A new way to multiply?

DH enjoyed this. Sadly.....I am pants at maths

I shouldn't have looked - I knew I shouldn't have looked - the new maths is confusing enough - I'll have to do some practice sums now the proper way to reassure myself!

I'm not sure I could ever really trust it - I'd have to do the sum properly just to make sure! Interesting, though.

Interesting, but it's not any quicker or simpler than just multiplying the usual way … is it??

Yeah!! Love it!

I will refer the above post of mine to the modern expressions thread.

I enjoyed it, although I do not normally enjoy mathematics.

It is in fact just a new algorithm but fascinating.

I do think it is simpler, if I can remember how to do it when, if ever, I need it.

I've sent the link to my mathematical DiL. I'm hoping my 9-year-old GS will be able to explain it to me - he also has a maths gene!

Simpler? I disagree, an ordinary sum is much simpler to me - and hell of a lot quicker!

Our minds work in different ways! It seems much simpler to me to see a diagram than abstract numbers that mean nothing to my brain. Not saying I was absolutely useless at maths, just would never have made a mathematician!

It's the kind of thing I'd have enjoyed doing with my Y6 class for fun. Not just those who had trouble with long algorithms such as 256 x 521 but also the more able ones to see their faces when they came up with the solution using such a method.

Think I'll try it with my 7-year old GS.

I tried it and it works - but I can't understand why! And it doesn't seem to cope with a zero?
I found it very cumbersome with bigger numbers.
Think my grandson too might be interested!

My OH showed me that a few years ago - he's a head of maths. I asked why we didn't use it more, he said it's too slow and can't cope with very large numbers, but he likes the sheer elegance of it. I think he said it is Japanese.

However, at the time I said that I thought that I was sure that some children would find it easier to understand the whole concept if they saw a demonstration of it, so he does include it in his lessons, along with many other weird and wonderful ways that I had never heard of.

Surely the point is that, if you can already do it easily using a method you were taught, you do not need a new way. But if you have always been confused using the old method you were taught, this might help.
My grandson looked over my shoulder and said it looked good, so I will try him with some next week.
Thanks for the link, Aka.