The Tucumcari news. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1906-10-13
MINDS FOR FIGURES.
PReCocIous YOUTHS WHO HAVE
BEEN MATHEMATICAL WIZARDS.
George Parker Biddc Was About tho
Only One Of These infant ProdisieS
whose freak Taients Beca ne Real-
~ Useful In After Life.

~ Useful Il After Life.
George Parker Bidder was one of the
most remarkable mathematical gen.
fuses aud was about the only one
whose talents were really useful in
later life and followed up his preco
cious youth with u successful man
hood.
Bidder was born In 1906 at Morton
Hampstead, in Devonshire. England,
where his father carried on a small
business as q stonemason. When only
four years old Bidder showed u most
extraordinary ability for calculation.
His peculiar talents Dol attracted
general attention, and his father found
1t more profitable to travel about the
country and exhibit his son as the
calculating phenomenon" than follow
his humble trade. The boy was taken
to London, and his peculiar talents
were Investigated by the most learned
men of his time, whom he astonished
by the rapidity with which he an
swered the most difficult questions.
The following question was solved by
him in forty seconds: Suppose the
bali at the top Of st. Peters cathedral
to be six feet In diameter. what did
the gliding cost ut 3ka pence per square
inch 7" The answer, f287 los. Id. was
given before the examiner had time to
put the figures of the example on pa
per. The following question was an
swered in sixty seconds: Suppose O
city to be illuminated with 5000 lamps,
each lamp to consume n pint of oil
every four hours In succession, how
many gallons would they In
forty years." The answer contains
nine figures, 160,4S9,O50 gallons. An
other curious question was, Suppose
the earth to consist of OIL 100000 in
habitants and suppose they die in 80
years 4 months, how many have re
turned to dust since the time of Adam.
computing it to be 1850 years." This
problem offered no difficulties to the
lad, who nonchalantly ratified off the
answer In less than thirty seconds.
Fortunately for the boy, he attracted
the attention of some eminent schol-
airs, who had him educated at Gambler
well and afterward at Edinburgh,
where he carried Off all the prizes for
the study of higher mathematics. Aft
er his graduation from college he pur-
sued the profession of engineer and be-
came associated with Robert Stephen
son and assisted In constructing the
Birmingham railway. Later in life he
entered parliament, and many stories
are told of Bidders wonderful skill In
detecting a flaw In some set Of elabo-
rate calculations. He died at Dart.
mouth In 1878.
Another extraordinary child was Ze-
rah Colburn, who was born at Cabot.
VT. In 1904. His remarkable genius
for abstruse mathematical problems
was displayed at an early age, and
when eight years old he solved the
most difficult problems by the mere
operation OF his mind. Asked by an
eminent mathematician to give the
square. OF 900 800. he replied almost in.
stantly. giving the figures 900, 90s ,000..
COOL. without any hesitation. He OBJ.
served that he produced the result by
multiplying the square Of 37,o37 by the
square Of 81. He was then asked to
multiply the answer twice by 40 and
)nce by rs. a task which he accomplish
ed In less than two minutes. although
the answer consists of seventeen fig.
ures. In Ave seconds he gave the cube
root OF ala, 9o3. 34s ,677. and to all ques.
tons OF a similar nature he succeeded
In giving correct Professors
and scientific men e~ndeavored to OBJ
tain a knowledge Of Colburn's methods.
but the boy declared hat he was un.
able to explain how the came
into his mind. He was ignorant Of the
commonest rules Of arithmetic and
could not solve a problem @ paper, not
even a simple feat In multiplication or
division. ColbWn's faculty Of compu.