Man gets 13th root in nine minutes

[A_Wanderer]

Phwoar

A BEARDED French university student has been hailed as the greatest human calculator after solving in under nine minutes the ultimate mental arithmetic challenge: finding the 13th root of a 200-digit number.
Watched by official timekeepers, Alexis Lemaire, 24, a computer science student from Reims, took just 513 seconds to work out the 16-digit number that multiplied by itself 13 times produces a 200-digit sequence. He was not allowed to use any aid or write or type anything.

Thirteenth roots have long been used as a test for records, because 13 is a prime number whose roots cannot be obtained by combining those of other numbers.

Mr Lemaire amazed mental mathematicians in December when he beat the record for finding the 13th root of a 100-digit number in 3.62 seconds, against 13.55 previously.

The student, who is learning 40 languages simultaneously in his spare time, has promised to reveal part of his technique. Would-be challengers are directed to the website www.13throot.com.

From The Times of London in The Australian

 

[beli]

Im in "ore" (mental spelling block) of your ability to attract people into your thread.

 

[Angela Harlem]

beli, calm down. it's 'awe'. sheesh!

 

[beli]

beli, calm down. it's 'awe'. sheesh!

Thank you.

Thats been annoying me all afternoon.

 

[foray]

Wow, I thought only Malaysians used the expression "phwoar".

foray

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Im in "ore" (mental spelling block) of your ability to attract people into your thread.

Ooh yeah, I had a brilliant comeback ready to post, and it's now useless!

 

[U2democrat]

what is "phwoar"?

 

[A_Wanderer]

An expression of amazement or disbelief

I suppose that in this case the guy enjoyed a prime root

If you don't get the root joke then refer to a dictionary of Australian slang.

root
noun (Sometimes offensive)

1. an act of sexual intercourse.

2. a person measured in terms of their sexual ability: a good root. --verb

3. to have sexual intercourse with.

4. a. to exhaust. b. to break; ruin.

5. to kick. --phrase

6. root for, to give encouragement to, or applaud, a contestant, etc. [originally US slang (late-19thC)]

7. root like a rabbit, to have a great deal of sex.

8. wouldn't it root you, an expression of annoyance, exasperation, etc.

 

[verte76]

Forty languages? Holy !!!

 

[nbcrusader]

I bet he's exhausted.....

 

[earthshell]

i hate it when people are lucky to be so smart...

 

[Se7en]

i'm usually exhausted after a square root.

 

[coemgen]

Me too. I need some gatorade after I do any math. I'm not bad at it, I just think it's boring. That's why I write.

 

[deep]

Me too. I need some gatorade after I do any math.

many have a cigarette

 

[U2democrat]

thanks for the explanation, A.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Thank you.

Thats been annoying me all afternoon.

It's like a concience or something, huh. Niggling at you, while all you can think about is the last sha...root.....nevermind, this is too much even for FYM