Mathematics + magic = mathemagics
Cats: Uncategorized|Last night this typist gasped. At math.
No kidding. I laughed too. And clapped. And marveled. And jumped to my feet. At math. MATH!And you would have gasped, laughed, clapped and marveled too, if you’d witnessed someone work this out in their head:
57,682 x 57,682 =
It took him about 20 seconds to come up with the correct answer of 3, 327, 213, 124 before a live audience of mathematicians at the university lecture I attended. The audience gave him the numbers to work with and he used his mental math skills and tricks to come up with the answer.
He calls his art Mathemagics.
If you give him the date, month and year of your birthday, he can tell you the day you were born. Even if you were born in 1805.
He can do 11x 14 in a snap because of the magic properties in the 11-times table. ( You add 1+4 = 5 and put the 5 in the middle of the 1 and 4 for an answer of 154.) For bigger numbers you have to carry the one so that 85 x 11 = 8 + 5 = 13. Carry the one makes the answer 935.
He does his mental math calculations left to right.
He uses the magic of the nine-times tables to perform other feats. He also uses phonetic codes to memorize pi (∏) to 60 figures.
Dr. Benjamin says the biggest problem with math is the way it’s taught. Math teachers beat the joy out of math starting in elementary school. They make it more complicated and less fun than it really is.
When kids begin to stumble on math, society quickly gives them the out. ” I guess you aren’t that good at math.” This is wrong, he says. Everyone can do math. Math is a skill like reading or driving a car. And if you practice you can do it.
Where I live, math is a huge problem and the government is so blind to the problem that they put a positive spin on test results showing that 30% of Grade 3 students are failing at math. This, according to our government, is good.
Dumb, I say. And Dr. Benjamin would say so too.
Dr. Benjamin’s gift for entertainment and fun is what math and kids need most.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I wish I had learned mathmagics as a kid. Just reading your blog gave me some ah-ha moments. Don’t be too down on teachers though, my kids have come home and displayed some of these tricks including a nifty hand trick for the 9 times table. I remember when I was taught long division and was totally lost until a substitute teacher taught us the “new old way” and I finally got it. Our regular teacher hated him for teaching us this but we never returned to her long division again and continued to get the right answers. It’s a bit like history repeating.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I came to the realization a few years ago that all of my “I’m not good at _____” was self inflicted. Math was at the top of the list. Sure I passed university level statistics, biometrics, and calculus…but I still wasn’t math minded.
So I bought a book called “Speed Mathmatics Simplified” by Edward Stoddard, and a book called “Innumaracy” by John Allan Paulos and the journey began.
Edward emphasizes the benefits of working left to right and has many exercises to train the brain to work that way.
It makes a lot of sense, and allows one to see the answer forming in a logical way. 391 X 391 = 900 left to right. Right to left we know it ends in 1…not particularly useful.
Mr. Paulos shows us why we should be proficient at math to function in our number driven world. It’s a good read, whereas Mr. Stoddards book is an exercise that one must apply oneself to.
I am better at math in my head, although this ‘typing’ has reminded me to go back and complete my training.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
My math phobia started in 5th grade, with a teacher who was forced to teach co-ed classes (long story) and resented every girl in the room. I struggled through junior high & high school, then my first semester of college the only A I got was in statistics. I wanted to find that bitch of a teacher and send her a copy of the report card. I still kinda do, actually.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
My head just exploded.
I had math phobia from grad 3 till grad school, where the best professor I have ever had was helping me with a biostats lesson I had missed and suddenly it all became clear. Well, except for calculus – that’s just pure evil.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I had really good math teachers as a kid, but once I reached higher levels of math my brain just couldn’t cope. No matter how much I practiced, so I agree its a skill you can learn to some extent, but some brains are just more apt.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Math is such a hot button topic
Mare, your story of math is a testament of teacher’s power to turn students on or off math. I’m buying the guy’s book . I’ll lend it to you if you want to read it.
Dick,are we born with the idea that we can’t do math or do we get messages that teach us this.
The math guy says problem is the messages we get from teachers and society. If we were taught that we can do math and that it is fun, we’d all be much better off.
Moxie, the math guy also said that the can’t-do-math messages are targeted at girls more than boys. His research shows girls are equally capable but they get the messages in school like you did.
Barbara, so it was a eureka moment for you too. My moment came in an economics stats course in uni. It was the teacher’s enthusiasm, fun and humour that opened my eyes.
Allison, the math guy says that teachers and society tell us that some of us can do it and some can’t. Girls get slotted on the can’t side, and once you’ve decided you can’t, then you won’t. It makes me sad to hear smart people say they can’t.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Ever see that movie, “Little Man Tate”? In it, there’s a kid who calls himself the “mathemagician.” I wonder if there’s a connection between that movie and the person you saw?
May 14th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
It’s definately learned. In my youth I believed that we were ‘blessed’ with certain traits and skills. Everyone seems to have an element of “I’m no good at ______”, and I believe it is a product of our dominantly deist oriented culture.
People will say a given talent is a blessing, as opposed to a practiced and learned skill. Sure some peoples life experiences may make them faster at advancing a given skill, or make them more inclined to pursue a higher level of performance in a chosen skill, but I don’t believe there is a genetic predisposition that will make you better or worse.
If any one of us decided that proficiency in math was an imperative, and we were passionate about attaining our goal of proficiency, we would get there.
So if we aren’t good at math, it’s because we have not assigned it sufficient priority. There can be a myriad of reasons why we would or wouldn’t, but as I said before, I believe it is because we have been taught through osmosis that our skills and development are somehow controlled by the ‘Almighty’ or limited by our brain chemistry.