Young Lucas Mason Yao, aged 9, possesses a profound affection for the Vancouver Canucks, his beloved pet bunny Chomp, and the mathematical constant known as pi. Remarkably, he has committed an extensive sequence of pi to memory, totaling an astonishing 2,030 digits, a feat that the majority of individuals would scarcely contemplate achieving.
Hailing from Pitt Meadows, B.C., Lucas’s exceptional accomplishment required 23 minutes to recite, thus securing him the 115th place on the global pi memorization ranking. At the pinnacle of this list is an individual from India who has memorized it to an astounding 70,000 digits.
Lucas’s fondness for numbers and his exceptional memory have propelled him towards this extraordinary achievement. According to his mother, Cindy Liu, the young prodigy has exhibited a fascination with numbers since infancy. Indeed, Lucas himself expressed his intrigue for pi by stating that he “saw pi one day and… wanted to learn it.”
Amidst the pandemic, Lucas embraced the challenge of memorizing pi as a means of combatting boredom. Impressively, he advanced from memorizing 1,000 digits to 2,000 in a matter of days. His mother emphasized his relentless pursuit of challenges, highlighting his propensity for surprising her with his abilities.
In anticipation of Pi Day, Lucas and his family intend to partake in a celebration by indulging in a pie adorned with the pi symbol on its crust. Nonetheless, his mother harbors the belief that this achievement merely scratches the surface of Lucas’s potential, expecting him to surpass his own record in the future. Nevertheless, she remains mindful of the potential for him to dedicate an excessive amount of time to the pi challenge.
In addition to his exceptional numerical abilities, Lucas is also an accomplished pianist, having performed at Carnegie Hall in New York at the tender age of five after emerging victorious in the Crescendo International Music Competition.
It is evident that Lucas’s remarkable talent for numbers has been apparent since his infancy. His mother has attested to his early fascination with numbers, recalling his interest in counting at just seven days old, and his ability to count to 100 by the age of two.
In summary, Lucas Mason Yao’s extraordinary aptitude for numbers and his unwavering resolve in confronting challenges has firmly established him as one of the most extraordinary young individuals of his generation.
Article Source: The Canadian Press