Michael Byster (born March 5, 1959) is an American mathematician,

mental calculator Human calculator is a term to describe a person with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation (such as adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing large numbers). The world's best mental calculators are invited every two yea ...

, and math educator. He worked as a commodity trader until he quit his job to devote himself to teaching children his methods. He has spoken to over 10,000 classrooms for free and continues to mentor kids. Mike is able to do many arithmetic problems in his head at very fast speeds. During a study done years ago, Byster was claimed to have one of the fastest mathematical minds in the world.

Biography

Early life

Byster was raised along with his older sister in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

suburb of

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

. His parents Gloria and Dave encouraged his math shortcuts at a young age. He went to

Niles North High School Niles North High School, officially Niles Township High School North, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High Scho ...

and then attended

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1981.

Career

Byster used to work as a floor trader at the

Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, a ...

, but after his cousin, a math teacher in a Chicago area high school, invited him to show the class his shortcuts for doing

base 10 The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers of the Hindu–Arabic numeral ...

arithmetic, Byster quit his job to devote himself to teaching children his methods. After that, he continued to do shows for free to schools across the United States. In December 2003, he released the website Mike's Math, but this was discontinued in 2007. In 2008, Byster produced the Brainetics math and memory system. Byster claims that Brainetics uses both sides of the brain to process and store information, allowing anyone to recall the information at a fast pace.

Media appearances

Mike appeared on ABC's '' 20/20'' in 2007. From 2007 onwards, he has appeared on multiple television and radio shows. On January 21, 2010, Mike appeared on Oprah Radio's '' The Gayle King Show''. Mike has appeared on

The Shopping Channel TSC (formerly The Shopping Channel) is a Canadian discretionary service channel owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The channel showcases various products which viewers can purchase either by telephone or intern ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and QVC in the United States multiple times. He appeared on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

June 8, 2011. He has also appeared on WGN in July 2011,

Good Day New York ''Good Day New York'' is a morning show airing on WNYW Fox 5 (channel 5), hosted by Rosanna Scotto and Bianca Peters. It is a Fox owned-and-operated television station in New York City, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox C ...

in August 2011 and then Fox News Boston on October 27, 2011. He was on

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...

's ''Afternoon Shift'' on September 27, 2013. In November 2016, Mike gave a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk titled "How to Think Like a Genius". On June 26, 2017, Mike competed on the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

TV competition series ''Superhuman''. Byster won that week's competition and with that received $50,000 and the title of "Superhuman". He is a monthly guest on WOCM's ''

The Rude Awakening Show ''The Rude Awakening Show'' is a United States morning radio talk show that airs from 6am until 10am weekdays on WOCM, a radio station based in Ocean City, Maryland. The show is simulcast via IRIE Radio. It is hosted by Chicago-born radio perso ...

''.

Personal life

Byster got married in the early 1990s and has a son, Josh, to whom he has taught his methods. He currently resides in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byster, Michael 1959 births Living people Mental calculators American financial businesspeople American commodities traders Gies College of Business alumni People from Skokie, Illinois 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American mathematicians Mensans Mathematicians from Illinois 21st-century American Jews