Googol Boy and the peculiar incident of the Great Quiz Trophy

you a confidence boost.”
“Well, you’re not helping! You’re just adding to the pressure!”
“Hmm... someone’s a bit grumpy... I’ll just go and stand over there and let you do your thing.”
As Barney toddled back to the sideline, I was thinking about how I ever managed to get in this mess in the first place. I bounced the ball a few times to get a feel for it. It felt like a giant oversized orange struggling to break free from my tiny hand... I looked at the hoop and it seemed so far away.
“Ah, just a minute there Horatio,” interrupted Mr Perriman.
“Yes sir?” I answered with a quiver in my voice.
“Move it back to the three-point line.”
“The three-point line?” I gulped.
“Are you deaf? That’s what I said... the three-point line!” grunted Mr Perriman.
I took four steps backwards... the hoop just got a lot further away. This was going to be an impossible task − even when standing right underneath the hoop, I still never got the ball in.
I bounced the basketball again, the sound echoed around the hall. All the students were as still as statues; I took a deep breath and closed my eyes shut. I was feeling anxious... very anxious... my heart was beating through my chest and I was starting to pant like a meerkat with heatstroke.
“Okay... okay! Get a grip Howard!” I said to myself. I thought back to all the times I had been down in the dumps and remembered my Dad’s advice. “Think happy thoughts Son and melt those blues away!”
Well, as things stood, I had nothing to lose so I tried to visualise happy thoughts. I thought of eating a vanilla and chocolate sundae. Mmmm! I started to feel a little better already. The creamy vanilla ice-cream smothered in rich chocolate was so enticing. Now I was feeling a lot better − my heartbeat and breathing started to slow down and my mind became tranquil. I could actually feel the texture in my mouth, it was so rich and creamy. I smacked my lips loudly; my angst had almost disappeared altogether. The ice cream felt so cold in my mouth... so delicious... but then, for some reason, I started to think about cavities... AND then, I started to think about my dentist and how he loves to use that needle, and that drill, and all those other instruments that look like medieval torture devices. My heartbeat and breathing started to spike again. Bummer! This entire thinking ‘happy thoughts’ process was just making me more edgy and stressed!
I quickly opened my eyes to get away from my dentist nightmare, and that’s when it happened! My brain started to whir like crazy and I was no longer seeing the hall as it was moments ago, instead it had become a grid of lines, curves and points. I was seeing shapes and angles everywhere − from the geometry of the hoop, to the fractals in the pattern of the basketball. I had an intuitive sense of length, weight, height, gravity and mass.
“So, this is what maths looks like,” I thought to myself.
“Come on Howell! Get it into gear... we don’t have all day!” shouted Mr Perriman.
My brain started whirring again and in an instant I could see the optimal curve to the basket and could see the mathematical formula in my mind’s eye, all the variables were falling into place − the speed, distance and trajectory.
“Okay sir!” I answered.
I bounced the ball once, twice and did a quick calculation of the weight and diameter of the ball (567 grams and 24.26 centimetres), the distance (6.75 metres), the height of the hoop (3 metres). Everything seemed to add up perfectly. I threw the ball and as soon as it left my fingertips, I had a good feeling and it was one of those ‘just know’ moments, as I just knew that the ball would go in. We’ve all had those moments at one time or another. You know, when you ‘just know’ that your older sister will beat you up for eating that last muffin. When you ‘just know’ when a teacher says “interesting work,” she really means “this is awful!” When you ‘just know’ that people who say “your secret is safe with me” will, in reality, tell everybody they meet.
Now back to my amazing shot. The basketball floated through the air and as it met its target a delightful sound resonated in the still air.
“Nothing but net!” screamed one of the students on the sideline. The rest of the crowd reacted with wild cheers while Barney punched the air with his fist.
I couldn’t believe that the ball that I had just thrown, went through the hoop. I mean, I had seen other people do it but this experience had never happened to me. And who would have thought that you needed maths for anything outside of Maths classs?
Mr Perriman’s face twitched slightly and then his expression reverted back to a lemonsucking scowl. “You got lucky there Hubert! One out of three but remember, it’s not how you start the game but how you finish. Two more shots to go... let’s play ball!”
Yes... two more shots to go and I must admit, I was feeling rather confident. Again, I rechecked the distance, the angle, the height and did a quick calculation in my head − all the computations pointed to success.
“You can do it Howie!” screamed Barney from the sideline.
I bounced the ball a few times and then threw it... once again, swooooooooosh! I never really cared much for sports (I guess that was because I was one of the worst players on the court) but I have to say, now that I had a slight taste of victory, I was hooked!
Again the students cheered with gusto and vigour. Barney was so excited he attempted a star jump but lost his balance and ripped his shorts. His face turned red as a tomato and he quickly sat down so that no one would