Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica’s Post

#throwbackthursday: Mental arithmetician Wim Klein was a true mathematical prodigy, capable of swiftly performing the most intricate calculations. He joined the Mathematical Center, the precursor to CWI, in 1952. Computers were still in their infancy, and much of the computation work could be done more rapidly by human calculators like Klein. Klein also made appearances showcasing his abilities, such as in this photo taken during the International Congress of #Mathematicians in 1954. In the late 1950s, he left the Mathematical Center to join the international physics laboratory CERN in Geneva. Eventually, Willem Klein's mental #arithmetic skills became obsolete due to the increasing speed of electronic #computers, and he went down in history as 'the last human computer.' Klein continued to showcase his calculating prowess on stage and even earned multiple entries in the Guinness Book of World Records. One notable mention was for extracting the 13th root of a hundred-digit number in less than a minute and a half. Source: Huygens Instituut

  • Wim Klein shows his remarkable talent for mental arithmetics during the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1954.
Izak van Langevelde

Freelance Illustrator at Studio Mest & Mist

8mo

Wim Klein was brutally killed, and the murder remains unsolved.

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