
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Alex Bellos is brilliant at all things mathematical, but even he can't hold a candle to the amazing mathematical feats of the supercalculators. Alex heads to Wolfsburg in Germany to meet the contestants at this year's Mental Calculation World Cup. These men and women are the fastest human number crunchers on the planet, able to multiply and divide large numbers with no need to reach for a smart phone, computer or calculator. So how do they do it, and is it a skill that any of us can learn? Alex talks to Robert Fountain, the UK's two-time winner of this prestigious prize, about his hopes for this year's competition and the mathematical magicians of the past who have inspired him. He also meets Rachel Riley, Countdown's number queen, to find out what it takes to beat the countdown clock.
Picture: The Supercalculators, Credit: Alex Bellos
By BBC World Service4.4
940940 ratings
Alex Bellos is brilliant at all things mathematical, but even he can't hold a candle to the amazing mathematical feats of the supercalculators. Alex heads to Wolfsburg in Germany to meet the contestants at this year's Mental Calculation World Cup. These men and women are the fastest human number crunchers on the planet, able to multiply and divide large numbers with no need to reach for a smart phone, computer or calculator. So how do they do it, and is it a skill that any of us can learn? Alex talks to Robert Fountain, the UK's two-time winner of this prestigious prize, about his hopes for this year's competition and the mathematical magicians of the past who have inspired him. He also meets Rachel Riley, Countdown's number queen, to find out what it takes to beat the countdown clock.
Picture: The Supercalculators, Credit: Alex Bellos

7,877 Listeners

854 Listeners

1,074 Listeners

5,576 Listeners

1,801 Listeners

1,766 Listeners

1,041 Listeners

2,005 Listeners

603 Listeners

753 Listeners

93 Listeners

407 Listeners

426 Listeners

821 Listeners

766 Listeners

746 Listeners

231 Listeners

363 Listeners

474 Listeners

241 Listeners

3,215 Listeners

790 Listeners

116 Listeners

1,014 Listeners