Human Brain versus a Supercomputer

Dear Dr. Lim

I don't need to understand Mandarin to appreciate this.  What a Genius this Chinese Youngster is !!! I Awesome and Amazing…Simply fantastic.....

The Human Calculator...... !?!

Check out the amazing mathematical talent of this Chinese youngster

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2123538422915

Dear Palan,

Thank you for the video on this math prodigy from China. It was lodged there for some time and I did not get to read it until about 3 days ago until I scrolled it down.  A lot of mails were also the same. They all were hidden below the screen due to other junk mails that occupy a lot of screen spaces. Thanks anyway.

In exchange, I have written my opinion. It is lengthy, so please take your time to read as it took me almost 2 days typing my thoughts. 

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Most students from Chinese schools are exceptionally good at mathematic. But this boy went beyond being an ordinary Chinese math student. I think he is a math wizard extraordinary. 

Unlike doctors, and biological scientists, engineers generally are very good in mathematics. So I asked my youngest daughter who is both from Chinese school and an engineer on the possibility of mentally calculating such complex numbers so fast.

She told me there is a way, but need to be trained from young. 

Since she was unable to prove or show it to me, I do not believe her. I need to think of some alternative possibility. 

The alternative is, this boy in the video is not a human being.  I think he is from another world with another brain far more advanced than ours. I sense he is an alien who went to China disguised as a Chinese in human form. 

No human brain from this earthly world could possibly calculate such a complex arithmetic at that speed.  Do we believe he has a human brain? 

Let me explain. 

The Human Brain:

An average human adult has about 100,000,000,000 brain cells. Let me cut short a calculation in neuroscience to inform ourselves a human brain can execute 20 million billion (20 million, million, million) calculations per second. 

That is fast – exceedingly fast indeed. But that’s not the point. No computer on Earth, not even the world’s fastest supercomputer in Tianjin, China is able to supersede the speed of a human brain for multiple complex functions except for mental arithmetic.

China's Tianhe supercomputer calculates at a drizzling speed of 33.86 petaFLOPS, or 33.86 quadrillion floating point operations per second.  That’s superfast. 

Very impressive though for China, but the human brain is far more complex in structure and function than that. Why? The human brain has a complex network of billions of neurons (nerve cells) and a ramification of neurons and neurotransmitters that receive and send out neurotransmissions, signals, messages and instructions to the entire body every second of our lives. 

The CPU:

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) of an ordinary desk top computer is 5 million times faster than the speed of a single neuron. But our brain is not made of a single neuron, but 100,000 million of them. 

Collectively, this means an average human brain can process information 20,000 times faster than an ordinary desk top computer. That’s the horrendous speed for a human brain. That’s even more impressive. 

The brain is extremely complex. It has to perform multiple complex operations such as the control of speech, hearing, vision, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle coordination, decision making, responding to a threat or an injury. This is far beyond what a supercomputer, let alone a home computer or a mere calculator can do.

Biological Orchestra:

Besides, it also indirectly controls the endocrine organs through innervations (nerve supply) to these organs in order to control the secretion, amounts, inhibition, and regulatory control of hormones to the body as well as changing the body chemistry so that the entire body can function in a balanced and orderly manner (in homeostasis).

For instance, the master gland called hypophysis (pituitary gland) is an elongated appendage of the brain that secretes numerous hormones, as well as controlling other endocrine glands in order to regulate the biochemistry of the body.

The pituitary gland is aptly called the “conductor of the endocrine orchestra”

Thus, the brain is not created to perform mental arithmetic like a computer or a calculator.    

The brain has to ‘calculate’ and coordinate the complexities of all kinds of physical, chemical, sensory, motor and other bio-mechanisms exceedingly fast in order for the entire body can stay defended,  alive and protective. 

Conducting mental arithmetic is not part of brain’s function, let alone calculating complex equations very fast like a calculator. A calculator is made to do just this single function. 

A Life without Arithmetic:

In fact a human being can live his entire genetic life span without doing a single mental arithmetic.  So do all animals with brains. None of the animals in the wild we know do arithmetic unless trained to do very simple additions and subtraction in a circus or in an animal show. The rest of the animals can live their entire life spans in the wild or in captivity without calculating anything. So do primitive people.

Other biological functions controlled by the brain to sustain life take precedence over mathematics. 

Priority: 

Let me give you a simple example how threats and injuries to the body takes priority over mental functions.  

Suppose you are deep in thoughts over some calculations, whether mental, or written. Let us say someone now touches your hand with a hot iron. Instantly you will lose your mental attention on what you are doing.

Your first instant reaction is to withdraw your hand from the hot iron. That is a reflex action.

The pain signal will not even have time to go to your brain to let it first decide.  The pain transmission will pass through the sensory neuron before it synapses across the spinal cord to the motor neuron to force your hand to instantly withdraw from the hot iron. 

When that protective action is done, part of the stimulus will travel to the brain to inform it what happened and the action taken. The pain from a hot iron will instantly causes you lose your mental concentration on arithmetic.  That evasive action takes precedence over whatever you are doing.

However in the absence of a threat, many other physiological functions such as heart and breathing rates maybe slightly slowed down when we are in deep thoughts, during mental exercise and when meditation is in progress. Thoughts require attention and the rest of other physiological functions maybe very slightly affected.

Brain Power:

The brain albeit only 2 %  of our body weight, actually uses quite a significant amount of energy for all its activities compared to the energy requirements by the rest of the body. 

In order to summarize some studies by scientists specializing in brain nutrition or in neuroscience, the amount of energy a brain uses is about 20 % of the body’s energy requirements.  In absolute numbers, this is about 45 joules (10.8 calories) per hour or 0.75 joules (0.18 calories) each minute or 260 calories per day. 

 

However, since the brain’s function is manly electrical in nature, it uses very minute amount of electricity for its neurochemistry and neurotransmission to communicate with the rest of the CNS (Central Nervous System) instead of using heat energy.

Hence, we need to convert the heat energy (calories) into electricity (mini-watts).  Some heat energy is used for metabolic and cellular dynamics and kinetics and to keep the brain warm and alive.  

Extrapolating this energy transfer, we can say the brain uses about 0.003 calories per second. This is 0.0125604 watt-sec or 12.5 milliwatts of electricity per second. Even that must be a highly active thinking brain I should say. The tiny electrical activity in the brain can be shown on an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Compare this to about 1800 calories a day requirement for an average adult male for heat production, heartbeat, breathing, locomotion, biochemical activities, and other active physical work. 

This means the brain energy consumption is about 14 -20 % of the body’s requirements. 

Another estimate puts the energy consumption of a human brain around 12 watts for the whole day or a tiny 0.000138 watt-second or 0.138 milliwatt (mW) per second.  I believe is more comfortable estimate.  

How to Measure Brain’s Energy:

Since there are a number of estimates given by various researchers on how much energy a thinking brain actually uses, there is nothing like investigating this yourself. But how do we do this? 

Let us give ourselves one possibility how this could be done – at least this would be the way I would do it. You need not follow my procedure. You can use your brain to think of other alternatives. This is my way of measuring:  

1.   First, we would take blood samples from the carotid arteries from the neck, the arteries that run up to the brain.

2.   Next, we would analyze the nutrient content, especially glucose, oxygen and carbon dioxide contents in the blood

3.   Next, we will draw blood again, this time from the jugular veins that exist from the brain back to the heart after discharging its glucose, fatty acids, amino-acids, and determine the remnants of oxygen-carbon dioxide ratios into and out of the brain. Again we will analyze and measure their contents using various analytical techniques. 

4.   Next, we will determine the carotid-jugular (c-j) differences in glucose, oxygen-carbon dioxide contents and ratios, as well as the uptake of other nutrients?   

5.   Next, we will compare this difference among various humans and with other experimental animal models.

6.   Next, we will calculate out how much glucose (in particular) has being used up (metabolized) by the brain from this c-j differences

7.   Next, we will calculate out how much heat energy has been released in the combustion (metabolism) by knowing caloric values of every nutrient as we normally do in a bomb calorimeter. 

8.   Next, we will conduct an autopsy of the brains of each animals being sacrificed in this medical experiment to determine their brain sizes.

9.   Next, we will use exactly the same animal or human and measure their body weight, age and sex, and compare their intelligence with their brain-body weight ratios, etc, etc.

10.                Next, we will do a correlation study to determine the oxygen consumption, nutrient uptake and match them against  brain sizes, brain tissues morphology and histology, and the intelligence of each experimental animal

11.                Next, we can even trace the metabolic dynamics on how exactly the sugars are being used by the brain tissues for electric activities and mental work. This, we can map out  using radioactive tracers such as radioactive carbon tags or radioactive labels on sugar molecules, and see where they go after entering the brain. 

12.                Next, we will perform a statistical analysis to determine what the coefficient of correlation (Pearson's measure) among the variables, or would it be a scatter-gram?

13.                Next, we can determine if there are statistical differences in all the comparative studies by determining their P values (example P<0 .05="" span="" style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  

14.                Next, if we have sufficient similar studies done elsewhere, we will combine all the results, and conduct a meta-analysis to determine how much energy the brain actually uses under varying physical, mental and physiological states.

Actually if anyone is interested, this suggestion of mine can be used by him or her to get, not just one, but 2-3 PhDs by registering with various universities, and write different thesis.

 There will be more than sufficient data in this study for a few PhDs. It all depends on how he / she manipulates with the data for statistical analysis and interpretation.  

Energy consumption:

Back to our original discussion; out of the total amount of energy our brain uses (as determined by other scientists using other procedures), approximately 60 to 80 percent is for mental work, namely for neural signaling. 

Not surprisingly, the percentage is higher in children whose brains are still developing intellectually. Scientists found the brain of an infant consumes about 3/4 of available energy, and a 10 year old child, about 1/3.    

Unfortunately the brain of an adult requires even lesser energy. Maybe the brain of an adult does not think anymore.

Perhaps an adult’s brain has gone into doldrums and despair once he leaves school or a university. He does not want to learn or think anymore. 

The Supercomputer:

Whatever the figure, the brain is a highly efficient organ, far more competent and dazzling than even a supercomputer. Remember what I said earlier, it is our brain that created the world’s fastest supercomputer, not the other way round. Let me now compare the energy requirements of a supercomputer.

 

The IBM's Watson supercomputer requires ninety IBM Power 750 servers, each of delivering 1000 watts.  That is 90 000 watts or 0.09 Megawatts.

China has the world fastest supercomputer. Her Tianhe-1 supercomputer consumes more than 4.04 Megawatts (4,040,000 watts or 4040 kW) of electricity. 

So we can now understand how little electricity our brain uses. Of course a modern calculator that can calculate complex math equations uses very little electricity. In fact it works on penlight batteries. 

Do Not Disturb:

The tiny amount of energy we use in thinking, calculating or doing mental arithmetic cannot be distracted away, else we no longer can think properly. Let me give an example.

A student who is studying or taking an exam cannot be distracted by noise, people talking, laughing, someone shouting, or by any other disruption, otherwise he cannot concentrate. 

That is why in an examination hall when students take an exam, measures are normally taken to ensure the hall and the outside environment are kept silent without distraction.  No outside people are allowed near the hall. Traditionally we know this but we may not understand why, because we do not think anymore. 

Thinking brain vs. computer logic:

A computer or a calculator in contrast is entirely different. It has none of these biological functions to contend with.  Their only function is to process binary bits of zero and 1 which are binary digits using “off” and “on” switches and these are controlled by electronic “gates”.  This makes them remarkably faster than a thinking human brain that has to process a100 trillion neural, cellular and other biological signals per second. 

This is far more complex than binary bits of zeros and 1.

Computers and calculators do not have this biological ability.  

According to neuroscientists, our brain with its 200 billion neurons containing 125 trillion synapses in the cerebral cortex alone can process 20 million, million, million (20 trillion) calculations per second. This is another way of putting it. 

As I said earlier, if a human brain has no other function to perform except mental arithmetic, it can calculate far faster than even the most powerful computer on Earth. 

Which calculator or even a supercomputer can handle that kind of ‘living data’? 

A computer cannot recognize biological information such sugar and adrenalin levels in the blood, speech, hearing, vision, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle coordination, decision making, etc…etc. A human brain can understand complex logic, not a computer or a calculator. It is an entirely different scenario.

But if the task is just analyzing binary digits of 1 and zero, a computer can execute them far faster. Unfortunately, it is not capable of recognizing anything more than this.  It merely works by using ‘on’ and ‘off’ switches to activate a long series of ‘one’ and ‘zero’ to represent the digits such as the example below: 

·         0=00000000

·         1=00000001

·         2=00000010

·         3=00000011

·         4=00000100

·         5=00000101

·         6=00000110

·         7=00000111

·         8=00001000

·         9=00001001

·         10=00001010

·         Etc, etc

Data into Images:

A computer can also change images into data so that it can be read. But the image need to broken down into pixels. Images are made of millions of pixels. The more pixels an image contains, the sharper it is, and more details can be read by a computer. Each pixel represents one color.

Computer logic is quite lengthy to explain here, and it is quite different from the way our brain logically understands and plan, execute, and manage images, sounds, heat, light, and other stimuli through step-by-step operations.  Our brain is thus far, far more complex than a computer or a calculator on this alone.

How a brain thinks and calculates: 

The brain with its 100 000 million neurons receives and transmits electrical and chemical signals through its long ‘transmission wires’ (nerves fibres) that link it to the different parts of the body like the network of wires from one computer to the next. The brain is counterpart of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a computer.

The “wiring” from the brain to the rest of the CNS is very complex with so many spinal nerves emerging from the spinal cord. Innervations to the various organs involves the neurons (nerve cells), which itself have the soma (body), axon (“wire”) and the dendrites (nerve endings). 

We will not go into intricate details all those complicated neurophysiology, neurochemistry and neurotransmission as they  involve DNA, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, ribosomes, myelin shield, peripheral sensory and motor nerves, myelinated and non-myelinated neurons, etc, etc. 

Learning this during my student days gave me headache, let alone trying to explain them here after so many decades.  However, we can briefly discuss this  below.

Anatomy of Neuroscience: 

Scientists tell us a human brain consists of some 200,000 million nerve cells (neurons) as mentioned earlier. These are linked together by trillions of connections called synapses.  Each time an electrical impulses discharge across a neuron, they have to pass through these synapses.

Each neuron is wired to 1000 different switches that route the electrical impulse.

In total, a human brain could hold hundreds of trillions of these neural pathways. All these “switches” and “wiring” make up the human brain.

The brain on a gross scale is made up of several larger compartments. Each compartment specializes in different neurological functions.  Let us look at some of these compartments briefly. 

Lobes of a brain:

These compartments are lobes in the cerebrum. The cerebrum is placed above the rest of the brain. It specializes in the control of oneself, in organization, in thoughts and reasoning. This is an outer part which is highly convoluted with a layer over it. This layer is called the cerebral cortex where most of the brain activities are performed. 

There are of course many lobes in the brain. For instance, there is a temporal lobe responsible for perception, recognition of hearing, memory, speech. The Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas are for the management of language, movement, and emotions. Problem solving in mathematics and science are located in this region. 

There is also the occipital lobe where visual stimulation is situated. Probably the most important area is the hippocampus at the basal part of the temporal lobe where things like learning and memory are located. 

There is also the thalamus mass of gray matter in the forebrain where sensory and motor functions are controlled. Practically all sensory stimuli enter here which is then sent to the cortex for processing. 

Memory, language ability, cognition, emotional characteristics are located in the frontal lobe.

The medulla oblongata is the lower segment of the brainstem. It controls autonomic functions, such as breathing and blood pressure and heart rate.

As mentioned earlier, these functions are controlled by 200,000 million nerve cells that are wired together by trillions of other connections called synapses. Which computer in this world has all these complex network of wiring and switches that can stretch from Earth to Jupiter? Only a human brain is capable of storing such highly complicated networking.

 

Interestingly for mathematical calculations and mathematical talents, this seems to be located between the right and left parietal lobes. Einstein brain seemed to be about 20 % wider in this area.

But suffice to say our brain is like a computer linked by cables to other terminals, except the brain and the CNS is far more complex than all the network of computers linked together. 

The Capacity of Human Memory: 

Let us look at how much memories can a human brain hold? 

Tom Landauer tried to estimate this in 1986. He inferred that the brain storage capacity is approximately about 200 megabytes of information. (Landauer,1986). The capacity depends on our age, learning capacity, education level and how intelligent we are. 

However, I feel that nurturing a child during his formative years is more important than if his brain is left alone to mature on its own by nature. It is Nurture versus Nature.

Landauer derived at 200 megabytes in part by looking at the speed at which people could acquire information through reading as well as by looking at pictures. He examined rates at which people forget things, and the amount of information adults requires in order for people to perform their day-to-day duties. 

The data he got in gigabits, not gigabytes, were 1, 0.8, 3, 0.4, 2.0, 1, 0.4 and 0.5 gigabits. If averaged out, and divided by 8, it generates 227 MB. 

 

Since the brain has between 10¹² and 10¹⁴ neurons, this implies that for each bit of memory, the brain mobilizes 1,000 to 100,000 neurons. 

But that does not mean the brain uses them only for memory or mental work.  A major part of the brain’s role is for perception, motor control, and other regulatory functions as already mentioned. 

A Trillion Nerve Cells:

Scientists tell us that a human brain consists of some 200,000 million nerve cells (neurons) that are linked together by trillions of connections called synapses.  Each time an electrical impulses discharge across a neuron, they have to pass through these synapses. 

Each neuron is wired to 1000 different switches that route the electrical impulse. I need to repeat these few sentences several times above and here to impress ourselves.

In total, a human brain could hold hundreds of trillions of these neural pathways. 

All these “switches” and “wiring” make up the human brain which in turn is made up of several larger compartments that specializes in different neurological functions.  Let us look at these compartments briefly. 

The Lobes:

These compartments are lobes in the cerebrum. The cerebrum is placed above the rest of the brain. It specializes in the control of oneself, in organization, in thoughts and reasoning. This is an outer part which is highly convoluted with a layer over it. This layer is called the cerebral cortex where most of the brain activities are performed.

There are of course many lobes in the brain. For instance, there is a temporal lobe responsible for perception, recognition of hearing, memory, speech. The Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas are for the management of language, movement, and emotions. Problem solving in mathematics and science are located in this region. 

There is also the occipital lobe where visual stimulation is situated. Probably the most important area is the hippocampus at the basal part of the temporal lobe where things like learning and memory are located. 

There is also the thalamus mass of gray matter in the forebrain where sensory and motor functions are controlled. Practically all sensory stimuli enter here which is then sent to the cortex for processing. 

Memory, language ability, cognition, emotional characteristics are located in the frontal lobe.

The medulla oblongata is the lower segment of the brainstem. It controls autonomic functions, such as breathing and blood pressure and heart rate.

As mentioned earlier, these functions are controlled by 200,000 million nerve cells that are wired together by trillions of other connections called synapses. Which computer in this world has all these complex network of wiring and switches that can stretch from Earth to Jupiter? Only a human brain is capable of storing such highly complicated networking. 

Interestingly for mathematical calculations and those with mathematical talents, this seems to be located between the right and left parietal lobes. Einstein brain seemed to be about 20 % wider in this area. 

Brain is more Superior: 

As mentioned earlier, China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer is the fastest in the world. It calculates at 33.86 petaFLOPS (33.86 quadrillion floating point operations per second, and yet with its awesome calculating speed, it is said its computing power is less than 1% the power of a human brain.  Why is this so?

Why is it so tough for even the world fastest supercomputers to match the computing power of a human brain? Simply put:

1.   It is a human brain that created a supercomputer, not the other way round. The human brain is a superior thinking brain over an inferior creation? A supercomputer does not have that kind of fantastic volume of ‘wiring’ of neurons as a human brain. 

2.   As I have explained, a human brain has hundreds of thousands of other vital functions to manage every second of our lives. A computer or calculator need not have to do all these. It can only recognize binary bits. It cannot perform highly complex assortment of biological functions. 

3.   A computer or a calculator can shut down if not needed, but a living body cannot afford even a short moment of biological rest. If it does, it will irreversibly shut down the entire body systems. 

4.   The brain tolerate no more than 3 minutes of anoxia (without oxygen). It dies after that. A calculator or a computer can shut down anytime after saving the data. A brain once shut down losses all data and memory.

In brief, no calculator, computer, supercomputer, or artificial intelligence or robotics can parallel, let alone supersede a human brain in thinking, cognition, intellect, in language, art, science, mathematics, philosophy, rationality, reasoning, intuition, and logic. 

Scientists have already created robotics to do multiple tasks, including doing housework, serving as waiters, exploration, seeking out bombs and dangerous areas, medical applications like surgery and tiny probes into the body for investigation, and even for military operations and cyber wars…etc.

But all these robots still need to be programmed by humans for each task. However, attempts have been made to create thought-controlled  prosthetic limbs by  implanting electrodes connected to the bones and nerves of amputees so that the artificial limb can be controlled by thoughts. But that still requires the human brain to control the prosthetic to function at the will of the wearer. It cannot think on its own. Nerve impulses still need to come from the brain to the prosthetic limb telling it what to do. The brain is still the master, the artificial limb, the servant. 

They are also now trying to create artificial intelligence and robots that can think for themselves. That might still be light years away. Meantime none of these ‘thinking robotics’ can match a human brain in thinking.  

1.   A  living brain is created by God,

2.   A human brain in turn invents artificial intelligence.

3.   No way can we beat a Supreme Being who created us in the first place.

4.   In turn, no way can a computer create a human brain.

5.   Any  brain  that calculates as fast as a calculator or faster does not belong to a human species

It’s an Alien Brain:

Notwithstanding the amazing calculating speed an electronic calculator, you will notice even the electronic billboard shown in the video took some moments to calculate the results.  That genius boy took slightly longer. He is a super wizard in mental calculations. We can envisage the power of his brain which is so uncharacteristic of a human brain. 

He must be an alien from another world in human form? I do not think he is from China either. In the past there were a few such math prodigies from India and elsewhere who can calculate complex calculations within several seconds. We are not sure how their brains work? 

Continuous Calculations:

I wonder if that boy can perform mathematical “iteration” which normally can only be performed by a supercomputer. Do not confuse the term “iteration” with “integration” in integral calculus. 

Iteration in math means substituting an intermediary result in an equation back into the original formula because of shifting parameters in an ongoing reaction.

Examples are the changing parameters taking place in the interior of the Sun, or in the stars, or in a nuclear reaction where scenarios change in pico, femto or in attosecond. A supercomputer has to catch up with the recalculations as the parameters change. That’s is “iteration” 

Supercomputers are also used in stimulating the creation of the Universe during the first few seconds in beginning of time. It is used also in molecular designs of drugs, weather patterns, space flights, etc, etc.

These applications require powerful supercomputers to execute, the faster the computer, the better “to keep up” with changing limits during exceeding fast reactions. 

A Test on Myself: 

Just to test myself how fast I am able to calculate out a complex equation using a calculator (not mentally), I randomly generated out an equation, and noted the time I needed to perform it. 

Here is the arithmetic I randomly generated just for fun.

In (8.9³⁷) x log (789 853) ÷ ³⁹ √ (569 815 893 17) - ⁴⁷ √ (789 696 548 0455)¹⁹ + ³⁹ √ 569 815 893 17 + ¹³√ (log 723 094 379 128)⁶⁷ - 5π¹³ =??? (π^{13 =} Pi ¹³)

Even using a scientific calculator it took me some 20 minutes, not because the calculator was slow, but I was. But why was I slow? 

First, I have not used a calculator to perform such calculations before. It has no practical applications, except for academic interest. Hence, I am not familiar with keys I hardly use.

Second, I think hardly anybody uses a calculator to perform this sort of arithmetic in their daily life. Almost everyone use a calculator just to add, divide, multiple and divide for buying and selling their merchandise. That’s all most of us do. 

Hardly people go beyond simple arithmetic except for rocket scientists, physicists, chemists, research scientists, engineers, biometricians, or doctors conducting medical research. They need to handle biomedical and statistical analysis or complex mathematical equations.  

Third, I need to locate and understand which keys to use, and how to operate them

Fourth, I need to take care where I place the brackets and the order I need to input the figures into the calculator.  They must be placed in their right sequence, example: what is within the bracket must be calculated first. 

Fifth, I need to study the order of the log, In (log_e), multiplication, division, nth root (ⁿ √), exponential (xⁿ), addition, minus signs and the brackets placed before and after them. This takes time even with a calculator. 

The equation is quite complex, and if the figures are not keyed in the right order, the results will be erroneous.

Fun with Math:

Most youngsters use their smart phones to play games, but hardly anyone uses a calculator to figure out answers for a complex equation just for fun. 

To me meddling with a calculator is like engaging in a game of chess to determine every move. The results can be very interesting and rewarding (to me).

I found it took me some 10 minutes just to understand the special math keys I seldom use.

Then it took me another 10 minutes just to key in those long digits. That slowed me down considerably. But the calculator can actually calculate the input very fast, except parts in the equation that is astronomically huge and complex, or it was processing add-on intermediary results.

Here is the answer to my math formula:

-         (minus) 14338588.44 

I have triple checked it, and the answer was consistent. But my answer may still be wrong if I erroneously input the long digits on specific keys.

Check it out:

Later after a few tries, I learn the right keys and the order of the inputs. I then managed to get the results within 2.5 minutes instead of the initial 20 minutes.

It was not the calculator that was slow, but it was my slow, old brain working. I believe my old brain energy output must be less than 0.1 milliwatt per second working out this self equation. 

Perhaps some young math wizards out there who are fast with calculations can check out my results. Let me know if mine was correct?

Try find out how long you take to calculate out the formula by first attempt (use a scientific calculator). Time yourself, and repeat it after many tries. 

Mine was over 20 minutes first shot, but it was shorten to 150 seconds after learning the right keys. 

Most of the time taken during my first attempt, I was looking for the right keys, how to use them, and testing them out. Maybe you are more familiar using a calculator.

Good luck, and have fun with math like I do.

Just before I sign off, here's a U-tube of a superhuman who remembers events faster than a computer

Enjoy yourself with alien brains
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nki1uWTUNdI

lim juboo