• RBWells@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I am an accountant, literally work all day with numbers. 8+7, fine, that’s 16 minus one or 14 plus one.

    8x7? Never managed to memorize the times tables so that is, well 4 7s is 14 +14, that’s 28, so 8 7s is 28 + 28, which is 40 and 16 so that’s 56.

    • MeThisGuy@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      interesting how mathes works differently for many people. because I do 8+2 to get 10. then 7-2=5, so 10+5 = 15.

      • ThunderQueen@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Neat. I just remember that 8 is 2 less than 10 and 7 is 3 less than ten, so you can either do 8-3+10 or 7-2+10. Both are 15. Its similar to how you do it but for some reason its easier for me this way.

    • Dicska@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I understand not everyone spends that much time with numbers when they are a kid, but having liked maths (I know, I know…), I had to add up numbers enough times to recognise the pattern. So whenever I saw ghefruifghergu8+vzeru4vgbedrzvrehb7, I knew that it will end with 5, and the preceding digit will increase by one (unless it ended with 95, but enough repetitions…).

      It doesn’t even take intelligence, just enough repetitions ro recognise patterns - like almost everything. The same goes for the multiplying table. 8x7 isn’t 56 because of the above (rather smart!) investigation anymore, but simply because 8x7 is 56, because it was also 56 for the previous 573482967589345 times. Powers of 2, up until 20? For the first few hundred times I had to start from scratch, but after ~100 repetitions, I ended up remembering them until 64. 2^7 was easy to calculate then, it’s just 64x2=128. And then it grew.

  • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I don’t know what to make of this comments section. This many people really don’t have 8+7 down?

    I don’t even feel superior about it, just bewildered.

      • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Maybe I just have it fresher in my head because I play a lot of Killer Sudoku. 15 pair box? That’s a 7-8 or a 6-9.

    • Test_Tickles@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      For us older folk, and unfortunately, also for some younger folk that grew up in more “conservative” small towns, borrowing and fancy math trickery was the work of the devil.
      We were required to memorize the addition tables as well as the multiplication tables. And even then, addition could be done on your fingers and toes so as long as you could add the big numbers like 8 & 7 together faster than the really slow kid could take off his shoes and work it the hard way, you were considered proficient at addition.
      So ya, there’s a wide swath of America that just sucks at basic math.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      In my case, the mental math trick suggestion (make it 10 + 5) was intended as a way to build a skill using the provided, easy example. That type of mental math can be applied to much larger numbers, particularly when combined with other mental math tricks.

  • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Mental math tricks are important.

    Take 2 from the 7 and give it to the 8. You now have 10 + 5. Much easier math.

    • Shelena@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      Yes, that seems easier to me as well! I was not allowed to do this according to the teacher when I was a child. They wanted me to do it in some weird counterintuitive way. But I was very stubborn and I am still doing calculations in this way. She is not the boss of the way I think!

  • MML@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    Okay I know it’s 15, simple math, after all 8+8 is 16, you would have to be an idiot not to know that, so it’s just 1 less than that, anyways let me pull out my calculator just to check…

  • someguy3@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I once typed in 1+1, though it was several term equation and I was mentally reducing each term before punching it in.

  • Angelusz@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Why? Just take the time to do the work properly. You will get better at it, enjoy life more.

    • glibg@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      My thought exactly. I resonate with this meme but I also try to challenge myself to do math longhand on paper

      • andz@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        What does not being able to see inner images have to do with math?

        I’m asking because I can’t see shit but I have no problems with doing math up to a certain point. Not in any way good at it but it doesn’t impair my memory to the point it would be a hindrance either.

        • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Because you can’t hold two numbers in your mind simultaneously, or imagine one adding to another and the result of that. It’s probably difficult to explain if you are able to visualise things.

          I can do maths on paper when I can see it on front of me. But I don’t have a mind’s eye.

          • andz@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I can’t see anything but I can still hold numbers (again, up to a point) in my head without any kind of problem. It’s not a memory impairment in any way, at least not for me. Then again there’s not that much research into it so I’m genuinely curious about your experience as well.

            • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Yeah I can’t hold the numbers in my mind. It’s like i can grasp the concept of a number for a split second and then it’s gone like smoke. How do you add two numbers together in your mind? Like, what happens?

              • andz@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Okay. That seems like an extremely inconvenient thing to live with. Must be extremely frustrating.

                For me it’s more like …I can’t see a 7 or an 8 but I don’t have a problem with taking 2 from the 7 and “holding” the remaining 5 in my memory while I add up 8 + 2.

                On the other hand if someone asks about what an apple is I can tell them they come in red or green varieties but ask me to draw one and it’ll be the ugliest apple ever put on paper. Meanwhile I can draw just fine if I have a model in front of me.

                The thing I seriously don’t understand is why I can see my dreams though. Never made any sense to me whatsoever.

  • gaiussabinus@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I am chronicly paranoid because I have had a low battery on an exam. I just type in simple math because it might be totally borked and you won’t catch it on something complex

  • Thorry@feddit.org
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    2 months ago

    When I’m doing woodworking and I need to add up some very simple measurements I always use a calculator. I could very easily do it in my head and often automatically do without even thinking about it. However I’ve learned the hard way it’s very easy to make a simple error with even something as simple as 8+7 and chances are you won’t find out till later when two parts don’t fit together. That’s 20 hours down the toilet, just because I didn’t double check using the shop calculator.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Totally this. Find an online calc that accepts fractions and just get it done right in a few seconds vs trying to convert to 16ths or some crap. Which is why I use all metric unless I’m forced into imperial units.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Like semantic satiation, where you say/hear a word so much it stops making sense, is there one for numbers? Permutation satiation? Trying to do basic, easy mathematical tasks and the numbers stop making sense and begin slipping away.