If you've been looking through the posts, you'll note that, when it comes to Rubik's Cube videos, I prefer to post the more unusual attempts, such as this one. This entry certainly qualifies! This guy, known only as “ch604”, simultaneously tries to solve a Rubik's Cube and play DDR (abbreviation for Dance Dance Revolution)!

As you can see on this video, or the version of it at Google Video, the two feats never quite come together, but just the effort required for the attempt is amazing. Hopefully, he'll practice this a little more, and we'll see a more successful version in the future.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

On Dale White's Memory Made Easy site, there is some great footage of him memorizing a 28-digit number in 75 seconds! This is apparently a successful world record attempt, but there is no indication of any officials present to verify the record.

This video is from a site selling a memory course, with which I have no experience. Any questions about the course itself should, of course, be directed to the people who run the site.

Video Format:
Windows Media

Frank Wang is the author of a DVD lecture called Beauty and Mathematics. While I can't speak to the product itself, there are two videos on that page to which I wish to draw your attention.

First, there's the Birthday Paradox. Statistically speaking, in a gathering of 23 random people, there is a 50% chance that two people share the same birthday, which Professor Wang demonstrates.

Even more interesting to Grey Matters readers will be the Death-Defying Feat video. His life really isn't at stake, unless he screws it up. The feat itself is quite amazing, though. He asks someone to choose two 5-digit numbers, and to name them, but with the digits scrambled up (in other words, with the numbers not in the original order). The student is then asked to multiply the two chosen numbers together, and to give the answer scrambled up, with one digit missing. Despite the mixing of the numbers, even in the answer, Professor Wang is able to correctly give the missing digit!

No, the answer isn't given anywhere (except, I'd expect, on the DVD course), but I can tell you that the feat is much easier than it would appear to be. If you need hints to how it's done, you could either buy the DVD course, or read Harry Lorayne's new book, How to perform feats of Mathematical Wizardry.

Video Format:
QuickTime

Stefan Pochmann is German, but he really feels Canadian. He has several videos of his puzzle work available, but I'd especially like to draw your attention to his Rubik's Clock video.

Rubik's Clock, for those who aren't familiar with it, was a two-sided puzzle that featured 18 clocks (9 on each side), all of which only have hour hands. When you start, each of the 18 clocks point to various hours, and your challenge is to set all the clocks to 12 o'clock. The first obstacle you face is that setting the hour on one clock will always change one or more of the other clocks, as well. The other obstacle you face is the four buttons on the puzzle, each of which can be up or down, and which change the relationship of which clocks are affected by which other clock.

In the video link above, Stefan Pochmann solves this puzzle in only 10 seconds. If you want an idea of how maddening this puzzle can be, you can try the Javascript version for yourself.

Video Format:
Windows Media

Yes, we have yet another blindfolded Rubik's Cube solver. This one is named Richard Meyer. From what he says, this is his first time successfully solving the Rubik's Cube blindfolded on video.

Video Format:
Google Video

Here's a video that makes the performer seem like he can think of two things at once! This is Rubik's Cube Champion Shotaro Makisumi, also known as “Macky”. In this video, he's juggling two Rubik's Cubes with one hand, while solving a scrambled Rubik's Cube in his other hand!

You may recognize him from his blindfolded Rubik's Cube video (also linked to in this post).

Video Format:
Google Video

This is the first time I've ever posted a music video on this site, but this is something special. Klein Four is a musical group, consisting entirely of mathematics students from Northwestern University. The video above is the song for which they are most noted, “Finite Simple Group (of Order Two)”. You have to give it a listen!

This isn't their only music video, either. On their site, you can watch them perform Three-Body Problem, Just the Four of Us (Klein's Theme, version 1 and version 2), Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and The Twelve Days of Christmas, as well. Their Flash site offers access to even more of their videos!

Earlier this month, they also released Musical Fruitcake, their first CD, which is available through the Klein Four Store. The store and their site are both definitely worth a look!

Video Formats:
Flash
Windows Media
YouTube

I've mentioned Dr. Arthur Benjamin on my blog here and here, so when I started the video portion of Grey Matters, I was bound and determined to find video footage of him somewhere on the web. I'll tell you right now, it isn't easy.

However, I have finally found footage of him on the web! Dr. Benjamin's challenge in the video is to work out the answer to 89573 times 36475 in his head. The complete video itself is broken up into part 1 (above) and part 2. The video itself is somewhat choppy, but it is still watchable.

One thing from the video that may need explanation is the weird words he keeps throwing in, such as “uncle” and “totem” that don't seem to have anything to do with the math problem. These are the word equivalents of various numbers as determined by the use of the Major System of memory. Keeping an image of an “uncle” in your mind is far easier than keeping its equivalent (275) in your head. “Totem”, if you're curious, is helping him to remember the number 113.

There is also a full 20-minute lecture video by Dr. Benjamin available in RealPlayer format. This lecture is about game theory as applied to a game called “Le Her”.

On a related note, this newsletter suggests that video of Dr. Benjamin's “Mathemagics” lecture is available on MSRI site, but I haven't been able to locate it. “Mathemagics” is the name given to the performances and classes that Dr. Benjamin does in which he does complex math in his head.

When I had the honor of meeting Dr. Benjamin at the Magic Castle earlier this month, we talked briefly and had the opportunity to perform for each other. I demonstrated the Knight's Tour for him, allowing him to choose the starting and ending squares. In return, he demonstrated his amazing ability to square two-, three- and four-digit numbers in his head faster than I could do it on a calculator!

Update (6/1/06): I've found another video of Dr. Benjamin multiplying two 5-digit numbers in his head. In this Windows Media movie, he doesn't any mistakes, so you get a better feel for the impressive magnitude of this feat.

Video Formats:
MySpace
RealPlayer
Windows Media

This is “Arun”, who can recite 233 digits of Pi in 30 seconds.

Video Format:
YouTube

Thanks to YouTube's Playlist feature, I can now bring you more than one video in a single post!

In the filmstrip on the right, you can either click any of the videos you see there, or use the arrows to scroll back and forth through the list to see more videos of mental feats from YouTube. This post will automatically be updated as I add more videos to it, so bookmark this post, so you can easily check for updates!

If you wish, you can simply bookmark the list on YouTube. You are also free to post this video collection on your own blog or website, without hosting a single file! Simply copy the code in the box below, and paste it into your blog or website where you want the player to appear:

<object width="530" height="370"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/p/BFADEC96A53C3CAB"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/p/BFADEC96A53C3CAB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="530" height="370"></embed></object>

Update (4/11/07): Unfortunately, YouTube has changed their software so that only the first 20 videos of any playlist show up. The full Amazing Mental Feats playlist is still being updated, but they will unfortuantely no longer appear in the multi-video player.

Video Format:
YouTube

From Alain Nu's recent TV special, “The Mysterious World of Alain Nu”, we are able to see a rare double memory feat. In this clip, Alain not only memorizes the twists and turns of the famed Lambard St. in San Francisco to the point where he can drive it blindfolded, but he also recalls the order of a deck of cards at the same time!

Update (7/10/06): As you can tell by the addition of the above video, the Alain Nu clip is now also available on YouTube.

Video Formats:
Windows Media
YouTube

In the Philippines, there is a chain of memory training centers called PowerMemory. The founder of the company is Ernesto Aragon, Jr., who is seen in this ABS-CBN News footage memorizing a list of 20 items in and out of order, half of which are simply numbers!

This company also has a promotional video which doesn't feature any memory demonstrations, but does give you a better overall idea of the company itself.

Video Format:
YouTube

Abby Julo is a young girl with an astounding memory for US political history. This video contains clips from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Oprah Winfrey Show, on which she appears at age 4 and age 6.

There's also a long discussion in the comments as to whether her memory qualifies her as a genius or not.

Update (5/20/06): The same footage of Abby is now available on YouTube, as well.

Video Format:
MetaCafe
YouTube

The first Grey Matters post containing a large number of videos was back in April 2005, which featured corporate entertainer Anton Zellman.

His site is a rarity, in that you can actually find a complete performance in his site's video section, which I highly recommend.

Video Formats:
QuickTime
Windows Media

Performing magician Scott Xavier, among his other great paranormal routines, has a routine called the Wo-Chen Magic Square. It can be seen on his promotional page (RealPlayer) as well as his MySpace page.

This video is a great example of taking something and making it your own. Note, for example, that Scott takes a vastly different approach than Jon Stetson, yet they both get a great reaction.

Video Formats:
MySpace
RealPlayer

Stephen Wiltshire is a savant with a very unusual skill. After looking at a landscape just once, he can remember and draw it in incredible detail. In this footage, he is flown over Rome for the first time in his life. He is then given just 72 hours to create a drawing of it. When it's finished, the detail is so thorough that all the buildings have the correct number of windows!

This is from the documentary Beautiful Minds: A Voyage Into The Brain, which also featured Kim Peek.

Video Format:
YouTube

Over at Ron White's MySpace page, he has some great footage of his performance at a Mary Kay Convention, in which he recalls the names of 80 different people whom he just met!

Update (1/15/07): You can now see Ron White on YouTube, as well.

Video Formats:
MySpace
YouTube

Our final “Wetten, dass..?” entry (at least, until footage from new episodes is posted) features Torsten Tognotti. After listening to just 8 seconds of any song that has been a #1 hit on the German charts between 1960 and now, he is able to recall when the song was at #1, and for how long!

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Marco Tempest, for those who don't know, is an international magician who has appeared on TV all around the world. Via YouTube, he has very generously shared 17 clips of his performances.

Probably the most interesting videos to Grey Matters readers would be the Rubik's Cube routine he performs, which you can see done in Germany, Japan and Korea. The sudden change from scrambled to solved is great, but the real amazing part is the matching of the pattern to a randomly chosen scrambled cube!

Update (5/14/06): I've found another video of Marco Tempest performing his Rubik's Cube feat. Especially interesting in this footage is the fact that the Magic Napoleans are assisting him.

Video Format:
YouTube

Savant syndrome can be very interesting. Usually, when you think of savants, you think of people who have great difficulty dealing with the outside world. This isn't always the case, as Daniel Tammet proves. In the video, which is excerpted from the TV special Brain Man, you can see both his ability to perform amazing mathematical calculations, as well as interact quite normally.

Mr. Tammet is even the president of his own e-learning company, called Optimnem.

If you're interested in what type of research is being done to find out about the nature of his savant syndrome, there are further excerpts of the show here and here.

Update (6/29/06): On Google Video, you can not only find the same footage shown above, but an additional clip in which Daniel meets Kim Peek!

Video Formats:
Flash
Google Video
Windows Media
YouTube

Out of all the memory performances I've come across, I'd have to say that Dr. Wilson's Memory Elixir is my favorite. When performing a memory feat, it's all too easy to give it an "I'm smarter than you attitude". Paul Szauter's answer was to create the fictional Dr. Wilson, who sells his highly suspicious Memory Elixir. The genius of this presentation is that the audience has a way to feel superior to the performer, which takes the edge off of the "smarter than you" attitude, as well as making the whole thing enjoyable.

As with David Rosdeitcher, I am unable to find any video, but there is audio of Dr. Wilson's act available on his press page. Especially interesting is the Maine Public Radio interview on Pi Day (3/14), in which you can hear clips of his performances and his memorization of a dictionary.

Audio Format:
QuickTime

Corporate entertainer Jon Stetson promotes himself as a champion player of mind games. Among his Stetson experience videos is one that supports this claim quite well. The video to which I'm referring shows him performing a magic square with a number that is only known to one member of the audience!

Video Format:
QuickTime

Videos of Rubik's Cube solvers are pretty easy to find, especially compared to other puzzles, such as the classic Fifteen Puzzle. That's why I feel lucky to have found video of David Skaggs solving the 15 puzzle.

If this doesn't seem that tough to you, try it for yourself. Once you're able to solve that, try an even tougher challenge.

Video Format:
YouTube

David Rosdeitcher is a performer who is better known as the Zipcode Man. Not only does he know all 48,000 US zipcodes and the postal codes from many other countries, but can recommend the best restaurant in town for each of them!

I haven't been able to find any video of him performing, but he does demonstrate his skill in this NPR interview.

Audio Format:
RealPlayer

Here's a short video by someone known only as “PiGeek”, who recites Pi to 55 digits.

Yes, it's just a quick recitation of Pi, but as I've mentioned before, I have a soft spot for Pi.

Video Format:
YouTube

Even if you've seen the movie Rain Man, you may not be aware that the movie was inspired by a real person, whose name is Kim Peek (nickname: "Kim-puter"). This footage is an excerpt from the documentary, Beautiful Minds: A Voyage Into The Brain.

Besides the amazing feats he performs, it's quite interesting to learn how his notariety from the Rain Man movie has really helped him open up and improve his life.

Update (6/29/06): Google Video now has some great new footage in which Kim meets Daniel Tammet!

Video Format:
Google Video

Yes, “Wetten, dass..?” fans, it's already time for another amazing performer from the show.

This time the challenger is 8-year-old Florian Osmani. His challenge is to be able to name the day of the week for any date from October 15, 1582 (the date our current calendar was officially adopted) through December 31st, 3499.

I've discussed the feat extensively over on the Grey Matters Blog, and I even teach how to do it in detail, along with the ability to quiz yourself on random dates, in Train Your Brain and Entertain. That is why I was thrilled to find footage of someone performing this feat, especially under challenge conditions.

If you're interested in this feat, you can also see footage of Scott Flansburg and Mike Byster doing this, as well.

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

I've mentioned the German TV show “Wetten, dass..?” here, here and here. I first learned about it in this Chessbase column, which talks about Xaver Neuhausler's appearance on the show, where he performed the Knight's Tour blindfolded.

It took a little digging, but I finally managed to find video of Xaver Neuhausler's Knight's Tour footage. The fact that he's only 9 makes this feat all the more impressive.

In the Knight's Tour, the challenge is to use the Knight's L-shaped moves to land on each square of an 8 by 8 chessboard once. If you want an idea of how challenging this can be, even when you're not blindfolded, you can try it for yourself at the Grey Matters Mental Gym. You can also learn the Knight's Tour strategy there, as well.

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Bob Miller is a trade show and hospitality suite performer who features magic and memory in his act. On his site, you can find video of him recalling the names of 80 members of the audience, whom he only met a short time before.

As an aside, I've always thought that the best memory act to perform at a trade show would the memorization of the client's catalog, especially if it's 40 pages or more. You could entertain the audience with the memorization itself, recalling all the products on each page, along with their features and prices. Also, the company would have to love that, instead of simply working their sales message into your routine, your routine is their sales message!

Video Format:
QuickTime

Like Harry Lorayne and myself, David Markoff is the author of a memory course.

Thanks to his “MemoryMan” memory course, and his appearances to promote it, there is some great footage on his site of memory feats. On this page, you can see his appearances on CNBC and CBS. In the CBS appearance, he demonstrates his ability to recall a 42-digit number, and on the CNBC appearance, he recalls a 50-digit number!

There's also some very interesting footage of Mr. Markoff teaching children how to remember lists on a separate page. As many memory trainers have often wondered, you'll ask yourself why memory techniques aren't taught in school. Why do we give our kids so much information to memorize, and yet we never teach them how to memorize?

Video Format:
Windows Media

It's almost sacreligious to have a site focusing on memory without eventually mentioning the name Harry Lorayne. Thanks to his memory course website, there is some great memory demonstration footage available in Flash format.

My favorite of the three videos available on the site would have to be the footage from the Tonight Show. There are several great touches he adds that really helps the performance, such as including the camera operators' names, and commenting on people who switched seats. These small touches really help turn it from a simple recitation of people's names into a performance piece.

Video Format:
Flash

Michael Larson was a contestant on a game show in 1984 called Press Your Luck.

When watching the game show, he realized he was seeing the same patterns over and over again on the board. He took the time to carefully determine the patterns, and then memorized all of the patterns. He then used his knowledge of the patterns to get on the game show and win over US$110,000! Keep in mind that this is long before the days of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", when even the top game show champions weren't taking home more than US$40,000.

This footage is mostly from a documentary by the Game Show Network, called “Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal”.

Update (5/20/06): The same footage of Michael Larson is now available on YouTube, as well.

Video Format:
Google Video
YouTube

In keeping with the “Wetten, dass..?” theme of the previous entry, here's Markus Lange's 2003 appearance on the show. In it, he bets that he is able to recall the entire 2002 schedule of Germany's "Second Channel". Check it out!

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

I swear I'm not trying to perpetuate any stereotype of Germans as geniuses, but it's also not hard to find videos of geniuses from Germany on the internet (Perhaps they're trying to perpetuate it?).

Boris Konrad appeared on “Wetten, dass..?”. He claims to have the memory of a waiter. Many tables were set with different amounts of food, and Boris' task was to memorize them all. In the video, he's quizzed on some of the tables. Is he able to get them all? Watch and find out!

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Performer Jim Karol, who goes by the nickname MindWiz, performs magic of the mind. Besides the mental magic he performs in his promotional video, there are some amazing memory feats. He knows every word in the Scrabble Dictionary, the capital of every nation, all the US zipcodes, and can name the day of the week for any date in history! There are also some brief clips of him on the Ellen show, recalling the order of a shuffled deck of cards.

Video Format:
YouTube

This entry features our first savant, Ruediger Gamm, a German who is naturally and fantastically skilled in mathematical calculation. While the video itself is only available in German, it's easy to follow along, as the numbers concerned are shown throughout the video.

You can find out more about him in his German Wikipedia entry (click here for English translation).

Video Format:
YouTube

Back in February, I wrote about Scott Flansburg, who performs as the human calculator. This, in fact, is one of the entries that inspired the creation of this video section.

Probably the best introduction to his feats, if you're not familiar with him, is his appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show. From there, you can check out other videos, as well.

I bet you never expected to see Alice Cooper (Dial-up or Broadband) on Grey Matters, did you?

Update (10/31/06): Over on Google Video, I've found some more footage of Scott Flansburg.

Video Formats:
Google Video
Windows Media

Many of you know how I love memorizing Pi. For those who don't know, the fact that I started the Grey Matters blog on Pi Day (3/14), and the 400 Digits of Pi section of the Grey Matters Store should be enough evidence.

That's why I'm glad to see at least one young child, known here as only “Elliott”, getting a good start in his early years. He looks like he's barely starting elementary school, but he's able to recall 30 digits of Pi already!

Video Format:
YouTube

Fellow math and magic fan Persi Diaconis combines his interests in this lecture. He performs a simple magic effect in which a deck of cards is cut, and then 5 people each take a card. He is then able to identify them without looking at their faces.

Unlike the previous entry, there isn't a full explanation of the routine available. Between the overhead projections in the video and the related Minnesota Daily article, you may be able to gather a few clues about it, however.

Video Format:
Google Video

Yes, watching others perform amazing mental feats is fun, but how about doing one yourself? The feat you can learn in this video looks like an incredible memory feat, but actually uses mathematics so simple, that you probably learned about them in your first two years of school. Try and figure out the method behind the feat, before you go to the Computer Science Unplugged website and look at the PDF file that explains the method (this link opens a new window).

This video is part of the Computer Science Unplugged series hosted on Google Video. The idea of these videos is to teach basic computer concepts without actually using a computer. If concepts such as the binary system, sorting and error prevention are alien to you, check these videos out!

Video Format:
Google Video

Mike Byster is a human calculator from the Chicago area. Thanks to his appearance on cn8, he can be seen demonstrating some of his lightning calculations, along with a young apprentice, in Real Media and Windows Media formats.

The clip is also available in Quicktime, but the video drops out just as the demonstrations are beginning.

Update (12/2/06): Welcome 20/20 viewers! Mike Byster was just on 20/20 last night. There's more details over in the Blog section.

Video Formats:
Quicktime
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Derren Brown, for those who haven't kept up with British TV, is a performer from Britain who specializes in mentalism (magic of the mind).

In this clip, in the form of a downloaded RealPlayer file, Derren demonstrates his card-counting skills at the Monte Carlo blackjack tables. While he does describe a legitimate card memory system that he purports to be using, I must say that I am very suspicious of his explanation, as the nature of true card counting is quite different than he claims.

Video Format:
RealPlayer

What good is a blog on mental feats without a few Blindfolded Rubik's Cube solvers? On Google Video, you can find Marcus Gerhardsson and “Kyuubree” demonstrating their skills.

Meanwhile, over at YouTube, there are many more!

Update (6/11/06): There's a new video posted by Kyuubree, in which he solves a single Rubik's Cube blindfolded in only 1 minute and 32 seconds!

Update (7/6/06): I've found another new video, this one of Craig Bouchard's blindfolded solve.

Update (9/13/06): Craig Bouchard's blindfolded solve time has improved!

Video Formats:
Google Video
MetaCafe
YouTube

From the German TV show “Wetten, dass..?” (Loosely translated from the German, the title is "Want to bet...?"), which has been on the air for more than 25 years, we have 6-year-old Fabrice Becker. Fabrice bet that he could identify individual pieces from 12 different puzzles, each with approximately 600 pieces! Even if you don't speak German, this is amazing!

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Our first video entry is Badri Narayanan, who performs some amazing lightning calculations. On the last calculation, a long number is given, and once he's able to remember the number, he performs the calculation just fine. This stumbling at the end seems to actually make for a better ending!

Video Format:
Google Video

Welcome to the new video section of Grey Matters! I can't really call this a vlog (video blog), as these videos are not of me giving my thoughts. Instead, Grey Matters videos is intended to be an archive of people performing amazing mental feats, including memory demonstrations and lightning calculations.

When possible, I will try to embed the video in the entry itself, but there will also be entries to which I will simply link to the videos. Originally, I intended the videos to simply be available as a list in the rightmost column, where they are still available, but this list didn't give me room to describe what is being performed on the video, and why they were added to the list. Thus, I have added an entire video section.

The comments will always be on, so if you have any any comments, or suggestions where I can find other videos, please let me know!