In this thread, I mentioned my inability to do addition in my head. It stems from my 2nd grade teacher and her “speed tests”: 100 addition problems you had to finish in a minute (or, at least, that’s how I remember it – it may have been different numbers for both, but the idea is a lot of simple math problems in a very short period of time).
In order to cope, I invented my own method to get by: dots. Each number had a set number of dots (like the dots on a die) and I would add by taking the first number and counting the dots.
For example, for 7 + 6, I would start with 7, then quickly count six dots by tapping the paper next to the six (Like this: 6 ::: ), then count 8-9-10-11-12-13 to myself as I tapped.
I developed this by myself, though I have heard that a similar method has been developed and used in Japan.
In any case, what coping strategies have you developed by yourself to allow you to do things you weren’t very good at?
I have a ton of them - but I wouldn’t call them “coping strategies” - just smart things to do when I am confronted by a challenge. Have you read that book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell? It is short and an easy read - and he doesn’t really make his conclusions all that clear - but, to me, he is basically saying that, in order to get to a place where you can make a decision on a matter superfast:
develop deep expertise - okay, this is hard across multiple topics
stay focused on the result you ultimately want - don’t get caught up in a process that isn’t working - stay on target
simplify your options - remove variables that don’t have a demonstrated ability to contribute to a smart decision
So, depending on the challenge at hand, I try to apply this stuff.
Calculating tips: pick either $1.50 or $2 (15% - 20%) an multiply by the number of times $10 goes into the total bill.
Doing complex business writing - ask a set a structured questions (e.g., who is my audience? what is the subject? what question is central in my audience’s mind about the subject? etc…) and then review how the answered flow into a compelling business case.
I depend on coping strategies like that daily - heck, hourly - or else I’d go nuts…
I always just move the decimal one to the left and multiply by 2 (if the service is good), add half again (if the service is ok), or leave as is / reduce (if service sucks).
Otherwise… I’m one of those annoying people who can do math in their head. Not the horribly complicated stuff, but i can usually get some kind of approximation.
I was going to add some sort of smarmy reply about using a coping saw, but I figured I’d be the only one laughing, and not very hard, either…
[QUOTE=RealityChuck
For example, for 7 + 6, I would start with 7, then quickly count six dots by tapping the paper next to the six (Like this: 6 ::: ), then count 8-9-10-11-12-13 to myself as I tapped.
[/QUOTE]
I generally do the same, but I start from a pair of numbers I know the answer to.
Ie
7+6 :I know that 7x2 is 14 so I just count backwards from one = 13
or I know 6 is 10-4 so 7+6 = 17 - 4 = 13
less counting
Math was always my achilles heel as well. I developed a number of different strategies for coping with various, relatively simple problems:
Addition/Subtraction:
Add the numbers in the order of rank. If it was 54 + 23, I’d add 20 to 54, then add 3. Subtraction was simply the reverse.
Multiplication/division:
I memorised the basic multiplication table when I was a kid. I’d then extrapolate from that whenever I needed to multiply anything. For more complex numbers like, say, 9 x 166, I’d find the closest base of 10 and multiply, then add or subtract however many of the denominators I needed to adjust for the change in the numerator. In this example I’d multiply 166 by 10 and then subtract 166 via the above subtraction method.
Percentages:
This sort of depended on what I needed to calculate a percentage for. If I was working out sales tax on $45, for example (in Ontario, 15% for GST+PST) I’d add 1/10th of the total ($4.50), then add half again of that ($2.25). If I needed to find a percentage of a whole I’d use the usual (denominator / numerator) * 100 rule. (so calculating what percentage 40 is of 50, I’d divide 50 by 40, then move the decimal place to the right two spaces)
Complex equations:
I’d just remember the old BEDMAS rule.
I completely and utterly suck at more complex algebra, and couldn’t even begin to understand trig. Oddly, I was attracted to prorgamming early in life.
Though I’m more familiar with it being referred to as PEMDAS (“P” for parentheses). Maybe it’s a Canadian/American difference, I have no idea. There’s also a standard mnemonic (probably more than just one standard one) for PEMDAS: “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally”. I imagine there are standard mnemonics for BEDMAS as well.