Month: July 2014
Soroban abacus and finger math
Have you ever wondered why the Oriental Soroban abacus has 4 separate beads? It is in base 10, not 4 or 5, so why organize it that way? In response to yesterday’s post Hand tricks! Alexander Bogomolny linked his…
Posted in Make
Hand Tricks!
Using one’s hands is practically intuitive in the math world. Counting on one’s fingers is the most basic mathematical practice one could think of. But there is other more complex math you and your kid can do with your hands!…
Posted in Make
Who am I? A guessing game
“Math is not linear.” People say that, but do you believe it? Here is the history of one person’s interaction with Khan Academy. Answer this person’s riddle: WHO AM I? Judging by this historical document, how old do you think…
Posted in Grow
Infinity Is Farther Than You Think
What’s bigger, a fillion or a cometallion? These are the two big numbers my son and his friend made up one day. They couldn’t give me any more details other than “these are huge numbers” and “but smaller than a…
Posted in Grow
