A LIGHTNING CALCULATOR.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 86, 24 May 1879, Page 2

A LIGHTNING CALCULATOR.

The following are eitracta from a letter of Mr. Q. Bidder (eldest son of the late Mr. Gk P. Bidder, the famous calculator). They are curious, aa showing the strange power of these " lightning " feats. "No one who kuew anything of my father would have classed him among the mediocrities, as the wncer of the article in the Spectator did. He was distinguished throughout his whole life by remarkable-mental powers, as well as his capacity for taking broad and accurate views of all questions on which he was engaged, and his opinion was greatly sought after and relied on, both in commercial and engineering rrutters. It would take too long to enumerate all the undertakings initiatedand carried through by him, but I may, as examples, refer to the Electric Telegraph Company, of which he was one of the original founden, and amongst the first to perceive the importance of the telegraph aa a means of communication. The magnificent Victoria Docks, at North Woolwich, and I might say the whole of that bow populous district, were the creations of his mind. He was called mad for proposing to construct docks away from London, in what were then marshes and water-mea-dows, but he had formed a just estimate of the capabilities of the position, and not only succeeded in carrying out his ideas, by the oonatruotion of the docks (a work of great engineering skill), b>ii had such confidence in their future that he persuaded the dock company to buy at the time sufficient land for their extension to treble their original sise, and this extension is now being carried out. He was consulted, as one of a committee, by the Admiralty with reference to the best types of ihips-of-war, And by the Chancellor of the .Exchequer upon certain very ingenious alterations in taxation. Aa to his arithmetical power* and prooeeees, the Utter are described by him in a lecture which he delivered at the Institute of Civil Engineers, in the session of 1855-56, when vice-president. From his earliest years be appears to have trained himself to deal with aotual objects, instead of figures—at first, by using pebbles or nuts to work out his sums. fa my opinion, he had an immense power of realising the aotual number. In multiplication his process was simply cross multiplication, [no as to get the answer figure by figure. I He was aided, I think, by two things--first, a powerful memory of a peculiar out, in which figures seemed to stereotype themselves without an oflort; and secondly by an almost inconceivable rapi-

dity of operation. I speak with some confidence u to the former of these faculties, as I ncesese it to » cormderable extent myself (though net to compare with my father). Professor Elliot say* he saw mental picture* of figures and geometrical diagram*. I always do. If I perform a sum mentally, it always proceed* in a visible form in my mind; indeed, I can conceive ao other way possible cf doing mental arithmetic. The .«eeond faculty, that of rapid operation, was no doubt congenital, but developed by incessant practj"r> fnd by the c-nrden;e thereby acquired. lam certain that unhesitating confidence is half the battle. In mental arithmetic it is most true that 'he who hesitates is lost.' Wheel speak of ' incessant practioe,' I do not mean deliberate drilling of set purpose; hut with my father, as with myself, the mental handling of numbers or playing with figure* afforded a positive pleasure and constant occupation of leisure moments. Even np to the last year cf cis life 'his age was 78), my fatter took dvgat i" working oat long and difficult F.ri&ssii! eal geometrical problems V/jm : .;'. lege he studied very carefully (asiiis»-. taboos' which I hive chew) the uirher mathematics, includi-g the differsstiai and integral oalaulus, but he tevscseemei fond of algebraic analysis. It is also worthy of record thet my father had in enormous store of facts, forrauae, aid constants relating to all manner "'goemetrical questions and physical oucjbc's, which were always ■vn'._i.i\n i.r tb'j reidy solution of problems elf-hex ia pare mathematios or in t'.;e appliw ti&ts cf mathematics to meqasafca, hydraulics, 4c In my opinion, thiajsa kind :A knowledge which is n;t hE.f-ippreciated. I have found continually immense advantage in having form ilm add constants ready to hsni. Ov oc» orwision, my father was ctlied ts e. witness ia en important railway :o-*ert i-v Parliament. The opposing ■oause.' ■':ra=''y took oxoeption to bin being siomitsd, en the ground tb.it it wai wall h:s powers were so unexampled that a'bady :ould cope with .«' cho.:k bin, -xd that to allow him to a? •:xam'.:rd*? .uld therefore place the othsr sila at it! •..». fair disadvantage. I c«d t -.:ly sty the objection dii no' z-z rail , At '.: (its other members </. myfcilioj'a 'a-r.ily, fcir. eldest brother (wuj ■'. minister) *os :,ot .-omarkable r.... •, ;:tb.meticiau, bu. he • -A >•& .■ rcia>'.?7 memory xr Bibiicu texbt, v..d «":ui-j quo>: a'most *:.y <■/»;. l h- BI.Ij '.w. give ohapter tnd • ■-;■• • i.rth x : rather was an nxcelle.n . auth >xusM.i,: Hwas actuary : f ».!• RoyuiExol .Li . Assuraccj Oifi.i I oiy. .. r'.'cr.v pretty cxteusivt *rtt!.l/r.'. "1 .iculio !

mentally, bat I -ara:- .r^c ; •■ c: : proach even iisteatly teth-a rapidity or iocuraoy wife-, wkisi; ay f«th.c v< ri«d I have occuiioi-oiH m-iit.;-io. 15 Tt-j .:: by 15 ia my heed. u< '-.kT no ■■• log time, and 1 din n*r. ■:<:•■■.■ r. i rr-rs Last week, a'rt • -. -kiu!; '■ ?rr.fsKOr Elliot, I tried the ItoTnug •;. x. -. :;a i I lould o-iili <i: ii—--378,201.969,513 B*s 199,631057,265 413 Ana I got in my he*d '!>; -r.s-i, 75,576 ) 299,427,512 1 145 ; 197 597,a34.75i5, in which I think, if yaa tai:e ii» 1 •. to work it out, voa will fi" J war figures out of thfc 29 >.-e wr-Mj '\y ohihn;! show jonsiderablf., • ms.y s*y n>oi»; r.hia average, but tc.t axtracrohsr-- ;svore -.•:' dainr m&atal enihmc i:''