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Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?

Posted By: Jason Lee
Date: Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 5:04 p.m.

In Response To: Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic? (Bob Koca)

UBK: Curveball, here is a whole book: Mathemagics by Art Benjamin.

Here's the thing about mathemagics... like anything else that people are talking about here, it takes a lot of practice. I studied most of the content in that book, and then I've spent untold hours practicing. Useless in backgammon, but I'm halfway decent at the day of the week calculation now, but only after I drilled and drilled and drilled. Occasionally useful in backgammon is squaring numbers, and I had to drill at that too.

Lucky Jim: The problem is my mental arithmetic is useless.

Then there's no way around it. You've got to practice. I used to think I was lousy at mental arithmetic. I still think I'm not that great at it, but really spending the time practicing has helped a lot.

Then, to build up an inferiority complex, just spend all the hours I did on mathemagics and afterwards, watch Art Benjamin do it... he's spent countless more hours practicing, and is crazy fast.

JLee

Messages In This Thread

• Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
  Lucky Jim -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 11:55 a.m.
  • Practice
    Matt Cohn-Geier -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 12:18 p.m.
    • Practice
      Dan Pelton -- Monday, 4 January 2010, at 10:58 a.m.
  • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
    alex21 -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 1:05 p.m.
  • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
    W Womack -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 2:46 p.m.
  • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
    Gregg Cattanach -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 3:36 p.m.
  • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
    Bob Koca -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 4:48 p.m.
    • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
      Jason Lee -- Sunday, 3 January 2010, at 5:04 p.m.
      • Any tips for pip counting techniques when terrible at mental arithmetic?
        Chuck Bower -- Monday, 4 January 2010, at 2:11 p.m.
      • Joy of Mathematics DVD series
        Chuck Bower -- Monday, 4 January 2010, at 2:14 p.m.