Vedic Mathematics Newsletter No. 114
A warm welcome to our new subscribers.
This issue’s article (at the end of the newsletter) is a description of a talk at a US High School by Prof Frank Marzano.
“They were amazed (the word I heard the most was “wow”), but also curious as to why these methods work.”
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NEWS
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WORKSHOP IN NEW DELHI
A workshop was conducted by Kuldeep Singh on 22nd June 2017 in New Delhi which was attended by 25 maths teachers of class 1 to class 12. Topics covered in the workshop were Subtraction, By Mere Observation method, Digit sum method, Nine point circle, Base Multiplication and Base Squaring, All from Nine and Last from Ten, Ten point circle and Completion - Non Completion.
It was a very exciting workshop and every teacher was fully involved. They attempted the test and worksheets like small kids. All of them enjoyed the workshop and gave very positive feedback.
KOLKATA CONFERENCE – PROCEEDINGS NOW AVAILABLE
The Proceedings from the 1st International Vedic Mathematics, held in Kolkata in December 2016, conference are now available in soft copy at a cost of $5. The book of full papers comprises 158 pages and is supplied in pdf and swf formats. To purchase a copy simply go to the IAVM Donate page at,
and make a payment of $5. We will then email you the proceedings in both formats.
Hard copy is also available for $14 plus postage. Place an order by emailing us with your name and address to
NUMBER BASES VIDEO
This introduces the idea of Number Bases and shows how the Vedic methods can be applied there.
It can be accessed here:
http://www.vedicmaths.org/community/research
(item 6)
WONDERFUL WEBSITE
I am so glad I found your website. Recently, I attended a conference where a man explained the usefulness of Vedic math. He demonstrated a few examples and my extremely math resistant daughter got excited about it. She came home and showed her father how to calculate square roots ending in 5. I purchased the instructor's book but was sad to find that while he gives examples of the sutras there were absolutely no practice problems in the book. We were able to follow his examples to a point, but beyond that, we were lost. Then we got to bar numbers and that's where he lost me completely. He provided very little application overall.
So, naturally, I Googled Vedic Math worksheets and that is how I discovered your wonderful website. I could never have imagined that I would get excited about re-learning math. But that is exactly what I and my 4 children are doing. We just completed lesson 10 of the free introductory course and it is the highlight of our homeschool day. Everyone looks forward to it.
With your permission, I would like to add a link to your website on my umbrella school website, www.Freedomschoolers.com to share with other homeschooling families.
Thank you so much for your time.
Anne-Marie Shaffer
‘SPECIAL CASES’ ARTICLE IN JOURNAL
This paper on “Bharati Krishna’s Special Cases” was presented at the Kolkata Conference last December and is available here:
http://www.vedicmaths.org/resources/journal-of-vedic-mathematics
(item 31)
NEW COURSES – STARTING SOON
Diploma Course starts 14th August 2017:
http://courses.vedicmaths.org/Diploma_Course.html
The next Teacher Training Course starts on 9th October 2017. Details here:
http://courses.vedicmaths.org/Teacher_Training_Course.html
For other 2017 courses details see:
http://courses.vedicmaths.org/
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ARTICLE FOR NEWSLETTER 114
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US HIGH SCHOOL TALK by Frank Marzano
As promised, here is my account of the Vedic Math talk I gave at a local high school earlier this month [April].
First, the background… In March, Edinboro University (my employer) hosted Pi Day. Local area high school students and faculty visited EU to partake in math-based games, activities, and talks. I gave a talk on Vedic multiplication. My talk was very well received, with most in attendance demanding, “We want more!”
As a result, I was invited to speak further on Vedic mathematics at General McLane High School. This talk was attended by about 30 people, mostly advanced students in GM’s Academy of Medical Arts and Engineering, but also other students, as well as a few faculty members.
This time, we covered Vedic division. We began with division by 9, then by other single-digit divisors. After that, we discussed divisors of several digits, taking the ten’s complement of the divisors. At first, the students found this difficult, but once I explained the Nikhilam sutra (“All from 9 and the last from 10”) they were able to do it easily.
Next we discussed the Paravartya method. It was confusing at first, but, the more examples we did, the easier it got.
The students themselves observed (without my pointing it out) that the Paravartya method is most efficient if the digits in the divisor are small. This gave me a chance to talk about vinculum notation.
Someone asked what to do if the digits in the divisor were neither high nor low. We therefore discussed the Dhvajanka sub-sutra (“on the flag”). Only a couple of examples were necessary before the students started calling out the numbers in the calculations.
We finally concluded with a few examples involving three-digit divisors. We discussed when it was better to put two digits of the divisor on the flag, and when it was better to have just one.
It should be pointed out that these were advanced, highly motivated students. They were amazed (the word I heard the most was “wow”), but also curious as to why these methods work. I reassured them that there are legitimate mathematical reasons the Vedic methods work. (To explain the validity of the “on the flag” technique, for example, I reminded them how polynomial division is done.)
After the talk (which lasted about 35 minutes), I met with students, faculty, and the principal, all of whom implied that I would be welcome to come back in the future.
I’ve lectured on Vedic Math before, mainly to university students and faculty. They appreciate the Vedic methods, but are already set in their ways. It would be interesting to see how high school students respond to Vedic Mathematics in the long run.
Frank Marzano
Mathematics Professor, Edinboro University, USA
End of article.
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Editor: Kenneth Williams
Visit the Vedic Mathematics web site at: http://www.vedicmaths.org
3rd July 2017
