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Do you worry about calculators preventing people to master big number multiplication? That's an interesting question actually. When I was a kid, calculators wer

Do you worry about calculators preventing people to master big number multiplication? That's an interesting question actually. When I was a kid, calculators were not as widespread and I could easily multiply 4-digit numbers in my brain. Nowadays I'd be happy to multiply 2-digit numbers without mistakes. But I carry my smartphone with me, so there's just no need to do so... So while learning basic stuff is definitely necessary just like it's necessary to have understanding how to multiply or divide numbers of any size (kids learn that nowadays, right?), actually mastering those skills may be wasted time?

alexchamberlain 2y ago
Honestly, I think we already see that in wider society, where mental arithmetic has more or less disappeared. This is in general fine ofc, but it makes it much harder to check the output of a machine if you can't do approximate calculations in your head.
dijksterhuis 2y ago
> actually mastering those skills may be wasted time? this question is, i’m pretty sure it is safe to assume, the absolute bane of every maths teacher’s existence. if i don’t learn and master the fundamentals, i cannot learn and master more advanced concepts. which means no fluid dynamics for me when i get to university because “what’s the point of learning algebra, i’m never gonna use it in real life” (i mean, i flunked fluid dynamics but it was because i was out drinking all the time). i still remember how to calculate compound interest. do i need to know how to calculate compound interest today? no. did i need to learn and master it as an application of accumulation functions? absolutely. just because i don’t need to apply something i learned to master before doesn’t mean i didn’t need to learn and master it in order to learn and master something else later. mastery is a cumulative process in my experience. skipping out on it with early stuff makes it much harder to master later stuff. > Do you worry about calculators preventing people to master big number multiplication? yes.

alexchamberlain 2y ago

Honestly, I think we already see that in wider society, where mental arithmetic has more or less disappeared. This is in general fine ofc, but it makes it much harder to check the output of a machine if you can't do approximate calculations in your head.

dijksterhuis 2y ago

> actually mastering those skills may be wasted time? this question is, i’m pretty sure it is safe to assume, the absolute bane of every maths teacher’s existence. if i don’t learn and master the fundamentals, i cannot learn and master more advanced concepts. which means no fluid dynamics for me when i get to university because “what’s the point of learning algebra, i’m never gonna use it in real life” (i mean, i flunked fluid dynamics but it was because i was out drinking all the time). i still remember how to calculate compound interest. do i need to know how to calculate compound interest today? no. did i need to learn and master it as an application of accumulation functions? absolutely. just because i don’t need to apply something i learned to master before doesn’t mean i didn’t need to learn and master it in order to learn and master something else later. mastery is a cumulative process in my experience. skipping out on it with early stuff makes it much harder to master later stuff. > Do you worry about calculators preventing people to master big number multiplication? yes.