The Right Answer? 8,186,699,633,530,061 (An Abacus Makes It Look Almost Easy)

My just deceased Dad (104 years old!) used a circular slide rule to navigate when flying bombers across the Atlantic to England during WWII. I learned on that until I saved enough to buy a regular slide rule. Always wanted to learn to use the Abacus.

Japan is a country that actually values education and teachers are treated with the utmost of respect. This is one of the results of that.

Still have my slide rule after all these years. Got me through undergrad and grad school (Chem). However, it's not an abacus competitor as it can't be used to do sums. BTW: The Golden Gate bridge was built using slide rule calculations. It is still standing, too.

My cousin, who now works as a surgeon, used to go to an abacus class. Whenever he was calculating up to like 10 digits ( or more ) numbers in multiplication, division and let alone additions and subtraction in his head. He was always using his fingers in his head or in the air as if an abacus is right in front of him. In my generation, ( Born in the 1960s) in Japan, it was one of the most important afternoon programs taught privately in their houses. I still use my abacus even now. It is sometimes faster than using a calculator if it's many digits. ( And you don't need a battery.)

I bought a Japanese abacus just like the ones depicted here a few years ago in a thrift shop. I found a book on how to use it and taught myself. Not for any particular reason but just because it was fun. I often use it now instead of an electronic calculator for the same reason: it's kind of fun.

Two comments: 1. What a great story! Congratulations to the Japanese for keeping this skill alive, and to all the competitors and winners. The picture of the 11 year old boy holding the trophy as tall as himself is just marvelous! 2. “Unlike the computer or calculator, you have to watch the movement of the beads with your eyes, and then think with your brain and make a move with your fingers,” said Mr. Okahisa, ... “It’s a very foundational learning process.” This is a very insightful observation. In college I had a gorgeous slide rule with 22 scales, which I lost after college. I still grieve the loss. When multiplying numbers, I knew just how far to move the slide so unerringly that it was the same as multiplying the numbers to two figure (sometimes three) accuracy in my head. It gave me great number sense, and a lifelong mental arithmetic ability. I still calculate in my head when I am too lazy to reach for the calculator.

As a total math geek myself, I was enchanted to find an abacus store in Tokyo and fully intended to buy something fancy there. But the old guy at the counter saw my heavily inked arms and made me leave. The vagaries of Japanese culture...

Great story. The slide rule was also an amazing item. Check the flight control room in the Apollo 13 movie.

We may face trouble when calculating anything over number 20, but we know everything the Kardashians are up to!

I had trouble with the slide rule when I was in engineering school. Maybe that is why I later went to law school. Much easier.

I still like to pull out a piece of paper and pencil to figure out posers. My 92 year old mom still manually figures out her checking account. Helps keep her mind sharp.

Cool

A wonderful story. And loved the photos. That one particular photo of audience watching these youngsters. What caught my eye - no one was staring down at a phone screen. Either they were paying attention or ok, some dozing - but none on their phones. That itself is an achievement. I was first in Japan in mid 70's. As an engineer, I remember my fascination with abacus. It's not difficult to learn but these speeds that's another thing. But I am old enough (just crossed 70) to remember slide rule which I was very good at. And I remember calculators were just being introduced. But many of us swore by our slide rule for fast and accurate answers.

The Japanese abacus has columns of five beads. One bead has a value of five. The remaining beads a value of one. It is possible to do square roots on it. As configured,it is efficient as no simplifying of configurations is required as does earlier designs. But it takes practice!

When I was stationed in Japan in the 1950's, competitions were held between soroban users and calculator users. The soroban invariably won in addition, subtraction, and multiplication, and the calculator only in division. Apparently, the soroban users have improved in the interim.

Meanwhile, here in the US, it's almost a cultural rite of passage to shrug and say "I dunno that math stuff!" *sigh*

Again the Dark Ages shall return when the lights go out as brain surgery performed ancient Egypt knowledge lost until found again thank the Muslims for protecting knowledge after Roman Empire fell then the barbarians sacked Rome and the Dark Ages began. We can and have lost knowledge this instrument wasn’t taught in U.S. and I felt deprived for my nation failed to teach this great Chinese invention as the Chinese shall leave the U.S. in the dust as Asian culture more advanced than Caucasian peoples.

My father learned how to do the abacus in his mind, he could easily beat anyone on complex calculations claiming it was easy. It should be taught just as a handy mental tool to have.

There is indeed joy in learning!

Google map has made us map and directional illiterate. Calculators have made us arithmetic illiterate. In Japan, they have placed a number line on beads and shown that they can add 15 digits numbers in two seconds. Somehow there is a fundamental value when addition can be visualized. Which begs the question, do they allow the soroban in the SAT exam?

I’m glad that the NYT is reporting on the children of Japan embracing Abacus math. I had my three children learned Abacus math with the Soroban when they were 6 years old on Long Island through an enrichment school. They reached master level in 4 years by passing a mental math exam with a time constraint (without the use of Soroban). The problems on the exam were 3 digits x 2 digits and long division problems. They also competed in local competitions ran by the school. All three of my children are in HS now and are taking advance classes in math and are mathletes. They still use mental math for basic calculation today.

We were each given an abacus to use in First Grade. It had clear red beads on the lower columns and clear green beads on the top columns. It was very enjoyable to use and made math quite understandable. I did not like going to paper and pencil - only.

When I was in college 65 years ago, and we didn't have pocket electronic calculators, I had a physics professor who held informal competitions testing both accuracy and speed of computations with our version of the abacus, the SLIDE RULE. Remember those, golden agers? The competitions were great fun, and helped us hone our skills for solving complex math, physics and chemistry problems. When is the last time you saw or used one?

I learned this in elementary school. It is actually really fun. Glad to see Japan keeping up this tradition.

I am struck by the joy on the faces of the participants, the young mathematicians. Beautiful.

Handy skill for a shopkeeper to have if the power goes out...

It's a great way to understand decimal numbers: much better than the method for interpolating logarithms that we had to learn in school. The calculator killed it. It's now like learning to start a fire by rubbing sticks before the invention of matches.