THE LATEST ARITHMETICAL PRODIGY. 6$ 



M. Inaudi, faithful to the processes of his infancy, manages them 

 with surprising dexterity. He has perfected, developed, and en- 

 larged them, but has not changed their nature. 



The basis of his calculations is multiplication ; even in divid- 

 ing or extracting the square root, he multiplies. He makes a 

 series of multiplications of approach. In a division, for example, 

 he finds the quotients by groping ; seeking and trying a number 

 which, multiplied by the divisor, will produce the dividend. 



He follows a course in multiplication which is peculiar to him. 

 If more than one figure is included, he does not perform the pro- 

 cess all at once, for he has no more extended multiplication table 

 than ours ; but his method consists in decomposing a complex 

 multiplication into a series of simpler ones. If he is to multiply 

 325 X G38, M. Inaudi calculates thus : 



300 X 600 = 180,000 300 X 8 = 2,400 



25 X 600 = 15,000 25 X 30 = 750 



300 X 30= 9,000 25 X 8 = 200 



In short, he makes six multiplications instead of one. He begins 

 on the left, multiplying, therefore, the figures of the highest value. 

 In other cases he changes the data around. Instead of multi- 

 plying by 587, he multiplies by 600 and then by 13, and subtracts 

 the second product from the first. The observation of M. Inaudi 

 brings a new factor to the theory of partial memories. It is usual 

 to employ the word memory in a general sense to express the 

 property, common to all thinking beings, of preserving and re- 

 producing the impressions they have received ; but psychological 

 analysis and a large number of facts in mental pathology have 

 shown that memory should not be regarded as a sole faculty, 

 having a distinct seat ; in the final analysis, memory is a group 

 of operations. There exist, according to the report of the com- 

 mittee of the Academy, partial, special, local memories, each of 

 which has its special domain, and which are so independent that 

 one of them may be enfeebled, may disappear, or may develop to 

 excess without the others necessarily presenting any correspond- 

 ing modification. The older psychologists missed this truth. 

 Gall was probably the first to assign its proper memory to each 

 faculty, and founded the theory of partial memories. It is at the 

 present time supported by multiplied facts, a large number of 

 which have been furnished by M. Taine. He has cited, among 

 others, the cases of those painters, designers, and statuaries who, 

 after having carefully regarded a model, can make its portrait 

 from memory. They supply fine examples of the development of 

 visual memory. Then there are cases of musical memory. The 

 subject has been revived of late years in the study of diseases of 

 language. Cases have been cited of patients in whom the single 

 memory of language, very limited and special, is abolished, while 



