The more I talk to people about math, the more I hear this refrain: “I don’t like math, because math problems have only one answer.”
Peshaw!
Okay, so it’s not such a crazy idea. Most math problems do have one answer (as long as we agree with some basic premises, like that we’re working in base ten). But math can be a very creative pursuit — and I’m not talking about knot theory or fractals or any of those other advanced math concepts.
I have a friend who is crazy good at doing mental math. She can split the bill at a table of 15 — even when each person had a completely different meal and everyone shared four appetizers — without a calculator, smart phone or pencil and paper! This amazed me, so I asked her how she does it. And what I discovered was pretty surprising. She approaches these simple arithmetic problems in ways that I never would have thought of. She subtracts to solve addition problems, divides to multiply. And estimation? Boy howdy, does the girl estimate. In other words, she gets creative.
(She also has a pretty darned good understanding of how numbers work together, which is probably the biggest reason she can accomplish these feats of restaurant arithmetic.)
While there may be one absolutely, without-a-doubt, perfectly correct answer to “How much do I owe the waiter?” there are dozens of ways to get to that answer. Problem is, your fourth grade math teacher probably didn’t want to hear about your creative approach.
See, when we learn math as kids, we’re focused on computation through algorithms. (In case you’re not familiar with the word, algorithms are step-by-step procedures designed to get you to the answer.) You did drill after drill of multiplication, long division, finding the LCM (Least Common Multiple) and converting percents to fractions. But nobody ever asked you, “How would you do it in your head?”
The good news is that now you’re all grown up. There’s not a single teacher who is looking over your shoulder to see if you lined up your decimal points and carried the 2. You can chart your own path! And when people are given this freedom, they often find really interesting ways to solve problems.
Don’t believe me? Try this out: Add 73 and 38 in your head. How did you do it? Now pose the question to someone else. Did they do something different? If not, ask someone else. I will guarantee that among your friends and family, you’ll find at least three different ways of approaching this addition problem.
So, let’s do this experiment here. In the comments section, post how you solved 73 + 38 without a calculator or paper and pencil. Then come back later to see if someone else had a different approach. If you’re feeling really bold, post this question as your Facebook status, then report the results in the comments section.
And while you’re at Facebook, be sure to visit and like the Math For Grownups Facebook fan page!