The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-09-10
A SWIFT AT FIGURES.
EDUCATIONAL CIRCLES EXCITED OVER
LIGHTNING ARITHMETIC.

Thinks should BE Taught In the Schools.
He Gives Newspaper Man Some Illus
trstions OF His Method.
Educational circles are in pitch of
excitement over the introduction in the
public schools Of Chicago Of system of
instruction in what may be termed
lightning arithmetic. Many of those
interested maintain that the proposition
is impracticable ON the theory that only
such persons as have natural arithmet-
ioal genius can be able to use to advan-
tage any sort Of rapid calculation. The
incident and the attending interest led
representative to make some inquiry
into whether or not there is any move
ment to introduce the new system in
the schools Of this city. Although It is
the subject Of not a little discussion
among the teachers Of the city, no steps
have as yet been taken.
One Of the most interested in this city
is Mr. o. d. Hinkle, who is connected
with the M. g. Lilley company. Mr..
Hinkle has been in the mercantile bust
ness for number Of years, much Of
which time has been spent in this city,
and has been regarded as one Of the
most rapid calculators in the state. His
work has not been on the fancy order,
but straightforward use Of rapid meth
DDS in practical business Having seen
Mr.. Hinkle add, subtract, divide and
multiply long lists Of figures in billing
out goods of all sorts as fast as his as
sistant could call them off to him, and
in 500 pages Of ledger accounts having
made not one single mistake, The Dis
patch was interested to know whether
the system mentioned in Chicago was
related in any way to that which he
used.
Mr.. Hinkle was found most enthusi-
astically interested in the method, and
quickly remarked, upon being asked,
that the supposed new system was iden-
tically the same that he has been using
for 20 years. Indeed, Mr.. Hinkle has
been for number of years thinking Sc
riously Of making an effort to have
some OF the schools take it up as part
of their course of instruction. Speaking
Of the new method, Mr.. Hinkle said:
''Is the system soundp Is it practical?
Yes, most emphatically to both ques-
tions. 1t is natural computation, and 1t
is Just as easy to teach q child or grown
person the relationship of numbers as il
| is to teach them the relationship be-
tween persons. Use 100 for the head of
the geological tree of the family Of fig
ures, and it is just as easy and natural
to teach child that 90 per cent Of any
amount is one-fourth of it, because 20
is one-fourth of 100, as it is to teach
him that that old gentleman is his
grandfather because he is his mothers
father, or that 121a per cent is one
eighth of any amount, because it is one.
eighth of 100, as it is to teach him that
the curly head over there is his cousin
because he is his father g brothers. child.
"Ill give you some examples in short
mental arithmetic for change. Say
you buy 80 yards Of carpet at 6215
cents; 621a cents is five-eighths of 100
five.eighths of 80 is 500. Easy number,
yes. Take an odd one. Say S3 yards al
621a cents; five-eighths Of 80 is $50; add
three times 90 = cents, which is 81. .S71a
total, $61.8715. Say you buy 1877 yards
of dress goods at 33 q cents; 83115 cent:
is one-third of 100; one-third of 1877 il
$50. 6625. Say you sell $50 pounds Of
wool at 1871 cents; 164 is one-sixth oi
100; one.sixth Of $50 is $5s. 3315. Say
you buy 100 bushels of potatoes at 5C
cents, $50. Easy, isn'tit? But if it were
80 bushels at 40 cents you couldn't do il
so easily, and yet it is no harder, if you
only knew it. Say 80 times 80 is $40. 90,
less once 90, which is s4S.51, and it il
no more difficult than 100 times 80.
almost every child can do multipli
cation up to IL, but how many Older
people can go higher than 10 easily
Yet it is easy TO go to 500 if he is 6
quick adder. think my rule for squar'
ing large numbers is simpler than Mr..
Speers' way of doing it, For example
start at IL. Twelve times 10 is 144. Tt
get the square of IS, add 13 and 10 tc
square Of 10; 13 and 10 make 25; 81
to 144 is 169. Square Of 14--14 and Il
equals 81; add to 169, makes 196. Tt
square 15-15 and IA equals 80, added
to 1876 is 225. The square of so is 2, 500
To get square Of 51-51 and 80 are
1O1, added to 2,500 equals 9,601. Tt
square 49-49 and 30 are 90; subtract
from $500 is 2, 401. The square of 10(
is 10, 900. To get square Of 900 an6
100 are 1919 subtract from 10, 900, equals
9,810. To square l01-101 and 100 are
201, add to $1,000, equals 10, ,201.
''This may look hard to some, but
when one has been drilled in multiply
ing larger numbers mentally it is al
easy as falling off house. Some will
complain that have no right to say
in 80 yards Of carpet at 6216 cents
five-eighths Of 80 is $50; that dom
point off according to rules. Well
that's just what I don't want to do
that is where time is lost. With the
drilling which pupil would get priol
TO doing this work, one of the impor
tant things taught him would be tt
know that 80 yards at 62R cents ol
five-eighths Of so, as in this case, would
be $50, and not $5 or $500 or So, 000
which often occurs with pupils who use
the old rules for pointing off. One il
mechanical and liable to disastrous
blunders the other has become intuitivC
from good drilling and is sure thing
always. There are legions of doubling
Thomases, the most of whom will moi
look into this closely enough to under
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