on the Science Channel please welcome Daniel Hammett ladies gentlemen all right I've ugh I've established my ignorance on the topic so help us if you can well how would one describe you okay um I miss event and what does that mean strictly speaking okay well there are different types of event I'm a participant religious but they just said it means somebody with exceptional mental abilities exceptional even in perhaps people without any problems I mean I had epilepsy as a small child and we believe that maybe the seizures kick something in in the brain I think so so without this a seizure you might not have had these abilities socially I guess and this is a good thing for you to be a severe is it correct yes yeah I mean it's it's a perfect is if there's a heaven he doesn't have any drawbacks it has lots of job what would be some of the draw by some of the minuses for this well I was recently diagnosed with Asperger's as well which is a high-functioning form of autism so what scientists who have studied me believe is that it's the epilepsy and the autism combined which has caused the user abilities and I have well well that's interesting that the two negative occurrences have actually produced this rare and rarified positive absolutely and and and how what are the symptoms that manifest themselves for Asperger's in terms of Asperger's its inability to socialize very easily a really strong and narrow interest in particular areas I've always loved numbers and I've always loved words and language as well and these are the two areas where I seem to have real ability to flourish and do well but at the expense of social interaction yes I mean it's got to use it's like you're doing just fine sitting here talking thank you that's very kind of you to say I mean you're too kind thank you no it's it's taken a long time I'm 26 now and I had two seizures when I was I think four or so as it did not recur just through the one episode there were several seizures I mean the first was very severe I almost died oh my yeah but as you grew older you seemed to grow out of them is that more or less a would cure yes that's right all right so let's add well now on what this has left you with and I just don't understand it what what can you do that everybody else can okay well last year on March 14 which is pi day in America pi day yes by day I love pie I I love pie - but it's not it's not your type of pie it's a mathematical number yeah yeah so I tied a what happens so I'm hired a where pi day is free 1-4 and those are the first numbers in the number 3.14 third month and whatever else autumn day yeah the third month 14th favor that's right so I recited PI which is an irrational number which means you can't express it as a fraction it goes on forever and ever I recited it for memory to over twenty two and a half thousand places and it took me five hours and we had lots of individual aters to check that I made no mistakes and it only took me a few weeks to learn number and it was really good because we raised lots of money for epilepsy charities in the UK and I really did show that being a servant and having these advantages and disadvantages shouldn't hold you back now it go back to the recitation of Pi it took you you say five hours to read how many digits roughly were in that number so I recited PI two twenty two thousand five hundred and fourteen decimal places it took me five hours and nine minutes and the hardest part of it was actually the physical side because I was like running a marathon in your head if you can imagine that it's just constant flow of numbers and I had some water and I had some Banaras and chocolate to keep my energy in it I like bananas yeah and and and and a and another another person not being asan Sivan could they have not committed this to memory yes they kind of good and people have done that but it's taken them years and I usually they have to have several attempts because right a big thing to do and you still remember it now yes happened yes yes I mean that the other thing when I'm learning numbers so what I'm doing is I'm visualizing numbers it's not when you look at a number and you look at say 43 you just see the number four and three but most people do but when I'm looking at a different numbers you know whatever number it is I'm seeing colors and shapes and textures it's something called synesthesia because my brain is working a such a way that I'm looking and also experiencing color so it's two senses combined so I haven't seen the show before I have to say in from London no and when I I I'm sitting with you naina marching you and I'm seeing you know a very handsome man I have to say well let me just say my number but I have to say you know you look like the number 1 1 7 well you look like 1 1 7 give her one one seven it's a handsome number it's tall it's it's a it's a lanky number a little bit wobbly little wobbly yeah and I'm full of Crisco now I uh what's the thing about birthdays is this like a party trick or is this something that demonstrates your savant ISM or power or whatever it is I mean some units my ok my birthday is it will guess my birthday is that worse how does it work I tell you what my birth tell me what your birthday April 12th yeah 1947 April 12 1940 a case oh you were born on a Saturday and do you know I don't know you don't know ok and you turn 65 in 2012 and that will be on the first day okay so you can with you a towel and a Thursday ah are you are you able to make some money with what you not being silly about it but are you at the show this is a rarified it's a gift isn't it shows rarefied one only a handful of people do this yeah I mean there's something like 25 savants in the land if people are studying you is that correct that's right there are scientists in America in California and also in places like Oxford and Cambridge in the UK who study me because what they're looking for is to see whether or not people anyone you know can do this whether or not it's learn numbers easier speak another language what's your birthday my birthday is January 31st 1979 you got a one in seven shot Wednesday went early it was a Wednesday Daniel it's a great pleasure to meet you III hope we expressed some of what it is you're capable of doing here the documentary is brain man and it will be on the Science Channel well good luck to you nicely thank you very much thank you thank you thank you ladies gentlemen back without feeding Tom

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Keywords: math genius, maths genius, mathematics genius, math prodigy, maths prodigy, mathematics prodigy, math savant, maths savant, mathematics savant, pi