The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics

I found this book to be very interesting in the way it approaches speed mathematics. If you’re interested in more details on the algebraic algorithms used in Trachtenbergs methods, the Wiki page on Trachtenbegs is good.

The below review goes for any edition of the book; be it paperback, hardback, new, old, in any language whatsoever. I, however, first studied the books' danish paperback edition, published 1950'ish :: Starting out; you really only need to know how to count one-tru-eleven. The book sets out by presenting to you an entirely new way to 'think' multiplication: You'll learn to 'read' each individual cipher - stop memorizing of multiplication tables - . Completely mastered in about one lazy afternoon. Soon, you will be reading and handling numbers as well as ciphers in much the same way you now read books. It's such a joy - both rewarding and addictive - ; provided only your undivided attention and wholeheartedly commitment ! Your memory will work and expand quickly; you'll find yourself dividing, multiplying and adding just for the fun of it - without any support of tools like pen & paper etc., even for billions*billions or division into like a zillion decimals ! In about one month I worked through this book cover-to-cover, read every single page of every chapter, did every single exercise over. *** This SYSTEM is guaranteed to WORK - anyone can learn it *** Even for someone who is not intimidated by numbers: this is the only book, you'll ever need to become the wizard of every-day-basic maths. Do not for any reason skip any chapter or pages or the entire philosophy WILL elude you ! With pen [indeed: PEN] and paper work your way attentively and meticously through every single exercise - especially the obvious ones ! PLEASE; Stay patient with each of the examples and repeat them over until you're completely mastering its unique technique. About half-way through this book you'll probably find calculators much too slow AND in-accurate [too few digits displayed]; You'll always vision the complete solution in your head long before you've finished punching the calculator's keypad. The division chapters seemed the most difficult ones to me [two entirely independent and very different systems]. One is fool-proof, one is tounge-in-cheek.; you'll need to work through both of them. The latter division system is by far the most difficult part of the entire book - PLEASE brace yourself to put the extra effort into mastering it - and then SELL your CALCULATORs ! Your conception and memory skills as well as self-confidence will be instantly and permanently boosted. Excellent self-study guide for children, too ! It's indeed the very best self-study basic-maths teacher for anyone who shyes away from basic accounting - or just wants a-trick-or-two to improve their calculating-speed.

I have read a lot of books on speed mathematics, and without exception, they are all useless except this one. The method described here is easy. But most importantly, it scales up to larger numbers without additional complexity. This scaling up is what differentiates this method from the others. The key to learning this method is skip the first chapter. Don't waste time in learning how to multiply by 8. Rather, start with the second chapter, the "direct method" for multiplication. You will surprise your friends and family when they see you multiplying numbers in your head.

I have been using this book for five days and it has significantly improved my basic maths and the speed at which I can make calculations. Initially one has to remember when to apply the correct rule given the numbers you are trying to calculate, but after some practice this becomes second nature. The important thing about this book it that once you have learned the techniques, you can apply them to real world situations where you need to, for example, work out the area of a square (e.g. 48cm x 62cm) or where powers or logs have to be used. What I've found the most useful is not purely improving the speed of calculating random numbers together, but realising how I can use these speed methods and weave them in to other unrelated calculations and dramatically speed up mental calculation. I think that's the key to promoting this method to anyone. Don't just look at it as a number crunching method (it's great for this if that's all you're concerned with), it's brilliant for applying to other maths problems. This book is money well spent.

I was introduced to the Trachtenberg method in the 3rd and 4th grade by my mother, through home study. I was an absolute mess in arithmetic and higher level math. The system gave me the encouragement, confidence and skills to go on - and go on I did, through 8 quarters of calculus for my degree in economics and beyond. This is absolutely the best foundation for any mom and dad that want to help their children with numbers, but are unsure of themselves or their skill. Techniques can be picked up so fast it's unbelievable. Highly recommend; I intend, as an older father with two year old girl twins, to use this book intensively, but not in the immediate future of course. I'd be interested in hearing from other readers on this, and I can be reached at [email protected].

This method of mathematics was introduced to me as a freshman in high school. My teacher, who was proficient at it, used to race me multiplying multi-digit numbers together. He had the chalkboard and his brain and I had my calculator. He won regularly! We will be using it to home school our children, skipping the drudgery of memorizing the multiplication tables. If you or your children struggle with multiplication and division, this book is a must. It also has another method for addition and other aspects of math as well. Very highly recommended.