Customer Reviews

Speed Mathematics Simplified (Dover Science Books)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book should be used to teach children mathematics in our schools. The concepts are simple and clearly described.
Unlike math i learned in grade school you only need to know addition up to 10 and the multiplication table to 9 times.
It is the first unified speed math concept book that teaches a fast way to do mental calculations without memorizing a multitude of various rules for specific mathematical situations.
After reading this, i have stopped searching for any further speed math books because i doubt any could compare.

To find out that everything you were taught in school about arithmetic was the slow dumb way to do it is a slap in the face. If you can handle that and are willing to have and open mind about it, this is the book for you. I have to say the methods are very different from what you learned, but it still builds apon the knowledge you already have about basic math. You must work at it though, simply reading will not help much. However if you follow the instructions you will exponentially increase your speed and without having to think about it as much as your use to. I am not much of a math person and I found the results very surprising. Buy it, period.

Instead of providing a series of disjointed "speed techniques," Stoddard teaches a method of speed arithmetic that integrates the same principles throughout. In other words, the speed techniques you learn in addition will also be employed in subtraction, multiplication, and division. Stoddard's "no carry, no borrow" method is based upon the structure of the Japanese abacus called the Soroban along with making efficient use of the inherent ease of computing with 10. The methods Stoddard uses are historical and were first seen in print in the 12th century in a book about arithmetic written by the Indian mathematician and astronomer Bhaskara (1144-1185) entitled "Lilavati." The wonder and beauty of this method is its consistency (which is what mathematics is all about). Every arithmetic operation is approached the same way, a revolutionary (to some, that is) "left to right" procedure. One by-product of this consistency is that it lends itself to immediate estimates. Compare this ingenuity with the "hodge-podge" traditional way of teaching arithmetic and you will see marked productivity difference. I, as a math teacher, wish more students were taught this way. The simplicity of the methods, once mastered, generates an ease and accuracy of computation that is simply amazing to behold.

but somewhat out of date. Stoddard attempts to apply abacus methods to mental calcualation. I found this book fun reading but a more practical book covering the same ground is Handley's SPEED MATHEMATICS.

Want to make others believe you are a genius? Need to make a good impression during a job interview that likes to throw mental math problems to test an applicant's intelligence? If so, this book is an excellent foundation to mastery of mental arithmetic.

I've been "ok" with arithmetic since childhood, and certainly no math prodigy by any stretch of the imagination. Some of the things I discovered on my own are elaborated on and synthesized here in this book. Just the concept of complement addition and subtraction, along with the concept of working from LEFT to RIGHT, as English speaking folks do with reading, is worthwhile.

Skill with numbers, for the most part, is acquired, not something you are "born with." Sure, some people pick up things faster than others, but that isn't really important. Sadly, the vast majority of the population is discouraged from higher mathematics because of poor teaching methods during the critical childhood period. I noticed that working through this book helped my algebra skills immediately.

If this book interests you, I would also advise checking out Handley's version of Speed Mathematics, along with Doerfler's Dead Reckoning. The last title is awfully useful for aspiring scientists and engineers, or perhaps Quants on Wall St.

I'm a little angry (yes angry) writing this because I feel for the people out there that struggle with math you never stop to think there is another way. This book convinced me that math can be enjoyable if you give yourself time to practice the different techniques within this book. I never heard of complement addition or subtraction before and when I finally understood it...wow, what a help it was to me. I urge any parent, teacher, or anyone still foggy on the fundamentals of math to pick this book up.

So why don't you buy this book, then? You will not be dissapointed. It covers addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Completely new algorithms for solving arithmetic problems. Everything you learned in school is wortless compared to those techniques. Of course, you must study them carefully. You will not be a genius after skimming this book on one day, but the one who study it carefully will be on he's way. The only reason it didn't get 5 starts is that there must be one left to "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ;)

Not bad. There are elements to committing speed math to memory. It has these.