Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 13, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Jun 13, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Karnataka |
 |
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary |
Karnataka
-
Bangalore
THE NUMBER CRUNCHER: Kurien Thomas BANGALORE: Who among us does not require a calculator to find out the cube of 6,789? Well, 63-year-old retired engineer Kurien K. Thomas needs a mere 19 seconds to crunch those numbers to arrive at the 12-digit answer. It takes him less than that to find the cube root of 4716275733 — a phenomenal nine seconds. As a step towards meeting his goal to make his entry into the Limca Book of Records, he demonstrated his mathematical skill before a small gathering of nearly 25 persons here recently. He gave correct answers for all 13 problems, maintaining an average time of 20 seconds to 30 seconds for each problem. Mr. Thomas says he has been working on his skills since 2004, when he opted for retirement. Born and brought up in Dharwad, he studied in the Kannada-medium up to Class 10. After graduating from the B.V. Bhommaraddi College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli (1966), Mr. Thomas worked in Kochi till 1978 before shifting to Bahrain. While he can find the cube root of any number up to 15 digits in 25 to 50 seconds, any number beyond 15 digits can take him up to 50 seconds to 70 seconds. Square roots, squares… and he is quick enough to answer them. Mr. Thomas says: “I can do many calculations mentally for which I have devised my own methodology, which is not available in any text.” But what if the given figure is not a perfect square or cube? Mr. Thomas is confident that he can answer with 99 per cent accuracy. “My passion for mathematics began during my schooldays,” he says. What does he have to share with those who wish to acquire his feat? “The brain should always be used, otherwise it will grow idle,” he replies.
Printer friendly
page
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | Publications | eBooks | Images | Home |
Copyright © 2008, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
