2603:9000:7D05:800:184B:5EAB:AC21:9AED at 16:16, 27 January 2020

2020-01-27T16:16:27Z

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'''Rajan Srinivasan Mahadevan''' (born 1957) is an Indian [[mnemonist]].

== Early life ==
Mahadevan was born in [[Madras]] in 1957 and moved to [[Mangalore]] in 1959. He discovered his ability to memorize numbers at the age of 5 during a party hosted by his family. During the party, Rajan wandered to a parking lot and committed the license plate numbers of every guest's car for recitation later.{{cn|date=October 2018}}

== Education ==
In 1977, after losing interest in engineering, Mahadevan set to memorize substantial parts of [[pi (mathematical constant)|pi]]. On 5 July 1981, he recited from memory the first 31,811 digits of pi. [[pi (mathematical constant)|pi]].<ref>[http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1981/july_5_1981_154000.html Rajan Mahadevan recites 31,811 digits of ã from memory 5 July in History]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This secured him a place in the 1984 ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'', and he has been featured on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' and ''[[Reader's Digest]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.undergrad.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~blstuart/accomplishments.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-04-17 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051221103731/http://undergrad.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~blstuart/accomplishments.html |archivedate=21 December 2005 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Mahadevan received his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1984 and his master's degree in clinical psychology from the [[University of Mysore]] in 1986 during his extended participation in memory study. Mahadevan's [[digit span]] was found to be nearly ten times the average; it is estimated that, before the effects of practice, it was 15 digits.{{cn|date=October 2018}}

Although Mahadevan is adept at remembering numbers, he nevertheless displays only an average memory when it comes to prose passages or geometric shapes.<ref>DAVID R. SHANKS, Science Spectra, 1999, Number 18. [http://www.indiana.edu/~jkkteach/P335/shanks_expertise.html Outstanding Performers: Created, Not Born? NEW RESULTS ON NATURE VS. NURTURE.]</ref>

Mahadevan holds the position of Distinguished Lecturer at the [[University of Tennessee]], where he teaches courses in learning and thinking as well as cognitive psychology.

== See also ==
* [[Ben Pridmore]]
* [[Dominic O'Brien]]
* [[Sri Vyshnavi Yarlagadda]]
* [[Grand Master of Memory]]
* [[Mnemonic major system]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Notes ==
* "Unexceptional spatial memory in an exceptional memorist", Biederman et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology Learn Mem Cogn, 1992 May;18(3):654-7. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1534358&dopt=Abstract]
* "The Man With the Endless Memory;Rajan Mahadevan Is Trying to Memorize 100,000 Digits. For Him, It's Easy as Pi", Washington Post article 18 June 1989. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110516155149/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1196844.html]
* "Memory Search by a Memorist", Thompson et al. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.,New Jersey, 1993

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahadevan, Rajan}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Chennai]]
[[Category:University of Mysore alumni]]
[[Category:Indian mnemonists]]
[[Category:Nationality missing]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Mangalore]]

Rajan Mahadevan - Revision history

2603:9000:7D05:800:184B:5EAB:AC21:9AED at 16:16, 27 January 2020