Comments on: A Mental Abacus Lets Math Whizzes Bypass Language

By: devlyn

devlyn — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:58:57 +0000

Very cool! I wrote a paper about this in a writing class earlier this year (regarding localized Asian maths skills). ^_^

By: Iain

Iain — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:40:37 +0000

Verbal mental math requires adding from the left rather than the right, just like we say it.
357 + 8791 = 357 + 8000 8357 + 700 9057 + 90 9147 + 1 = 9148. But I don’t use the pluses, it’s a given.
I can only merge 2 numbers at a time and I find it much easier to reorder by length with the bigger number first. However, if i can name the numbers, I can add them. It really really helps to see them written down (keeps me on track)
Subtracting I haven’t really tried, hmmm

By: don bronkema

don bronkema — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:41:26 +0000

we nonagenarians will wait for the implant!

By: Bob Hall

Bob Hall — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:05:17 +0000

The real question for educators is this: Is learning to add numbers rapidly an essential skill? I think being able to multiply and divide small numbers mentally is important. It’s a skill needed in the grocery store, for just one example. Would abacus training help?

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:18:12 +0000

AshleyCakes…the brain is quite a bit more malleable and adaptable than originally thought back in the 60s to even the 90s. You should have no trouble learning a new task if you wish. Math was my weak point too so I learned to do rapid mental math (there are several good books on this in libraries), and now I’m intrigued about the use of an abacus so I’ll look into learning this method (and I’m considerably older than 25, you young ‘un, you).

I’ll never be a math genius as I struggle to understand concepts that other people grasp right away, but I do eventually grasp the concepts which are all the sweeter because it took so much hard work to understand them. But, people think I am a math genius because I can do basic math calculations (+, -, x, /, sqr rt) in my head before they can find the calculator and enter the numbers themselves, and I understand and can use some fairly high level statistical maths.

In short, if you want to improve your math, make it fun, and don’t worry about whether or not your brain can adapt to it as an adult. It can. Your biggest limitation will be saying to yourself, “I can’t do math” and eventually you believe it and don’t even try. Avoid that trap, and your brain will eventually take you far beyond what you now think is possible.
[soapboxing done] :)

By: Jay Warner

Jay Warner — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:09:53 +0000

We have been a visually oriented species since before we were Homo Sapiens. Mathematicians talk of ‘building a house, then wandering around in it,” to work on (for them) major problems. Watching an experienced statistician evaluate a problem/project, if you are quick about it, you can follow what he/she says by the imagery used. You can even contribute, if you have a visual sense of the means, standard deviations, and distributions involved. Let’s make ‘visual’ some other things we want to teach/learn.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:42:33 +0000

I suspect this is the method my husband uses to do his fast mental math. I’ve seen him twitch his fingers as he adds up.

I have a mild case of discalcula, and I have to visualize the numbers as if I’d written them down in order to add anything more than one digit together. Otherwise, the numbers run together and become a big puddle.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:33:39 +0000

Apparently, “some of the most brilliant mathematicians have been known for their ability to ‘think in shapes,’ “. Yes. And so too any good high school geometry student …

I really wish I could read the referenced article, because I am somewhat surprised that most people perform calculations using language. I do a combination of subvocalizing and visualizing the numbers. I was taught arithmetic with pencil and paper, not through having to recite in front of a teacher, so that may have something to do with it.

By: Pippa

Pippa — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:09:10 +0000

What an interesting article. As a n=1 study, I have always talked about the patterns in numbers and have been able to add numbers on paper faster than most of my peers, who were using a calculator, when we were doing a lot of math – but I was never trained to do this. I did however attend school in my early years in Singapore and remember using an abacus. Although I write down the numbers, I visualize patterns of dots, and rearrange them, now I think about how I do it.

By: tbell

tbell — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:17:00 +0000

@ Snehal Karia, I suspect that is an overgeneralization of the critical/sensitive period neuroplasticity findings. There are a great many things that we can learn to do at any age. Vocabulary acquisition for instance, shows lifelong plasticity. There are any number of motor skills that one can learn later in life that also do not seem to be age limited. It’s hard to say, without actually testing it, how easy something is to learn in adulthood (which is where most of us will spend our time).

By: Robert Martin, Psy.D.

Robert Martin, Psy.D. — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:51:25 +0000

The average person can autonomate expertise at any age. 3-14 year olds may have an easier time, but we can all do it with practice, repetition, increasing challenges, and the motivation to keep it up :)

By: 462356

462356 — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:22:12 +0000

I wouldn’t worry too much, though, Ashley; you can always wait a bit longer and get a calculator implanted into your brain.

By: Snehal Karia

Snehal Karia — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:12:48 +0000

Research suggests that the best age to train a brain is between the formative years of 3 and 14…hence the best age to learn mental abacus is between that age. Abacus can be learned or even mastered but to enhance your visualization skill over the abacus beads, the age bracket becomes critical.

By: AshleyCakes

AshleyCakes — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:07:02 +0000

Can you learn the mental abacus method when you’re older, say, 25 years old, or would it be more difficult for someone like me to learn it now because I have already learned it the other way? I’d love to sharpen my math skills seeing as how it’s my weakest subject.

By: Wynn

Wynn — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:05:13 +0000

I learned how to use a mental abacus when I was younger and I completely agree that I start having trouble when adding numbers more than 3 digits precisely because that’s how many columns I can keep in my head at one time.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:39:05 +0000

Greg Bear, in his two book series “The Forge of God” and “Anvil of Stars”, had human characters using visual/kinetic imagery to do advanced mathematics without the need for manipulation of symbols. Your report reminded me of that.

By: Georg

Georg — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:27:02 +0000

Another instance of confusing math and calculation.

There were some mathemtican genies (eg Gauß) who
could calculate very well and quick, but that is not
the general rule.