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Why Martian Mathematics

Martian Mathematics 



I call this Martian mathematics because if you saw someone doing math this way, you would probably think they were from Mars. 
87 × 8, no problem. That's just 670 + 26. 
Weird, huh? Not everything here is "out of this world," but a good bit of it will seem strange at first. With that said, I developed this system of mental mathematics for my children. Innumeracy is a growing problem worldwide and dependence on machines for calculation is the rate-limiting step in analytical thinking. These shortcomings are what I hope to alleviate with my system. In short, the methods you will find here are intended to unshackle mathematics from pen and paper. I am, of course, not the first person to do mental mathematics. There is much to be learned from Arthur Benjamin, Scott Flansburg, and Jakow Trachtenberg. I will visit them here as well.

You should follow this blog if you are interested in fast mental math or homeschooling your children in mathematics. Please watch the video above of my seven year old son demonstrating the power of these techniques. If he can do it, then so can you!

The next few posts will serve as a primer for the methods to follow. Thanks for reading.

© 2019 David W. Ward, All Rights Reserved.

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