Math doesn’t have to mean memorizing formulas or stressing over the right answer. Bhanzu Learning Center founder and world-record-holding human calculator Neelakantha Bhanu is bringing his approach to making math fun and approachable to Austin with a new learning center opening soon.
Bhanu joined We Are Austin to share how an accident during childhood unexpectedly sparked his love of numbers, why he believes math should be treated more like a sport and what families can expect from the new Bhanzu Learning Center in the Lakeline area.
Bhanzu founder and world-record-holding human calculator Neelakantha Bhanu is bringing his approach to making math fun and approachable to Austin with a new learning center opening soon.
From Puzzles to World Records
Bhanu’s relationship with math began when he was 5 years old and an accident left him bedridden for a year and out of school.
During his recovery, he was introduced to puzzles and began discovering mathematics in a different way.
“I learned math in a very different way,” Bhanu said. “I figured math through puzzles, a lot of things to put up, a lot of mental activities.”
By age 10, Bhanu was entering math competitions. He soon realized that competitive arithmetic wasn’t all that different from an athletic event.
“Doing a math problem and trying to do that competitively quickly was very similar to playing sport,” Bhanu said. “It was about, how do you build your technique next time? How do you figure out something better?”
By 13, he had become a national and international champion in speed arithmetic. He later broke four world records through continued training in what he describes as a “mind sport.”
Bhanzu founder and world-record-holding human calculator Neelakantha Bhanu is bringing his approach to making math fun and approachable to Austin with a new learning center opening soon.
Making Math Make Sense
Those experiences eventually inspired Bhanu to create Bhanzu, an educational program for children ages 5 to 15.
Rather than asking students to simply memorize formulas, Bhanu wants them to understand why mathematical concepts work and how they connect to the world around them.
“You don’t need to memorize this,” he said. “You can ask, ‘Why do I care?’”
That approach is designed to help students build confidence while reducing the anxiety many children associate with math.
“The only way to get that better was make it fun,” Bhanu said. “Make it engaging. Make it like art. Everyone loves art.”
Bhanzu Is Coming to Austin
Bhanu said about 15,000 U.S. families have already participated in Bhanzu’s online classes, including families in Austin and Dallas.
After hearing from parents who wanted an in-person option, the company began opening physical learning centers in Texas.
“We opened a few learning centers in Dallas last year, and we said Austin’s the next city we are going for,” Bhanu said.
The new Bhanzu Learning Center is expected to open in the Lakeline area in the coming weeks.
Yes, He’s Really That Fast
Before leaving the We Are Austin studio, Bhanu put his mental-math skills to the test.
Starting with the number 47, he challenged Trevor and Sierra to repeatedly add 47 using a calculator while he performed the same calculations mentally.
Thirty additions later, Bhanu had raced well ahead of the calculator.
“The brain can do a lot of things that you can’t even imagine,” he said. “The idea is to make everyone feel that.”
Bhanzu founder and world-record-holding human calculator Neelakantha Bhanu is bringing his approach to making math fun and approachable to Austin with a new learning center opening soon.
Visit Bhanzu.com and follow Bhanzu on social media for updates on the new Austin learning center and information about its math programs.
“World’s Fastest Human Calculator” brings Bhanzu Math Learning Center to Austin!