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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"[[A Worldwide Punomenon|(It's × 2)]] [[Prepare to Die|DIE!]]"''|'''Sho Minamimoto''', ''[[
[[Exactly What It Says
Definitely [[Truth in Television]], as quite a few people in [[Real Life]] have this ability. Most of them are mathematicians, but not all of them. In fact, there are even competitions for mental math.
May sometimes speak with a [[Mouthful of Pi]]. See also [[Mad Mathematician]]. May result from [[Super Intelligence]].
{{examples}}▼
Contrast [[Everyone Hates Math]].
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Pinoko from ''[[
* Sadaharu Inui, the Seigaku [[Genius Bruiser]] from ''[[Prince of Tennis]]''. This makes him victim of [[Flanderization]] in both [[Fanon]] and canon.
* Despite his general [[Book Dumb|doofiness]], ''[[
* It's not made a big deal of or even really mentioned outright (in the anime, anyway), but Accelerator in ''[[
** [[It Gets Better]], as GROUP's enhancements were able to extend his Esper Mode to 30 minutes, then ''he himself'' managed to reduce his battery consumption by ''90 percent'' so he could use it for undertaking longer missions.
** It's been implied that the more powerful an Esper is, the more likely that he is
* This is Kenji's defining ability in ''[[Summer Wars]]''. He's so damn good he solves 2056-bit encryption in his head.
* [[Comic Book Adaptation|The supplementary manga]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
** There's also [[Person of Mass Destruction|Hayate]], who is the only known member of the TSAB with a [[Rank Inflation|SS]] ranking. Since she didn't develop her powers like everyone else she's not as good with spell control and multitasking, and in ''StrikerS'' has to have [[Home Base|Long Arch]] or Reinforce aim for her.
* Inverted in ''[[Nichijou]]''. Nano, a [[Ridiculously Human Robot|robot girl]] who [[I Just Want to Be Normal|wishes she wasn't]], apparently has trouble solving "3260 plus 260, divided by 320," even going so far as to pull out an abacus to work out the problem.
* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', several of [[Magnificent Bastard|Lelouch's]] [[Humongous Mecha]] require his superior mathematical skills, including his Shinkiro's absolute defense shield and {{spoiler|the anti-FLEIJA device which required incredibly complex calculations to be input within 19 seconds of use.}}
== Comic Books ==
* [[Teen Genius]] Amadeus Cho from ''[[Incredible Hercules]]'' can do advanced physics in his head, complete with glowing diagrams around him. He's claimed to be good enough that he can use math to stop a charging rhino with a grape seed, and proved it when he fought [[Incredible Hulk
* ''[[Superman: Red Son]]'' establishes that Lex Luthor is a super-genius scientist at STAR Labs. This isn't really surprising, but this trope comes in when he casually hands his OSS handler a formula to balance the economy. However, he says it's just the principles, and the Treasury will have to do the number-crunching for the specifics.▼
==
* Hermione Granger in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[[The Arithmancer]]'' and its sequels is a math prodigy and instant calculator who's already taking college-level math courses when she enters Hogwarts at age 11. She tests into Arithmancy in her first year, and things start diverging from canon rather dramatically from there.
▲* [[Teen Genius]] Amadeus Cho from ''[[Incredible Hercules]]'' can do advanced physics in his head, complete with glowing diagrams around him. He's claimed to be good enough that he can use math to stop a charging rhino with a grape seed, and proved it when he fought [[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|the freaking Hulk]].
* Taylor Hebert in the ''[[Worm]]/[[Luna Varga]]'' crossover ''[[Taylor Varga]]''. Before merging with the Varga she was already better than average at math, but afterwards she grew far more proficient and became an instant calculator capable of doing advanced calculus in her head. She also demonstrates a talent at teaching math, organizing regular tutoring sessions for her friends from Arcadia. Eventually she moves well past AP Math and into truly esoteric maths that she and the Varga can implement to expand their existing powers into even more powerful and versatile modes.
▲* ''[[Superman Red Son]]'' establishes that Lex Luthor is a super-genius scientist at STAR Labs. This isn't really surprising, but this trope comes in when he casually hands his OSS handler a formula to balance the economy. However, he says it's just the principles, and the Treasury will have to do the number-crunching for the specifics.
▲== Films ==
* In ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', Lau explicitly states that he is "good with calculation" while attempting to betray the whole Gotham mafia. He intends to leave with the money they entrusted him with. Had it not been for Batman and his brutal ways, he would have been able to actually make it. Though it is quite possible that the Joker himself had been planning it all since the very beginning - he ''is'' quite the [[Crazy Prepared]] guy.
* Kazan - the autistic savant in the movie ''[[Cube]].''
** Also Wynn from the prequel ''Cube Zero''. {{spoiler|Depending on how you interpret the ending, the two may be the same person.}}
* Ben Campbell from the movie ''[[
** His [[Establishing Character Moment]] is him verbally tallying up a complicated order for a customer at a clothing store, including knocking off part of the price by applying his own employee discount towards the order, all without aid of a pen and paper or calculator. In the trailer, [[Fun
* [[Nash Equilibrium|John Nash]] [[Truth in Television|of both]] [[Real Life]] [[Based on a True Story|and]] ''[[A Beautiful Mind]]''. Manipulates glasses of water to alter the optic lines refracting through them to match a tie on the other side. Solves complex cryptograms based on the Sierpinski Gasket in his head. Revolutionizes all economic theory since Adam Smith. [[Room Full of Crazy|Crazy as a loon.]]
* At the end of the third [[Alternate Universe]] live-action ''[[
* Harold Crick in ''[[Stranger Than Fiction]]''. A routine occurrence in his life is being given math equations by his coworkers, which he solves in his head instantly.
* ''[[Good Will Hunting]].'' Will's genius is "discovered" while he's working as a janitor at MIT. In just a few minutes, he solves an impossibly complex calculus problem that was left on the chalkboard after everyone went home. Prof. Lambeau had given his students the entire ''semester'' to work it out.
== Literature ==
* Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby from [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''Future History'' series. He was a lightning calculator as well as having intuitive mathematical ability. In his introductory short story
** And his mathematical genius comes to light when he warns of a critical calculation error made in setting a small nuclear charge based on what he's learned about laying the charges just by watching the officer making the calculations. (For non-Americans and the younger generation who'
* Also
* Romeo "Mo'Steel" Gonzalez from ''[[Remnants]]'', able to tell how many years and days he had been in stasis with just a glance at a counter showing how many minutes had passed. It totaled "five-hundred years, twelve days, and some spare change."
* Meg Murry, from ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]'' and other books by [[Madeleine L
* ''[[X Wing Series|Wraith Squadron]]'''s Voort "Piggy" saBinring is an [[Playing
* Otto Malpense from ''h.i.v.e.'' is the archtype of this trope; he figures out the equation that a computer is using to generate a bunch of moving lasers ''in his head'', closes his eyes, and does the equivalent of walking in between raindrops, without getting hit. Justified, seeing as he's {{spoiler|a geneticially-altered clone designed to have a brain with roughly the same processing power as a uber-intelligent AI, able to think both like a human and like a machine, and interact remotely with complicated computer systems and brush aside thier security networks.}}
* In Scott Westerfeld's ''[[Midnighters]]'' trilogy, one of the special abilities you can have if you were born at midnight (and probably the most useful) is the ability to do lengthy, complex mathematical calculations easily in your head.
* Mark McHenry from ''[[Star Trek: New Frontier]]'' is specifically good with warp calculations, headings, speeds, and anything else related to navigation and piloting, much like the ''[[
* The Bursar of Unseen University in ''[[Discworld]]'' is this. Years ago, he was "a man whose idea of an exciting time had once been a boiled egg", and he has been driven totally, completely insane over the course of several books by Archchancellor Ridcully's habit of shouting at him and generally being as [[Large Ham|Hammy]] as possible. However, if you ask the Bursar a question that has anything to do with math (as his title suggests) he is able to answer it no matter which reality curve his mind is riding at the time. Since it's difficult to tell if he's really all right after things like nasty shocks, in later books this becomes a way of diagnosing him; if he can still answer a math question correctly and immediately, he's perfectly fine. Ridcully even seems to know this:
{{quote|
'''Ridcully''': Doesn't need to be. Numbers is what he has to do. The poor chap might be slightly yo-yo, but I've been reading about it. He's one of these idiot servants.
'''Dean''': Savants. The word is savants, Ridcully.
'''Ridcully''': Whatever. Those chaps who can tell you what day of the week the first of Grune was a hundred years ago --
'''Bursar''': -- Tuesday --
'''Ridcully''': -- but can't tie their boot laces. }}
** By ''[[Unseen Academicals]]'', however, he has either lost several more of his faculties or just been [[
** Granny Weatherwax is described in ''[[Maskerade]]'' as "grudgingly literate, but keenly numerate". It takes her seconds to deduce how much Nanny Ogg is being screwed by the publisher of her cookbook, even taking into consideration things like the cost of materials and distribution. She is also able to figure out the finances of the opera house, which were expertly tampered with to hide an embezzlement scam.
* Talen from ''[[The Elenium]]'' is of the "can do normal math ''really'' fast" variety, which he claims developed from practice, and the need for a thief to do on-the-spot appraisals and fence stolen goods. His skill instead comes into play during the Church election's political maneuvering and vote tallying.
* The ''atevi'' from [[
▲* The ''atevi'' from [[CJ Cherryh]]'s ''[[Foreigner (Literature)|Foreigner]]'' series. Forming grammatically correct sentences in their language requires mentally doing simple algebra, and they all have the ability to instantly and accurately count things. Further, their cultures have developed a number of extremely complex systems of numerology, which the majority of atevi treat as [[Serious Business]].
== Live-Action TV ==
* Lulu from ''[[True Jackson, VP]]''. In one episode, she's hired to be a assitant. When she finishes all the work, another co-worker asks her to solve a math problem on the chalkboard. After a while, she figures out the board was upside down and turns it the right way and solves it.
* River Tam from ''[[Firefly]]'':
{{quote|
'''Zoe:''' "You understand how that sounds?"
'''Jayne:''' "What? She killed them with mathematics. What else could it have been?" }}
* Face, on ''[[
* Malcolm from ''[[Malcolm in
** At one point he helped his dad win at poker by being able to calculate the exact probabilities of the availability of certain cards.
* In the ''[[
** [[The Scrappy|Adric]] is the proud possessor of a badge for mathematical excellence, and has demonstrated proficiency at the reality-warping mathematics that is Block Transfer Computation.
** The Doctor himself is often described as a genius and occasionally demonstrates. In the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe|Expanded Universe]] novel "Interference", the Doctor briefly transports himself out of a cell using pure mathematics (presumably the same Block Transfer Computation that Adric used).
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* Professor Charlie Eppes from ''[[Numb3rs]]'', who [[Interdisciplinary Sleuth|uses his skills to solve homicides]].
* On ''[[Friends]]'' Chandler is irked whenever people concede that "numbers" is about all he has going for him. "Math? You're giving me math?"
* On ''[[Star Trek
{{quote|
'''Garak:''' "Forgive my ignorance, but if we don't have warp drive, how long is it going to take us to reach the closest Federation starbase?"
'''O'Brien:''' "A long time, Mr. Garak."
'''Garak:''' "How long?"
{{spoiler|'''Bashir:'''}} "Seventeen years, two months and three days, give or take an hour." }}
** Likewise, [[Robot Buddy|Data]] was pretty good at math.
* Lisa from ''[[News Radio]]'' often does large calculations in her head. People tend to ask her large multiplication questions whenever they can fit it into a conversation.
* James May on ''[[Top Gear]]'', at least by comparison to his somewhat [[Book Dumb]] co-presenters.
* Eli Wallace from ''[[
{{quote|
'''Eli:''' ''Math'' boy. }}
* Near the end of ''[[The Prisoner]]'', Number Six mentions being good with figures, though it's not prominently demonstrated - it's probably more for ironic contrast with his resistance to [[You Are Number Six|being numbered]].
* The pilot episode of [[White Collar]] demonstrates Caffrey's amazing mathematics. He calculates 64 years of compound interest in a few seconds, then follows that up with the [[Sarcasm Mode|much more difficult]] task of dividing 600 by 4.
* Matt, Shirley's [[Love Interest]] in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Matt:''' They're [[Mouthful of Pi|calculating pi]].
'''Bo:''' Oh. }}
* Fred Burkle from ''[[
* Adam Savage of the [[
* Olivia Dunham on ''[[Fringe]]'' is shown to have an eidetic memory for numbers and patterns, but it apparently doesn't grant her any greater ability to perform calculations.
* In ''[[Spartacus: Blood and Sand]]'', the gladiator Ashur uses this talent to gamble, and when he becomes crippled, his master allows him to be his accountant.
== Tabletop Games ==
* [[GURPS]] has the advantage Lightning Calculator to simulate this; the second level of it allows the character to do things like high level engineering design in his head instantly.
== Video Games ==
* Sho Minamimoto from ''[[
▲* Sho Minamimoto from ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'', to the point of almost having the whole trope named after him.
** It even carries into his ''stats''. His [[Hit Points]] are 3141 when you fight him at the end of {{spoiler|Week 2}}, and his {{spoiler|Taboo Form [[Hit Points]]}} are 5926. Put them together and tuck a decimal point behind the three and you have the first eight digits of pi.
** Neku could also apply for being able to belt out the square root of 3 at the drop of a hat ({{spoiler|during day two of the second week}}, for those who wanted to know), but he could also have a calculator on his phone.
* Dmitri Petrovich of ''[[Backyard Sports]]'' has this, coupled with the ability to use mnemonics to remember stats.
* Ran Yakumo of the ''[[Touhou]]'' series. [http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Article_and_Interview:_Ran She once calculated the width of the Sanzu River out of bordeom]. Note that the Sanzu River is the mystical river of the dead and that its width constantly changes whenever someone passes through it. In ''[http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Curiosities_of_Lotus_Asia%3A_Chapter_01 Curiosities of Lotus Asia]'', when Rinnosuke first saw a computer and learned that it's used for, he interpreted them as being the outside world's version of [[
* N from [[Pokémon Black and White]]. He rambles about forumlas several times, and is seeking 'the equation to change the world'.
* Laetre, a ''hamster'' showed some
* ''[[Dubious Company]]'': This is the closest
** [[Tear Jerker|Heartwrenching]] when she calculates the odds of escaping Kreedor's castle before her [[Human Sacrifice|execution]] as [[Despair Event Horizon|0%]].▼
== Web Original ==
* [[Red vs.
'''Simmons''': I know. It's a gift. }}▼
** For those math/calculator-challenged, 32 x 56 = 1792. God knows [[Ass Pull|where]] he got 31,
== Western Animation ==
* Fenton Crackshell from ''[[
** Fenton proved himself when Scrooge blasted him with a shotgun and Fenton ''counted the buckshot as they were fired.'' Scrooge was obviously stunned at this ability and had it confirmed when he suddenly tossed some coins into the air and challenged Fenton to assess their monetary value, Fenton's answer was correct ''to the penny''.
** Later, after Fenton took the phrase "liquid assets" too literally and [[It Makes Sense in Context|dumped all of Scrooge's money in a lake]], Scrooge threatened Fenton with his job if even a single penny was missing. Fenton slapped on a
* Leopold "Butters" Stotch from ''[[South Park]]'' falls into this trope multiplying 2 large numbers almost instantaneously in one episode.
* The janitor in ''[[Recess]]'' is revealed to be this when he easily solves Gretchen's math problem after school. He's eventually approached by the military and scientists...but he turns them down, saying he'd rather just be a janitor.
* Rosie Grape from ''[[
* Humorously averted by Bender on ''[[Futurama]]'', even though he's a robot.
{{quote|
'''Fry:''' You are a calculator.
'''Bender:''' I meant a ''good'' calculator. }}
* One of Yakko's talents in ''[[Animaniacs]]'', although [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fan6ggvh4U his song on multiplication] does suggest the viewers "buy a calculator, and learn all this stuff later".
▲* Laetre, a ''hamster'' showed some mathmatical aptitude in this [http://www.hamletothehamster.com/2010/10/difficult-problem.html Hamleto comic].
▲* This is the closest [[Dubious Company|Future High Priestess Sal]] gets to superpowers, since [[Religion Is Magic|religion is NOT magic]]. She can rapidly calculate the [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|probability of anything]] based on [[Awesome By Analysis|known factors]].
▲** [[Tear Jerker|Heartwrenching]] when she calculates the odds of escaping Kreedor's castle before her [[Human Sacrifice|execution]] as [[Despair Event Horizon|0%]].
▲== Web Originals ==
▲* [[Red vs. Blue|Red v Blue]] subverts this with Simmons proclaiming to be able to multiply large numbers in his head instantly. {{spoiler|He can't.}}
▲{{quote| '''Grif''': What's...32 times 56?<br />
▲'''Simmons''': 31, 452.<br />
▲'''Sarge''': Is that right?<br />
▲'''Simmons''': Yes.<br />
▲'''Sarge''': That's pretty impressive!<br />
▲'''Simmons''': I know. It's a gift. }}
▲** For those math/calculator-challenged, 32 x 56 = 1792. God knows [[Ass Pull|where]] he got 31, 452.
== Real Life ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Index of Exact Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Intelligence Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Good with Numbers]]
|