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?
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@futurebird I have the weirdest thing with this.
When I had to learn those multiplications my mom would question me for practice. I always forgot the answer to 7*8.
One day we were in the living room and the TV remote was on the table. Remember the numbers on that:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9So I saw 7 and 8 on there, and the right answer just above. It clicked in my head.
So whenever I have to multiply 7 and 8 I see a TV Remote in my head. We don't even own a TV, I havn't had one since 2001.
We had some paving stones laid in our back yard.
Two guys did it. I was about 8 years old.
They were figuring out how many they needed to do the yard.
One said, in an Irish accent "Five eights are forty, eight covers are forty, whichever way you look at it, it's forty slabs".
I've never forgotten both the result and that multiplication is commutative.
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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 usually manage to remember the small factors (2 or 3) and 5×. So 7×8 = (5×8) + (2×8). I was never very good at remembering the table, and I was glad when I understood the intuition of which known numbers I could add up/subtract.
In elementary school, I thought I was bad at maths because I just couldn't remember those numbers well, now I have a PhD in physics... -
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 = 7*2*2*2 = 56.
This is a useful “trick” that allows you to break down many calculations into simpler parts.
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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 remember it as 8*7=56, which is easy because of the way we say numbers above 20 in Dutch.
"Eight times seven is six-and-fifty", 8 7 6 5. -
I will edit it because it's confusing and the human equivalent of data poisoning to leave it as it is.
@futurebird @troberts
I think you'll need to start over with a new poll. Your data is skewed because some people responded "other" before you edited the question. -
@futurebird I have the weirdest thing with this.
When I had to learn those multiplications my mom would question me for practice. I always forgot the answer to 7*8.
One day we were in the living room and the TV remote was on the table. Remember the numbers on that:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9So I saw 7 and 8 on there, and the right answer just above. It clicked in my head.
So whenever I have to multiply 7 and 8 I see a TV Remote in my head. We don't even own a TV, I havn't had one since 2001.
@johnnythan @futurebird outstanding.
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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 first remembered it by recognizing that it's
5, 6, 7, 8
But now it's just an echo in my head.
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@Anomnomnomaly @futurebird Theese things get me going...
It's worth pointing out that I wasn't 'taught' this method by anyone... I simply discovered it naturally and started using it.
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We also memorised up to 12 x 12 despite being a country that uses the metric system.
@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. -
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 a learning disability that was never adequately addressed. I can do arithmetic only with a calculator. I have immense difficulty recalling equation strings I'm supposed to know, and I canNot conceptualize numbers in my head of more than about 5. I have aphantasia and cannot 'see' in my mind, and I actually organize most by a system of spacial relations I find difficult to explain. Oddly, I still passed Calc3 in Uni, due largely to its spacial nature and a graphing TI hehe.
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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
When I was a kid learning the multiplication table, it was not easy for me. Probably because I wasn't paying attention. Some facts came easy, though. I don't know why, but 7×8 was one of my favorites. (Yes, I liked some more than others.) Eventually, it all just clicked and it all became easy for me. That must've been the day I finally paid attention. -
@aesthr @futurebird the 9s are easy though! Because it’s whatever the non-9 number is (6) minus 1, so 5, then make it add up to 9 (5+4=9). I have no idea why this is easier for my brain than any other addition/subtraction

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@futurebird I think “7 times 8 is 56” because for some reason that’s how I memorized the multiplication tables. Almost got me in trouble with the other third graders in a “multiplication bee” where I was destroying them but whispering the first part under my breath.
@3janeTA @futurebird I think to myself, "You get five-six from seven (times) eight." It works for me but my kids didn't seem to like that method when I tried to help them with multiplication.
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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 We were relentlessly drilled on this in 2nd grade (I wear the "privately schooled" badge of shame). I still have some of the worksheets...

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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 mathematically challenged, I think: 4*7*2
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@futurebird @troberts
I think you'll need to start over with a new poll. Your data is skewed because some people responded "other" before you edited the question.@sloanlance @futurebird @troberts
"All polls are flawed, but some are useful." -- internet misquote by me
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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 my classmates and I were forced to learn the multiplication tables in grade school. The answer 56 is straight memorization, no math involved.
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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 For some reason I developed a HATRED for rote memorization of times tables in school. As long as I understood the concepts of how to multiply, why did I have to memorize so many answers, and calculators already existed and were clearly going to become cheaper and more common, and if I didn't have one I could figure it out in a minute anyways.
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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 a lot of trouble remembering this for school when I was 8. Now it's stuck in my head forever. With some other multiplications I do some addition or subtraction
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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 thought 7x7 =49 + 7.