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Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-05 08:52:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Arthur T. Benjamin
  • ISBN：0307338401
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Summary

These simple math secrets and tricks will forever change how you look at the world of numbers。

Secrets of Mental Math will have you thinking like a math genius in no time。 Get ready to amaze your friends—and yourself—with incredible calculations you never thought you could master， as renowned “mathemagician” Arthur Benjamin shares his techniques for lightning-quick calculations and amazing number tricks。 This book will teach you to do math in your head faster than you ever thought possible， dramatically improve your memory for numbers， and—maybe for the first time—make mathematics fun。

Yes， even you can learn to do seemingly complex equations in your head; all you need to learn are a few tricks。 You’ll be able to quickly multiply and divide triple digits， compute with fractions， and determine squares， cubes， and roots without blinking an eye。 No matter what your age or current math ability， Secrets of Mental Math will allow you to perform fantastic feats of the mind effortlessly。 This is the math they never taught you in school。



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Reviews

Moriah Mast ，

A well-written twist on math as we know it。 The book gives very practical， easy to follow tips about multiplying numbers mentally， squaring numbers， etc。。。 It takes a while to work through the book

kent daniel ，

really help me on mental math

Ray ，

So it's I didn't exactly read the whole book because it has to be returned to the library。But I did read the beginning and had fun learning to multiply 2 digit numbers by 11。It's a book full of fun and maybe kinda useful math tricks。 Kinda cool So it's I didn't exactly read the whole book because it has to be returned to the library。But I did read the beginning and had fun learning to multiply 2 digit numbers by 11。It's a book full of fun and maybe kinda useful math tricks。 Kinda cool 。。。more

Samantha Mockford ，

I heard Dr。 Benjamin on an episode of my kids’ favorite science podcast， “Brains On，” and was so impressed by his didactic heart！ This book was a fun brain workout with real world stories throughout。

Nana Akwasi ，

Interesting book， I like the methods

Othman ，

remarkable！

JoeJJS ，

Taught me how to get the day of any week: take 2/2/2222 it would be a 。。。 Saturday

Mico Go ，

Useful tips for speeding up the calculations， because math is in the understanding - the numbers are just the medium of choice。 Couldn’t digest all of the stuff （because school’s mentally-taxing enough）， but will surely use it as a compendium for the future。

Eric Geoffroy ，

There are some fun tricks you can use to speed up your mental calculations。 Depending on what you're using math for， you cherry-pick the ones that are most useful for you。 On the first-pass read through， I marked sections I wanted to invest time in learning。 Then on the second-pass， I'm planning to practice those techniques。 （but will probably procrastinate this）There were moments of frustration however。 So many of these tricks have exceptions。 Things like: If the first number ends in a 9 then d There are some fun tricks you can use to speed up your mental calculations。 Depending on what you're using math for， you cherry-pick the ones that are most useful for you。 On the first-pass read through， I marked sections I wanted to invest time in learning。 Then on the second-pass， I'm planning to practice those techniques。 （but will probably procrastinate this）There were moments of frustration however。 So many of these tricks have exceptions。 Things like: If the first number ends in a 9 then do this， but if it's a factor then do something else—and you can remember this by remembering my dog chewed the couch Thursday。 It becomes a huge burden after awhile。 As the math scales to increasing difficulty， naturally the tricks start to get complicated。 At some point you scratch your head and wonder "this is a shortcut？？？" Mine this book for your preferred gems。 。。。more

Nicolò Russo ，

Cool but not amazing

Aditya ，

This was a really fun and a useful read。

Dina ，

This book was both too simple and too complex for me。 Although I did enjoy the tangents a lot。 I'm a fan of math， and expected to enjoy this book more than I did。 The topics themselves， when described were too simple。 Arthur went into a deep description of the distributive property which was clearly mean for either elementary or middle schoolers at most。 But the constant need to keep memorized numbers in my head was too difficult in any problems past the third chapter。 Especially knowing that I This book was both too simple and too complex for me。 Although I did enjoy the tangents a lot。 I'm a fan of math， and expected to enjoy this book more than I did。 The topics themselves， when described were too simple。 Arthur went into a deep description of the distributive property which was clearly mean for either elementary or middle schoolers at most。 But the constant need to keep memorized numbers in my head was too difficult in any problems past the third chapter。 Especially knowing that I always have a calculator in my back pocket。 Maybe some of my challenges were my own fault for not fully committing to all the provided practice problems。 Most of the tricks were just explaining basics math through brute force。 I loved the tangents about mathematicians and the explanations of how the tricks worked， especially those towards the end of the book。 。。。more

Simran ，

Loved it！！！！！

Kevin Demel ，

Lots of good math shortcuts with good explanations and lots of practice。

Anthony Messina ，

Interesting but requires a lot of practice to keep the skills sharp

Fipah ，

A very insightful guide on how to get better at mental calculations - towards the end of the book the tricks are most likely beyond necessary for everyday life so one can skip them。 All in all it is both about a correct approach （i。e。 simplification） and practice。 Overall， highly recommended <3

Bob Lewis ，

Arthur Benjamin is a master at lightning calculation。 He can square numbers mentally faster than most of us can type them into the calculator。 The vast majority of this book is dedicated to the same topic。 If you want to learn how to do mental arithmetic faster than anyone you know， this is a must-read book。 If you're looking for great mathematical depth， however， this is not the book for you （for that， you'd be better served with Arthur Benjamin's other book， The Magic of Math）。The book is well Arthur Benjamin is a master at lightning calculation。 He can square numbers mentally faster than most of us can type them into the calculator。 The vast majority of this book is dedicated to the same topic。 If you want to learn how to do mental arithmetic faster than anyone you know， this is a must-read book。 If you're looking for great mathematical depth， however， this is not the book for you （for that， you'd be better served with Arthur Benjamin's other book， The Magic of Math）。The book is well-written and structured in such a way to make it as easy as possible for the reader to learn these skills， though you should be prepared to spend a lot of time practicing some of the techniques depending on your own level of arithmetical sophistication （which is not necessarily the same thing as general mathematical sophistication）。A final chapter on mathematical magic is fun， particularly to a mathematically-minded magician such as myself， but it doesn't really hold up to the rest of the book。 Magicians will likely already be familiar with most of the tricks presented， and Benjamin's descriptions in this book， while accurate and complete， add little to the literature of mathematical magic。 It can be argued that some of these tricks provide a "practical" use for some of the arithmetic operations described in the earlier chapters， though the tricks don't provide an outlet for any but the simplest of operations。Overall， this book is recommended if you want to get faster at performing mental arithmetic and are willing to put in some serious practice。 Otherwise， the merely curious will find more mathematical concepts in other books。 。。。more

Jeff Birk ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was a most enjoyable book to read。 I've always struggled with math and now I feel I have the skills （if practiced） to easily do addition/subtraction/multiplication/division problems in my head。 And not simple problems。 I'm talking about 846x598 for example without having to write anything down or look at the numbers。 It was very exciting to read a book wherein I was learning so much practical and immediately applicable knowledge。 Being able to do the calculations on the spot was very exciti This was a most enjoyable book to read。 I've always struggled with math and now I feel I have the skills （if practiced） to easily do addition/subtraction/multiplication/division problems in my head。 And not simple problems。 I'm talking about 846x598 for example without having to write anything down or look at the numbers。 It was very exciting to read a book wherein I was learning so much practical and immediately applicable knowledge。 Being able to do the calculations on the spot was very exciting。 I had to take my time with this book and pause now and then to work things through but it was well worth it。 The last couple of chapters dealing with how to double check your work and math tricks weren't that interesting to me。 I was more interested in the skill portion。 I'm now interested in reading more of this type of book。 The last time reading something like this was Dominic O'Brien's Quantum Memory years ago which I have used in many ways。 Very happy to have found this book。 。。。more

Victor ，

Didnt finish。 Fun tricks， not useful at all。

Roy Lotz ，

Some years ago， on a whim， I picked up Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer。 In that book， the author—a hitherto unremarkable journalist—details how he learned memory techniques that allowed him to recall hundreds of digits of pi， to learn the names of dozens of strangers in minutes， and to memorize the order of an entire deck of cards in the amount of time it takes me to tie my shoes。 I was completely captivated。 The idea that someone could so radically augment his mental prowess using anci Some years ago， on a whim， I picked up Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer。 In that book， the author—a hitherto unremarkable journalist—details how he learned memory techniques that allowed him to recall hundreds of digits of pi， to learn the names of dozens of strangers in minutes， and to memorize the order of an entire deck of cards in the amount of time it takes me to tie my shoes。 I was completely captivated。 The idea that someone could so radically augment his mental prowess using ancient techniques appealed deeply to me。 Soon I set about teaching myself some of these methods。 The most famous and powerful is the so-called ‘memory palace’: converting information into images， and then placing these images in a familiar space。 Using this method， I was able to memorize well over one hundred digits of pi。 I even managed to learn the order of a few decks of cards。This was impressive in itself， and a testament to the efficacy of these techniques。 Even so， learning the techniques was itself time-consuming， and without significant practice I was sluggish both in committing to memory and recalling information。 You cannot become a memory athlete without significant practice。 What was worse， these systems only really worked with certain types of information。 The technique for memorizing cards， for example， was useless when it came to remembering German vocabulary。 So， after a few weeks， I gave it up。I bought this book during my brief memory-trick craze， but my enthusiasm had worn off before I began it。 Thus it languished on my shelves for many years—until now。Though this book is technically co-authored， it seems obvious that Arthur Benjamin was the driving force behind it。 Michael Shermer， the founder of the Skeptics Society， contributed an afterword in which he argues （unpersuasively） that these mathematical tricks and techniques somehow aid in being skeptical—though a quick-calculating conspiracy theorist strikes me as perfectly plausible。 Benjamin， meanwhile， contributes the real meat of the book: ways to speed up mental calculation。 He himself is a master of these techniques， which he uses for a sort of numerical magic show （there are many clips online）。Benjamin has done a wonderful job in compiling this little handbook。 The mathematical tools are simple， easy to use， and effective。 I had become so reliant on the calculator in my phone that it was a relief and， if you can believe it， a real pleasure to return to doing sums and products myself。 The world of numbers can be unexpectedly fascinating， revealing unusual patterns， connections， and symmetries。 I must admit， however， that I mostly skipped the last section on large multiplication problems， since the amount of practice required to properly execute them exceeded my interest in being a human calculator。Benjamin’s feats in calculation， like Foer’s feats in memorization， show what the simple human brain can do when aided with techniques and training—achieving abilities so uncanny that it can seen like magic to the uninitiated。 To me， this fact alone is cause for hopefulness， since it reveals to us the transformative power of expertise。 。。。more

Dave Evans ，

It's one of those well-written books that actually teaches you a useful skill。In this case， it's how to do complex mathematics in your head， without a calculator。This may seem impossible to some， as I thought myself。 But with a bit of practice and taking this book slowly， you too can do complex mathematics in your head。Coming from a guy who used to hate mathematics with a passion， I recommend this to everyone from the age of 5 to 500！ It's one of those well-written books that actually teaches you a useful skill。In this case， it's how to do complex mathematics in your head， without a calculator。This may seem impossible to some， as I thought myself。 But with a bit of practice and taking this book slowly， you too can do complex mathematics in your head。Coming from a guy who used to hate mathematics with a passion， I recommend this to everyone from the age of 5 to 500！ 。。。more

Rana Jit ，

I think this book is very helpful because it can help you with your mental math skills and other things like impressing your friends。 This has been one of my favourite books so far because it helps me with a lot of things。 This book is about 2 authors called Arthur Benjamin and Micheal Shermer 2 math geniuses。

Huy Pham ，

A brilliant book。 Many things that I didn't learn in school can be applied to real life。 A brilliant book。 Many things that I didn't learn in school can be applied to real life。 。。。more

Tofayel ，

A very technical book

Alisha ，

This book deserves way more than 5 stars， but I gave what I could。I love math， and this book brought so many new concepts to my mind that it became very amusing， and learning the reasoning behind each problem made it even more satisfying。From the beginning， I always admired Dr。 Benjamin。 His brain is faster than a calculator， literally！ I also loved the prologue done by Bill Nye the science guy。 I did not see that coming， and I never took time to understand how much math and science relate。 His This book deserves way more than 5 stars， but I gave what I could。I love math， and this book brought so many new concepts to my mind that it became very amusing， and learning the reasoning behind each problem made it even more satisfying。From the beginning， I always admired Dr。 Benjamin。 His brain is faster than a calculator， literally！ I also loved the prologue done by Bill Nye the science guy。 I did not see that coming， and I never took time to understand how much math and science relate。 His words and observations were amazing！！I can definitely read this book 100 more times！ 。。。more

Christian ，

Schönes Mathebuch mit kleinen Tricks， um einem das Kopfrechnen zu erleichtern。 Vielleicht habe ich noch etwas mehr erwartet。 Der Ausflug in den Skeptizismus war nett， hätte aber nicht sein müssen。

Erick Fernandez ，

Didn't finished it， but I learn a lot by the little I read。 Didn't finished it， but I learn a lot by the little I read。 。。。more

Robin ，

I'll give it 2。75 stars。 Turns out that I already do almost all the things mentioned in the first couple of chapters， and the latter chapters seem to be more to try to 'wow' people with some mathematical tricks。 But I have no real desire to learn this and to me the method presented was not new。 I just haven't had any desire to learn/apply the method to learn how to do 5 digit times 5 digit calculations just for the fun of it。I think this book might be good for someone that is not too good at mat I'll give it 2。75 stars。 Turns out that I already do almost all the things mentioned in the first couple of chapters， and the latter chapters seem to be more to try to 'wow' people with some mathematical tricks。 But I have no real desire to learn this and to me the method presented was not new。 I just haven't had any desire to learn/apply the method to learn how to do 5 digit times 5 digit calculations just for the fun of it。I think this book might be good for someone that is not too good at math or for someone young who has an interest in numbers/calculations。Overall not really worth it for me。 。。。more

Timeo Williams ，

Awesome book！ A lot of fun。 As a caveat to the reader， getting to Professor Benjamin's level will take a lot of time and practice and one cannot reap the seeds sown in this book without both: time and practice。That being said， this book was a fun read， full of insightful tips， humor and cool stories。 Some tricks I learned was how to square any number， multiple digit math， within respectable limits， in my head， and finding out which day of the week any date is。 Awesome book！ A lot of fun。 As a caveat to the reader， getting to Professor Benjamin's level will take a lot of time and practice and one cannot reap the seeds sown in this book without both: time and practice。That being said， this book was a fun read， full of insightful tips， humor and cool stories。 Some tricks I learned was how to square any number， multiple digit math， within respectable limits， in my head， and finding out which day of the week any date is。 。。。more

Benjamin Bastian ，

I absolutely loved this lecture！ The professor who taught it was， in my opinion， phenomenal。 The secrets of mental math are， I find， very intriguing。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0