Mike Byster is a mathematical genius who uses memorization techniques to solve complex problems in his head at about the same speed as someone using a calculator.
Perhaps just as impressive, Byster, who does not have a professional teaching background, is not intimated by a gymnasium full of 6th-graders.
Byster, of Chicago, taught and entertained more than 200 students, teachers and parents, in two sessions, at Goddard Middle School in Littleton today.
Talking super fast, Byster closed his eyes, raised his hands to the sides of his head and sometimes rocked back and forth as he solved in his head complex, multi-digit problems like multiplying 538 by 55 and dividing 422 by 57. (The answers are 29,590 and 7.40350877.)
Byster was unaware in advance of the exact problems thrown at him, although he did know the forms of problems, such as a 3 digit number multiplied by a 2 digit number.
He warned students that most divided numbers result in fractions which could go on and on. So he typically cut them short after the 7th number or so.
“That guy’s smart!” said 12-year-old Manuel Charirez, sitting at a table with three of his close friends. “He’s really good!”
And Byster was just getting warmed up.
As a Goodard teacher read off about a dozen 2- and 3-digit numbers, Byster added them in his mind. The teacher skipped over one number and at the end gave the total of all the numbers including the one he skipped over. Using the total, Byster told the audience the number that had been skipped over.
The kids went wild with applause.
“They saw somebody who is passionate about math, that is great for kids to see” said the school’s principal Amy Oaks. “They saw somebody who is amazing and that made it fun.”
Once Byster had the kids won over, he started hammering away on his underlying lesson: students should use memorization techniques, discipline, concentration and hard work to help grow their brains.
“I will teach you guys to organize your brains,” Byster told them. “It will help you in every subject for the rest of your lives.”
Byster challenged the students to use one of the complex math problems he taught them at home to “amaze your parents.”
Twelve-year-old Daniel Chavez agreed with his friend, Manuel Charirez, and described Byster as “really smart.”
“I could never do that in my mind,” Chavez added.
After the presentation, Byster stressed that his program is aimed at building confidence and motivating kids “to do something they thought they could never do in their lives.”
Byster said the bottom line is to get students to “believe in yourself and where you are going.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
For more information on Byster’s program go to .
