Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-23

A MATHEMATICAL PRODIGY.
This Remarkable Ta!snt OF = HaIf- Vy,tte,
Negro Countryman

This Remarkable Ta!snt OF HaIf-vy,tted
Negro Countryman
Reuben Field, the mathematical prodigy
Of Lexington, who has attracted so much
attention, was born at Warrensburg, John
son county, about thirty years ago, and
possesses only slightly better intellectual
faculties than "BGnd Tom" "Reub'so
gift is made the more prominent by the
barrenness of his mind in other features.
He has no intelligence aside from his re-
markable manipulation of figures. Give
Reuben Field a problem, no matter
whether it be in decimal, compound or
vulgar fractions; it makes no difference
whether it is better suited to the rules of
short than long division; it is immaterial
whether there are ten figures or 700 in it;
whether multiplication or subtraction; and
he will, without the aid of paper or pencil,
give you the answer before the echoes of
your voice in propounding the question
have fully died away. He cannot read, he
cannot write. He does not know one
figure from another, and yet mentally, by
the gift which he possesses, he can solve
any problem submitted to him. AS "Blind
TOMS talent of repeating pieces of music
played in his presence for the first time by
many of the most brilliant performers in
the country has been tested, and always
with the result of making more wonderful
his great gift, so have learned mathemati-
clans tried to trap Field, but without sue
cess. To give him problem which one
himself could not solve would not deter
mine whether he was right or wrong, and
lest errors might be made the most diff
cult examples" in the higher arithmetics,
as well as others, originating with their
questioner and simple enough except for
their long array of figures, have been
hurled at him, and quick as IA fash would
come the answer, always correct
Give him the diameter of the wheel of
locomotive, and the distance between
| any two points-it makes no difference
how great the time spent in traversing
this distance-and you have hardly ceased
| speaking before he gives you the number
of revolutions the wheel makes in covering
the distance. Give him the distance and
the time and he will tell you the diameter
of the wheel. Tell him the dimensions of
a brick, and say to him wall is so many
feet long, so many high and so many
thick, and he promptly tells you how
many bricks are in the wall Not in a
reasonable length of time, as though cal
culating it, but instantly, and while
skilled accountants who have witnessed
| his feats have questioned the correctness
of his answers, they have found they were
in error and Renb was right whenever
they did SO. Tell him to multiply $685.
746, 322, l56 by rs, add 1882 and divide
by 60, and in less time than the reader
can calculate it Reub will have the answer
ready. These figures are only used as an
| illustration, but they are simplicity in it,
purest form compared to some submitted
to him. He has gray eyes, and, when not
engaged in exhibiting his strange gift,
they are entirely free of expression, as
though they were ofdead glass; but have
I him in the excitement of figures and a