"But if you teach them arithmetic as a series of secret tricks—for example, that you can add 6 million and 3 million by adding 6 and 3 and then sticking the mil

"But if you teach them arithmetic as a series of secret tricks—for example, that you can add 6 million and 3 million by adding 6 and 3 and then sticking the million back on at the end—it becomes like a game." Looking back, this was what separated the subjects I loved and was great at, and the subjects where I struggled. In the former group, at an early age I saw learning as a game where I could improve continously.