Hans Eberstark
Encyclopedia
Hans Eberstark was an Austria
n linguist, translator, and mental calculator
. He died on 19 December 2001.
Eberstark often lectured on language
and translation in Europe and was known for asking someone whose first language was a small local dialect
of German
(particularly Swiss German
, of which there are countless dialects) to speak with him (during the lecture); after a couple minutes Eberstark would suddenly start speaking fluently in that dialect.
Of Viennese Jewish origin, he spent some of his early years in Shanghai
, with many other displaced people from all over Europe. It was there that he was exposed to many different languages.
A member of Mensa
, Eberstark was a resident of Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked as an interpreter. In the late 1960s he was married with two children. He once told group of friends that he "knew" the date he would die.
He also is known for having once reciting 11,944 successive digits of the mathematical quantity of pi
from memory. During an earlier attempt he had intended on reciting roughly half that many but had made a mistake. He was angry with himself for the mistake so he memorized even more.
There was a profile on him in the October 1993 issue of Atlantic Monthly.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n linguist, translator, and mental calculator
Mental calculator
Mental calculators are people with a prodigious ability in some area of mental calculation, such as multiplying large numbers or factoring large numbers...
. He died on 19 December 2001.
Eberstark often lectured on language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and translation in Europe and was known for asking someone whose first language was a small local dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(particularly Swiss German
Swiss German
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
, of which there are countless dialects) to speak with him (during the lecture); after a couple minutes Eberstark would suddenly start speaking fluently in that dialect.
Of Viennese Jewish origin, he spent some of his early years in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, with many other displaced people from all over Europe. It was there that he was exposed to many different languages.
A member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, Eberstark was a resident of Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked as an interpreter. In the late 1960s he was married with two children. He once told group of friends that he "knew" the date he would die.
He also is known for having once reciting 11,944 successive digits of the mathematical quantity of pi
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
from memory. During an earlier attempt he had intended on reciting roughly half that many but had made a mistake. He was angry with himself for the mistake so he memorized even more.
There was a profile on him in the October 1993 issue of Atlantic Monthly.