The 19th season of America’s Got Talent recently saw its youngest ever competitor — Baby Dev — take to the stage with an act that will make your jaw drop! Just two years old, this whimsical kid came to show off a mathematical talent that put even the judges’ skills to shame.
Baby Dev was supported by his dad, Duane, a retired police officer who asked the judges one by one to call out a one or two digit number. Duane would write the judges’ numbers on the whiteboard in an equation, handing the marker to his son to complete the sum.
Head judge Simon Cowell thought he’d have Baby Dev stumped, suggesting the numbers 79 and 7, which Dev had to multiply together. In all his sporadic and super-sweet babyish laughter, it was clear Dev didn’t see a problem at all, doing the sums, showing his work, and gaining a perfect score on three out of three equations!
Dad Duane bounced Dev in his arms in a heartwarming moment of celebration, before all focus turned back to the judges’ critiques. Heidi Klum admitted, “You are amazing, young man,” and Sofia Vergara called Dev’s act “one of the most fascinating things I’ve seen on AGT.”
Dev, adorably oblivious but dancing nonetheless, was loving every moment on stage as he earned top marks on his test and four out of four yes votes from the judges. His natural talent for mathematics had clearly left the judges stunned. Howie realized, “Compared to him, we’re all idiots,” while Simon reflected, “What a sweet kid, and what a great dad as well. That is a genius. I feel really stupid!”
If you’re a parent, you’re probably wondering how on Earth a toddler could have picked up such a natural talent for maths. Duane recently revealed the story behind his son’s incredible ability in an interview with NBC Insider. When Baby Dev was only four months old, he displayed an instinctive love for numbers. His parents picked up on Dev’s passion whenever his favorite learning shows switched from maths to another topic, sending him crying and craving more maths problems. But when Duane turned the TV back to maths, Dev would calm down in an instant.
Maths seems so inherent to Baby Dev that his first word wasn’t the usual “mama” or “dada” — instead, the number “seven.” He’d learned to write numbers by himself by the time he was 15 months old and quickly began putting his skills into practice, counting everything under the sun from cars to birds and trees. According to this same NBC interview, Baby Dev is obsessed with his number magnets which “he carries with him like it’s a toy.” Even more shocking — Baby Dev is a home-taught prodigy, receiving not one single formal maths lesson.
Baby Dev’s audition has amassed over 1.2 million YouTube views in its first four days online. It’s no wonder the judges went wild for this act, and we can’t wait to see what other tricks Dev has left to pull out of the hat!