A Canberra man is trying to set a world record this weekend for the fastest time to multiply two 40-digit numbers. The attempt is all the more remarkable considering pepe king failed maths at school and has had to overcome anxiety and neuro-developmental disorders.
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00:00 Peppy King won't admit it, but he's a maths genius.
00:05 His latest challenge is to multiply two 40-digit numbers and come up with the correct answer
00:11 in under 40 minutes.
00:13 If we were to do it the way we were taught at school, it's 40,000 steps.
00:15 It would take about three or four days straight.
00:18 A lot, a lot of paper.
00:21 But it hasn't always come easy to him.
00:24 I failed a lot of subjects at school.
00:26 Mathematics I was never good at.
00:28 Getting instructions was his biggest hurdle.
00:30 I had a very severe ADHD, so I struggled to process information.
00:36 So his gift for numbers remained untapped for decades, until in 2011 when a friend said
00:41 his birth date was the 6th of November 1974, and it didn't take Peppy long to work out
00:47 that was a Wednesday.
00:49 And from there I thought to myself, yeah, maybe I've got a talent here, so I'll pursue
00:53 it further.
00:55 The next year he qualified for the World Mental Olympics.
00:58 He's since set five Australian records, including the fastest multiplication of two 20-digit
01:04 numbers, which he finished in less than five and a half minutes.
01:08 He's got an incredible mental capacity.
01:11 He's a very, very smart guy.
01:15 Just as importantly, it's helped him tackle his anxiety and ADHD.
01:20 I feel it's a treatment for me.
01:22 I find that after I do it, I'm really, really calm and I'm really, really focused.
01:28 So to the world record attempt, his preparation includes exercise, eating well and two 40
01:33 by 40 multiplications a day.
01:35 Peppy's taking on an incredible challenge, but he's very driven.
01:41 So I'm multiplying every single number by every single number and I'm adding them all
01:45 at the same time and carrying the remainder all at once.
01:48 It means a lot.
01:49 It means a hell of a lot.
01:51 As far as I know, I'll be the first human to do it.
01:55 Another record would be sweet, but for Peppy, maths is about more than just results.
02:00 It's been a solution to problems.
02:02 you
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