Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-09-05
A SWIFT. AT FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXCITED OVER
LIGHTNING ARITHMETIC.

An Ohio Man Has = System which He
Thinks Should BE Taught In the Schools.
He Gives Newspaper Man Some Illus
tratIons of His Method.
Educational circles are in a pitch of
excitement over the introduction in the
public schools of Chicago of a 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-
ical genius can be able to use to advan-
tage any sort of rapid calculation The
incident and the attending interest led
a 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 IL is
the subject of not a little discussion
among the teachers of the city, no steps
have as yet been taken.
One CT the most interested in this city
is MIR. o. ID. Hinkle, who is connected
with the NJ @. Lilley company. Mr..
Hinkle has been in the mercantile bust
ness for a number of years, much of
which time has been spent in this city,
and has been regarded as one of the
most rapid caiculators 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 be
used
Mr.. Hinkle was found most enthusi-
usticaiiy 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 "a number of years thinking Sc
riously of making an effort to have
some of the schools take it up as a part
OF their course of instruction. Speaking
of the new method, Mr.. Hinkle said:
lis the system sound? is it practical?
Yes. most emphatically TO both ques-
tons. 1t is natural computation, and it
is just as easy TO teach child or grown
person the relationship of numbers as it
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 a child that 20 per cent of any
amount is One-fourth of it, because 90
is one-fourth of 100, as it is TO teach
him that that old gentleman is his
grandfather because he is his mother's
father, or that 10 y 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 brothers child
''I'l give you some examples in short
mental arithmetic for change. Say
you buy so yards of carpet at co u
cents; GO - cents is fiye-eighths of 100
five eighths of so is $50. Easy number,
yes Take an odd one. Say SO yards at
625< cents; five-eighths of so is 500; add
three times 50 = cents, which - e. e71z
total, SCI. 81 y. Say you buy 1877 yards
of dress goods at S3 * cents; 3S5$ cents
is one-third of 100; one-third of 1877 is
800. 662s. Say you sell $50 pounds of
wool at 1871 cents; 1917 is one-sixth of
100; one-sixth of $50 is sos. 331I Say
you buy 100 bushels of potatoes at 90
cents. 500. Easy, isn'tit? But if it were
80 bushels at 40 cents you couldn't do it
so easily, and yet it is no harder, if you
only knew it. Say 80 times 90 is $40. 3 o..
less once 90, which is $4S. 81, and it is
no more difficult than 100 times 90.
almost every child can do multiple
cation up to 10. but how many older
people can go higher than ID easilyi
Yet it is easy to go to 500 if he is q
quick adder. think my rule for squar-
ing large numbers is simpler than Mr.
Speers' way of doing it. For example,
start at 10. Twelve times - is LA. TIC
get the square of IS, add Is and 10 to
square of 10; 10 and - make 90; %
to l44 is 100. Square of 14-14 and Is
equals 81; add to 169, makes I96. TIC
square 1915 and ii equals 30, added
to 1916 is 225. The square of 90 is 2, 500.
To get square of 51-51 and 90 are
1O1, added 20 $500 equals 2,601. re
square 49-49 and 90 are 90; subtract
from 2, 800 is 2, 401. The square of 10C
is 10, 900. To get square of 900 and
100 are 1919; subtract from 10, 600, equals
$50. To square 101-101 and 100 are
201, add to 10, 900. equals 10, POI.
'"This may look hard to some, but
when one has been drilled in multiply
ing larger numbers mentally it is az
easy as falling off house Some will
complain that have no right to say
in so yards Of carpet at 6216 cents
five-eighths Of 80 is $50; that don't
point off according to rules. Well.
that's just what 1 don't want to do
that is where time is lost With the
drilling which pupil would get prior
to doing this work, one Of the impOr-
tant things Taught him would be tC
know that 80 yards at 3 cents OF
tive-eighths of so, as in this case, would
be $50, and not So OF $500 or So, 600,
which often occurs with pupils who use
the old rules for pointing Off One i:
mechanical and liable to disastrous
blunderss the other has become intuitive
from good drilling and is q sure thing
always. There are legions of doubling
Thomases, the most of whom will not
look into this closely enough to under,
stand it, who will advance all kinds OF
arguments against it. One of the first
arguments will be that it would be easy
enough If people would buy and sell
everything in quantities and at prices
that were fractional parts of 100. -
Columbus co. Dispatch.
Cause of Nose Bleed.
In weak persons bleeding ar tho DOoo