Pi in the Sky - stage set for record books bid

A man hopes to set a new British and European Record by using his incredible memory to recall the mathematical constant Pi (3.141...) to over 22,500 decimal places.

The attempt has been dubbed ’Pi in the Sky’ by its brainchild Daniel Tammet, whose early experience of epilepsy left him with astonishing mental skills, including the ability to ’see’ numbers in his head.

Pi in the Sky, sponsored by SHL, the world leader in objective assessment, takes place at the Museum of the History of Science on Broad Street in Oxford on 14 March 2004. The date coincides with both Pi Day and Einstein’s
birthday, and Daniel will commence the attempt in front of Einstein’s blackboard.

Daniel aims to raise sponsorship for the National Society for Eplilepsy (NSE) and is inviting readers to sponsor him by writing c/o NSE or logging onto www.justgiving.com/pi

Lynne Gillon, Group Product and Marketing Director, SHL Group plc says: Unfortunately people with epilepsy still encounter prejudice, particularly amongst employers. SHL is pleased to support Daniel’s record-breaking attempt as he aims to tackle these misconceptions head-on.

As an organisation we believe that individuals should be assessed objectively and without prejudice. People like Daniel are often discriminated against through subjective judgements which overlook their true skills and capabilities. Supporting Daniel in this attempt sends a clear signal that for us it is a person’s abilities not their perceived disability that counts.

David Josephs, director of external relations at NSE comments: We wish Daniel the very best of luck with his record attempt. It’s an amazing talent that he has and it would be a fantastic achievement for him to break the existing British and European records for remembering Pi.

He is a great ambassador for NSE as his self-set challenge gives out a very positive message about epilepsy: the condition need not affect someone’s ability to use their brain nor stop them aspiring to great achievements.

Daniel was part of a landmark research study on prodigious mental ability at London’s Institute of Neurology. The summarized data, co-written by some of Britain’s leading brain scientists, appeared in the New Year 2003 edition of
the highly prestigious ’Nature’ neuro-scientific magazine.