When it comes to Pi (no, not the delectable circular meal), you'd have to be the human embodiment of a super computer to get its trillions of digits correct.
Most of us will be familiar with the first few – 3.14, how convenient.
Six-year-old Ishani Shanmugam recently recited the value of Pi up to 1,560 decimal places, breaking Singapore's national record in the process.
Purely from memory.
Accompanied by representatives from the Singapore Book of Records, Ishani sat in her living room, methodically reciting the digits of Pi, while the officials kept track of the numbers.
In just 10 minutes, the little girl managed to recite 1,560 digits, smashing the previous record of 1,505 digits set back in 2018, as well as 1,380 in 2013.
"But Ishani was so calm and collected. (The people from Singapore Book of Records) were asking her if she was nervous, but she said, 'I'm so excited, we can start now,'" her mother, Vennila Munusamy, told Singaporean news outlet The Straits Times.
Back in September 2020, Ishani could 'only' recite 409 digits from memory. But the determined little girl told her parents that she'd memorize more and more.
"We're really proud of her. We didn't expect her to get it on the first try as she had to get every single digit correct. After she broke the record, we shed some happy tears," her father, Shanmugam V. S., said.
According to Munusamy, Ishani developed a thirst for knowledge at the tender age of two. She would go on to read story books all by herself, and she even honed her memory skills by identifying the flags of 195 countries – developing a deep interest in science and geography.
While Ishani is now dedicated to her latest hobby – playing the piano – she vows to learn more Pi digits, hoping to break her own record in the future.
Congrats, Ishani!
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Cover image sourced from Vennila Munusamy / The Straits Times.
