BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Calculating Prodigies in the Nineteenth Century: Science as Specta
 cle or Real Skill? - Benedikt Loewe (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20250129T153000Z
DTEND:20250129T170000Z
UID:TALK225319@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:\n\n\nA calculating prodigy\, or mental calculator\, is someon
 e who can mentally perform mathematical operations involving very large nu
 mbers or very fast mental calculations. From the nineteenth to the beginni
 ng of the twentieth century\, this phenomenon met with considerable intere
 st\, and several calculating prodigies became famous enough for us to trac
 e their careers. They found themselves at the crossroads of three worlds: 
 the world of entertainment\, where their skill at juggling numbers was adm
 ired\; the world of the brain and psyche\, where their peculiarities were 
 explained and used to better understand how the brain functions\; and fina
 lly\, the world of mathematics\, where the reproducibility of their method
 s and their potential as future scientists were of interest. By examining 
 the commonalities in their trajectories\, this article explores the images
  and practices behind the development of numeracy\, at the intersection of
  reasoning and calculation\, in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century We
 stern societies.\n\n\n
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Newton Institute
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR