Human Calculator

 
 
 

Vocabulary

talent fan (2) calculator
props human calculation
speed perform impressive
funny keep (2) demonstrate
push press (2) button (2)
fun convince know/knew/known
digit addition begin/began/begun
etc. plus (2) give/gave/given (2)
guy audience for instance
verify just (2) here we go
luckily date (3) divide (2)
odd multiply odd number
add point (2) decimal point
join pull (2) good/better/best
equal of course put/put/put
fast go back once again
prove enough keep going
vote chick (2) astounding
crazy definitely astonishing
congratulations

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Hello, my name is Yaashwin Saravanan, I’m 15 years old and I’m from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Judge: Got some fans here. I Don’t see any Props really. What’s your talent?
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: I am a human calculator and I’ll be performing some speed mental calculations.

David Foster, Judge: That doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that would pull chicks. Do you have a girlfriend?

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: No.
David Foster, Judge: Maybe after today. So why have you come to Asia’s Got Talent?
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: I want to prove that Math is actually a very fun and easy thing to do.
David Foster, Judge: That might be a little hard to convince the girls the math is fun. Let’s see what you got. Take it away.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: May I join you guys up on stage there?
David Foster, Judge: NO! Of course you can.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .


 
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Okay. So here’s a calculator. So you know how to use it, Right?
David Foster, Judge: I do.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: All right, good. Now let’s begin with some two-digit additions.
David Foster, Judge: Okay.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: So you’re going to be giving me the questions, for instance 54 plus 87 plus 96 etc, until I say the last number or something.

And you guys in the audience, you can use the calculator app in your phone and verify the answer with Mr. David Foster. Okay. All right. Thank you. Okay.

David Foster, Judge: All right, you ready? All right. Here we go.

46 plus 23 plus 89 plus 25 plus 14 plus 76.

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Okay, one more number.
David Foster, Judge: Plus 12.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Two-eighty-five.

Okay, that’s just the beginning.
David Foster, Judge: If I was a girl, I date you right now.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Luckily you’re not.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .


 
Okay, let’s go on to some multiplication: Give me a two-digit multiplied by a two-digit.
David Foster, Judge: Forty-five times twenty-nine.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: One three, oh five.

Okay, let’s try division. Give me a three-digit divided by one digit, and try using odd numbers so that you get those decimal points at the back.

Anggun, Judge: That’s more fun.

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Yeah.

David Foster, Judge: Five-eight-nine divided by seven.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Five-eight-nine divided by seven. Eighty four point one I . . .
David Foster, Judge: Let’s said it together, okay. Eighty-four point one, four, two, eight, five, seven, one, four, two, eight, five . . .
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Thank you, thank you. That’s just division.

The final take the best one of all, okay. I need to demonstrate a little.

Anggun, give me a two-digit number.

Anggun, Judge: Twenty-nine.

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Okay, 29 plus 29. Okay. What I’m gonna do is I’m gonna add this number 29 again and again and again.

So 29 plus 29 is 58; plus 29 is 87, plus 29 is 116 and so on.

Ok, so sir, your job is to just press these equal button, easy just verify the answer.
Okay, so would you like to pick another, different two-digit number?

Anggun, Judge: Seventy-four.
David Foster, Judge: Okay, 74 plus 74 . . .
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Equals to 148.
David Foster, Judge: Equals . . . And then do I have to keep that putting in plus 74?

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: No, no no: you just hit the equals button. 148 equal to 222, equal to, gonna get to 296. Once again. You’re gonna get 370.

David Foster, Judge: Yeah.

And it goes four, four, four.
David Foster, Judge: Yeah Five one eight six zero two six three six seven four zero eight one four eight eight eight nine six Two one zero three six one one one zero one one eight four one two, five one Three three, two, one four zero six.

Anggun, Judge: You’ve going too fast!
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Okay, I’m at 1406.
David Foster, Judge: I gotta go back. Keep going.

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: I’m at one four zero six.
David Foster, Judge: Yeah, keep going.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Okay one for oh I see one four zero one four eight zero one four zero one five five for Jesus one six to eight.
David Foster, Judge: Jesus.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: One seven zero two one seven seven six one eight five zero one. Nine, two four one nine nine eight two zero seven two two four six.
David Foster, Judge: Alright. Enough!

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .


 
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

David Foster, Judge: It was astounding: you are the human calculator. There’s no doubt about it.
Anggun, Judge: It was suddenly funny to watch you beating the calculator.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Thank you.
Jay Park, Judge: Yeah, I don’t like math, so what you do was very impressive.

David Foster, Judge: We’re gonna vote you ready for this.

Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Yes. I am.
Anggun. It’s a yes.
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Thank you.

Jay Park, Judge: I’m gonna say “yes”.

David Foster, Judge: You definitely getting the girlfriend after this airs. It’s a “yes for me!
Yaashwin Saravanan, Contestant: Thank you. Thank you.

Side Hosts: Oh my god. Congratulations.

David Foster: That was crazy.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

Math. Yaashwin is probably a middle aged professor at a university. True or false?

Arithmetic. For Yaashwin, is math very hard, difficult and boring?

Addition, Plus. Did Yaashwin stay on the stage or did he come to the judges’ table?

Subtraction, Minus. Yaashwin had a guitar and sang a song. Is this correct or incorrect?

Multiplication, Times. Did he perform subtractions? What math functions did he perform?

Division, Divide. Yaashwin used his smartphone to do calculations. Is this correct or incorrect?

Fractions. Was he fast or slow? Did he have to think very hard?

Percentage. Did the judges think Yaashwin was normal? Did they think he was ordinary? How did they vote?
 
 
 
Positive and Negative Numbers. Do you think Yaashwin is a polymath (genius), a savant, does he study very hard, or does he know some tricks or secret formulas?

Decimals, Decimal Points. I study math at school. Yes or no? If yes, what math do you study? Arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, calculus?

Geometry. Is math fun and easy, hard and difficult or in the middle? Are you the best math student in your class? Who is the best in math?

Trigonometry. Can math be made fun and easy to learn? How can math be fun and easy to learn?

Algebra. Is math very important in life? Do you need math for a good career?

Calculus. What might happen in the future?

Integrals, Derivatives. What could or should schools, universities, governments, businesses and students do?
 
 
 
 
 
 

Comments are closed.