> I don't see how the lines method is any easier than long multiplication You probably learned multiplication using something similar to the lines method. If y

> I don't see how the lines method is any easier than long multiplication You probably learned multiplication using something similar to the lines method. If you had 3 x 4, you'd draw out 3 circles and then put 4 more circles inside and count up all the small ones. This is just a logical extension of that.