When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
-
@MichaelPorter @futurebird I liked the fact that the 9-bys were a palindrome: 18 81, 27 72, 36 63, 45 54.
@ELS @futurebird In all my years I must have noticed that, but it feels new to me today... Yes, nice!
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
That's my nemesis! I was expected to learn times-tables by rote but 7*8 would never stick.
I HATE it
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird 7*8 = 5*8+2*8 = 40+16 = 56
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird
I still tell left from right based on where the windows were in a grade school classroom.This is also how I tell debits from credits.
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird@sauropods.win I’ve got it memorised, but it takes more effort to recall than other multiples, and I often second-guess myself. I wonder what it is about this multiplication that confuses human brains.
-
@oddtail The Answer is always 42. https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/42
@isotope239 @oddtail
"Six by nine. Forty two."
"That's it. That's all there is."
"I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe." -
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird I had tables memorized until calculators came along. I was crew treasurer of a tree planting crew in 1979, and once I got that little box in my hand, I forgot everything arithmetical except data entry
. Away from tech, I get by on fingers and counting by tens.
Algebra is actually a little easier ... I was an English major and realized early on that all complete sentences are formulae, and the enthymemes used for business and political enclosure are just formulae with hidden variables. It's a shell game and we the public are just rubes (in their eyes) that can't do math. -
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
I think to myself "5, 6, 7, 8" and then I remember "56 = 7 x 8".
Why is that one so hard to learn though! Every other times-table ingredient went into my head much easier than that one.
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird@sauropods.win my “other”: i usually get it instantly, but sometimes either don’t get it immediately, or get another number (usually 54) immediately with a sense of doubt, or just have an anxiety about it. In those cases, I go from 6x8, which was my favorite times-table entry because it rhymed and had a pleasant rhythm.
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird thanks to the early 80s obsession with times able memorisation, that's locked in as an instant response.
But I also have a couple of maths degrees, so can 'play' with the numbers in my head, using other facts and 'checking' my own memory.
Like 7*7 is 49, + 7 and yup, 56.
Or as others have commented, (7*2)*4 or (7*4)*2 also help.
Or 60 = 15 * 4, and 15 is 14+1 = 7*2+1, so 60-4 works too.
I basically never assume my memory is correct, I always error correct/sense check!
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird I know it instantly but only because the 7 and 8 tables were the ones I was struggling with the most. So I learnt the intersection. I still don't know the rest though

-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird I know 8*8 is 64 off the top of my head and then I divide 8/2 to remove the 8th 8 from 64 to get 4. I then subtract 4 to get to 60 and subtract 4 again to get to 56. Don't ask me why. 8/2 is four. It works so don't judge. LOL Don't get me started how I do big numbers.🤭
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird I memorize just a few, to save my brain storage, so when I need to calculate, I get the closest memorized value and add the remaining. In this example, I get the memoried 7x7=49 and add 7 to get 56
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
Mostly instant memory. But sometimes also `8*(8-1)` = `64 - 8`
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird I have to rely on 8=2^3 and count 14, 28, 56.
-
@passenger @danielaKay @kbm0 @futurebird
Most multiplication tables go up to 12 × 12 regardless of regional measurement systems. There is nothing inherently special about 12 in the imperial system (or whatever non-metric is called). Most clocks go up to 12 and people often refer to dozens.@sloanlance @passenger @danielaKay @kbm0 @futurebird there's definitely something special about 12 though - when you multiply a length, the inches part is capped at 12.
I guess it's not "special" in that there are multiple other numbers with the equivalent property - you could justify memorizing times tables up to 16s if you expect to do more arithmetic in pounds and ounces than in feet and inches for example.
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird It's instant, but followed instantly by me checking my math to make sure it's accurate.
-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
@futurebird : Well, in spite of my math minor, and a lifetime of computer worship, I have to admit that I was never able to *completely* memorize my multiplication tables. But I can usually remember most of them.

-
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
My parents promised me a reward if I learned the multiplication tables
(I didn't got to primary school much, in hospital too often).
I was thinking "maybe a bicycle".
I got a bottle of Lucozade.But I still remember the tables, instantly, and the Lucozade.
(English fizzy drink, supposedly healthy). -
When you need to multiply 7*8 do you simply have it memorized, or do you need to add, subtract or otherwise connect it to another math fact that you know better?
That is do you simply think "56" or are there more thoughts that lead to 56?
I wouldn’t be the first person to have memorized entire tables of multiplication.
Computing it is easy enough, but hash look up still works