Scott Flansburg calls himself The Human Calculator because his mind is wired just a little bit differently, giving him the ability to do math quicker than you, even if you use a calculator. He has taught tens of thousands of kids around the world why they shouldn't be afraid of math -- and in the nearly 20 years I've known him -- I've seen him motivate children who thought they could never do even simple arithmetic and turn them into the star students in their classrooms.
Scott joined me today on KTRS/St. Louis, where we discussed something we have in common -- doing addition from left to right, instead of right to left, as almost every US school teaches. This leads to frustration for kids who can do the math in their heads, but have teachers who won't give them credit because they didn't "show their work." Making those calculations mentally, not on paper, goes against the curriculum that has been used in classrooms for decades, which leads to math anxiety that those kids don't need.
Scott talked about how and why he does what he does, why he believes the number 9 is the key to learning math, and what he's trying to do now with his in-school seminars and Mathletics program. He also showed off the amazing quick-addition skill that landed him in the Guinness Book of Records.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Human Calculator
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Kudos to Mr. Flansburg for his lightning calculations - and for his efforts to help U.S. students do better in math.
And certainly, no claim of "The Human Calculator" would be complete without reference to the first Human Calculator, Professor Arthur Benjamin of Harvey Mudd University in California. Now THERE is a lightning mathematician for you - you ought to contact him, Mr. Harris. He's another phenomenal talent.
I remain,
Sincerely,
Eric L. Sofer
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The Bad Clown...
I'm familiar with Art, and posted a video of him last summer:
http://paulharrisonline.blogspot.com/2008/07/art-benjamin-mathemagician.html
Check out Marvin Gardner's book Mathematical Carnival and look at the chapter on "Tricks of Lightning Calculators". You should find many of Marvin's friends at the Amazing Meeting.
I wish you had tried to throw Scott off. For Example, when he asked for a 3-digit number and a 1-digit number to do division, Instead give him a 4-digit number and a 2-digit number. Or you could have asked him to do the repeating addtion on 3 or 4 digit number.
Also, you should have called him on the "we only use 5-10% of our brain" myth.
Ever heard of dyscalculia? "Math dyslexia". http://dyscalculiaforum.com
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