Charles Mbena: Self-Taught 6-Year-Old Boy Praised as Mathematics Genius
- In a YouTube video, six-year-old Charles Mbena revealed that he has always been in love with numbers and no one taught him
- The last born in a family of four added that his elder siblings sometimes come to him for help with mathematics
- Asked what he would tell President John Magufuli if he met him one on one, he said he had nothing in mind
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Charles Mathias Mbena is a young mathematics genius who hails from one of the remotest parts of Morogororo, Tanzania.
Source: UGC
Mbena came into the limelight when his teacher shared a video of him answering Mathematics questions with ease, even those that seemed too advanced for his age.
The last born in a family of four is a kindergarten pupil at Nyingwa Primary School, having only been in school for two months.
He looks at becoming a teacher of mathematics in future because he can tell that, even at that tender age, numerical knowledge is his forte.
In a YouTube video, Mbena revealed that his numerical prowess is self-taught, that not even his teacher Sophia taught him.
"So, how did you know to count if no one taught you?" asked the YouTuber.
"I just count with the help of my fingers. I know that I have 10 fingers and 10 toes, which is the first figure of 20 around me," he said.
He went ahead to explain that despite being the youngest in the family, his elder siblings sometimes come to him for help with mathematics questions.
The light moment in the interview was when Mbena was asked what he would tell the president if he met him one on one.
"I would just greet him," he said.
"Apart from greetings, what else would you request of him?" prodded the interviewer.
"I have no idea what else I would tell him," the young man maintained.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that there is no doubt in the world that 16-year-old Lifa Shangase from Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal is a genius. The young man managed to matriculate from his high school with an amazing seven distinctions.
When Shangase first came to Velabahleke High School, it was no secret that he was an incredibly bright boy. Not long after being there, it was decided that he had no need for Grade eight and was sent directly to a combined Grade 8 and 9 classroom.
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Source: Briefly News
Stefan Mack (Editor) Stefan Mack is an English and history teacher who has broadened his horizons with journalism. He enjoys experiencing the human condition through the world's media. Stefan keeps Briefly News' readers entertained during the weekend. He graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010 with a Bachelor of Education (BEd), majoring in History and English. Stefan has been writing for Briefly News for a number of years and has covered mainstream to human interest articles.
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
