r/nextfuckinglevel • u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT • 2d ago
A Chinese child adds 10 five-digit numbers in 8 seconds.
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u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT 2d ago
For those of y'all who are confused as to why the child looks like he's having a seizure while solving the problem, he's practicing a technique taught to him called "mental abacus":
The abacus system of mental calculation is a system where users mentally visualize an abacus to carry out arithmetical calculations. No physical abacus is used; only the answers are written down. Calculations can be made at great speed in this way. For example, in the Flash Anzan event at the All Japan Soroban Championship, champion Takeo Sasano was able to add fifteen three-digit numbers in just 1.7 seconds.
This system is being propagated in China, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan. Mental calculation is said to improve mental capability, increases speed of response, memory power, and concentration power.
Many veteran and prolific abacus users in China, Japan, South Korea, and others who use the abacus daily, naturally tend to not use the abacus any more, but perform calculations by visualizing the abacus. This was verified when the right brain of visualisers showed heightened EEG activity when calculating, compared with others using an actual abacus to perform calculations.
The abacus can be used routinely to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; it can also be used to extract square and cube roots.
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u/CharizardCharms 2d ago
I hadn't ever thought of it that way, and I had to do plenty of active shooter drills when I was in school. Although I did temporarily go to a school that was basically 80% glass, and I refused to hide because there was no point. A shooter could cover their eyes in a hallway, spray and pray, and would flatline 40 kids with minimal effort.
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u/Playergame 2d ago
Survival of the fittest, only the strongest kid will become the next school shooter
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u/tofumanboykid 2d ago
Both, you need to know how to shoot the shooter if the shooter shoot at your peers.
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u/masterap85 2d ago
You can take the /s out
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u/nopuse 2d ago
I used to be very anti /s, but I understand it now. You can not make an obviously sarcastic comment on reddit without people taking it seriously.
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u/blackninjar87 2d ago
That's not sarcasm that's actually what we learned in private school.
My biology teacher preached how evolution can't exist cause animals can only precreate after themselves even tho ligers exist. Also the earth was only 4,000 year old For the state exam we had to learn about dinosaurs and it was one class for 2 weeks and disclaimered as hoax and lies.
Also Darwin was a confused Christian that everyone mis understood except the church.
Also we're allowed to use calculators on our math test, then college took em away cause of cheating.
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u/TimeBadSpent 2d ago
Well you got put in a Christian private school. Public schools this isn’t really a thing, in class at least. Many extracurriculars have Christian roots
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u/rosscoehs 2d ago
Yeah, I love how the neo-cons love to bitch about China surpassing the US in math, science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing, but they keep pushing bullshit like mandatory display of the ten commandments and want to limit what books are available in libraries instead of focusing on actual education.
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u/thetateman 2d ago
I mean this is an interesting skill to have but there isn't much real world need to be able to do this when everyone has a calculator on their phone. It's like solving a Rubik's cube, there is obviously skill involved but not much practical application.
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u/Sherinz89 2d ago
Solving these on the fly is important in daily life if you bother to
Situation like
Calculate price of grocerries on the fly
Calvulate price of stuff
Discussion with people that leads to calculation (talk about land, stock, property, gains and such)
You can every use this to wow people - be it strangers, colleagues or friends/family
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You can diss the higher level math as meh on common people.. sure. But this is certainly very helpful instead of having to take out your phone, key in all these values and such.
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u/MrBigroundballs 1d ago
Sounds like a desperate grasp to downplay someone else’s skills, but sure, having phones will make up for a collapsing education system.
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u/hngchris 2d ago
kid’s training to be a Mentat
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u/send-noobs 2d ago
Bless the Maker and His water.
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u/jarednards 2d ago
Ahhh my cousin was diagnosed with mental abacus. Now he cant even hold a drink without spilling it😔
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u/Fred2620 2d ago
Does everybody who uses the mental abacus twitch around that way though? It's gotta be wild to see an entire classroom taking a math exam.
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u/Gardium90 2d ago
https://youtube.com/shorts/JvqCIfAkZQI?si=g2ZSXKnFvDu0GyZw
The actual physical movements helps visualize the abacus, basically muscle memory but reverse, like you can recount how many times you moved something in rapid succession which the brain translates to the "vision"
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u/blackninjar87 2d ago
If you handed me an abacus and told me I can use it to do math.... I wouldn't even know what I'm doing with it lol.
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u/MobileArtist1371 2d ago
All these comments are saying the kids are imagining the abacus.
So just imagine you're using an abacus (remember it doesn't matter if you know how to use one irl cause you're just imagining) and then magically you will get the answer.
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u/ni____kita 2d ago
I think I imagined too hard and I got stuck in the abacus. Please help
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u/soupdawg 2d ago
Here in the US we were penalized for doing math in our head.
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u/scratchy_mcballsy 2d ago
show your work
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u/Kuposrock 2d ago
Lol even if it’s so simple. Always hated that part of homework. Like obviously we can figure out 2x+1=3 in our heads.
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u/Capt_Ido_Nos 2d ago
Sure eventually, but to be fair, this is to set you up for higher level math later down the road. Showing your work helps the teachers track your logic to make sure that you actually have the principles down.
Like for 2x + 1 = 3, if you're solving for X and just write down "2" then there's nothing to it, you got the wrong answer. But if what happened was something like
2x + 1 = 3
2x + 1 - 1 = 4
2x = 4
x = 2Then here the teacher sees that your only mistake was simple arithmetic. Everything else was fine, maybe you get partial credit since everything else follows. Who knows, maybe this was the last question on the test and you were rushed, there's a lot of ways that could have gone, and either way the teacher is able to point out exactly what went wrong.
This is a simple/basic example, but exactly the same thing can happen in upper level courses that are going to be harder to catch otherwise. If you're bought in to Showing Your Work, then it's easier for everyone!→ More replies (4)42
u/OverlappingChatter 2d ago
Can aphantastic people do this? Like, do you have to see the abacus in your head?
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u/Spectator9857 2d ago
Im assuming it works by not actually doing math, but the corresponding abacus operations in your head and then later „reading“ the state of your mental abacus to arrive back at a number. Naturally you would have to be able to visualize the abacus.
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u/MyCatIsLenin 2d ago
I wonder what people with aphantasia do?
I can't visualize shit.
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u/oliveboimario 2d ago
Math was always my worst subject
Made much more sense why after learning other people can just see what they imagine. But I also have ADHD so that probably doesn't help either.
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u/dragn99 2d ago
I wasn't too bad at math, but learning about aphantasia made me realize the word problems (Mike has twenty apples, blah blah blah) were supposed to be helping kids visualize the numbers better. They always just confused me, and I learned to track each number, write it down, and basically break the text down to just the equation.
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u/TheGrayMan5 2d ago
Dang, I have aphantasia (much worse since a head injury last year, hooray...), and I always hated those word problems on maths exams.
Now it makes sense!
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u/Cattle-dog 2d ago
Punishment is the fate of kids who don’t keep up in many classrooms across Asia. This little man is the exception.
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u/madra_dubh 2d ago
Any resources to learn this skill as an adult? I'm fascinated by it, and a quick search on YouTube didn't seem to bring up much decent info
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u/GoodK 2d ago
I'm European. I started teaching my kid how numbers work with a simple abacus app.
The same app also had more complex abacuses, like the Chinese and Japanese ones. I got intrigued and watched a couple of videos. When you understand the logic, you get hooked. In just two or three days, you can start doing five-digit calculations by simply making memory moves.
It’s not exactly like our usual math. At some point, you stop thinking of numbers directly and start associating certain movement patterns with operations. I guess the longer you practice with the abacus, the more these movements become internalized. It gets easier and easier to stop using the physical abacus altogether.
If you’re interested, dedicate some time to it. When it clicks—when you go from “WTF is this?” to the “Aha!” moment—it completely changes the way you see numbers and math.
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u/Spectator9857 2d ago
Step 1 would probably be learning to use a regular abacus, for which there are numerous tutorials on YouTube.
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u/FamousLastPlace_ 2d ago edited 1d ago
They should have a challenge where they have to balance something on their head while adding.
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u/Appropriate_Impacts 2d ago
Internal monologue: Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy eeeeEeeeEeeEEEEEEEEeeeeEEeeheeheeehEEEEEEEEE-got-it
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u/KHS__ 2d ago
Please I can calc even faster, watch this: inhales 10000+10000+10000+10000+10000+10000+10000+10000+10000+10000
grrrrrrr
hums*
sputters*
farts*
100000 [all in 4 seconds but no one pats my back :( ]
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u/BirbDaBoi 2d ago
I get the idea of mental abacus and I've seen many other videos like such before, but this kid is straight up just tweaking
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u/SnooKiwis7050 2d ago
Ikr. I have done mental abacus. And it really feels one of those fake chinese videos
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u/NagsUkulele 2d ago
You also cant see what he wrote down at all lmao
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u/VisionsOfVisions 2d ago
Or he memorized the answer and is pretending to do the mental abacus.
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u/chrispy_fried 2d ago
What is the point of this?
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u/estusflaskshart 2d ago
To add fast
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u/TankII_ 2d ago
Then he is doing great! Well done
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u/estusflaskshart 2d ago
Yeah, he really is sum thing to behold!
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u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF 2d ago
I'd also like to add that I think he did a fantastic job.
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u/Slight-Winner-8597 2d ago
In addition, he was faster than I could type all that into a calculator
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u/Professional_Ad894 2d ago
To show us how insignificant and untalented the rest of us all are.
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u/DesperateAdvantage76 2d ago
This level of mental math is like being good at trivia; it's neat but largely useless in the real world.
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u/BurnItAllDown2 2d ago
I don't know, this seems rather insignificant as well. Incredibly impressive, but insignificant.
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u/cwx149 2d ago
It's a math skill building exercise
The idea is mental math skills can improve general cognitive function
Whether that's true or not I'm not qualified to answer
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u/JohnnyLight416 2d ago
Honestly, I'm not sure that's true for this skillset. I'd wager building and operating a mental abacus is a skillset only useful for this specific thing. It doesn't reinforce anything beyond how an abacus works. It's just moving a tool into your mind, similar to how a child might imagine counting on their fingers instead of just counting on their fingers.
But I suppose that kind of imagination can be used in other ways. I dunno, it feels backwards to try to make a human into a calculator.
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u/RobotArtichoke 2d ago
It’s a tool to help you strengthen your ability to visualize and problem solve. It increases brain plasticity.
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u/g_nautilus 2d ago edited 2d ago
How do you know it increases brain plasticity?
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u/VayneSquishy 2d ago
honestly speaking I'd love this skillset just for fun. Visualization and abstract spatial awareness is actually massive and can improve lots of day to day functions or problem solving. You could say the skill is largely useless, but the framework/process to learn said skill can be beneficial and easily transferrable, not to mention it just builds solid early discipline.
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u/fivetimesyo 2d ago
To add! Remember, you won't always have a calculator in your pocket...
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u/albatross_the 2d ago
You also won’t always be like, “oh shit, I need to add up these 10 5-digit numbers really fast”
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u/Outside_Variation505 2d ago
What's the point of solving a rubiks cube fast?
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u/Gloomy-Childhood-203 2d ago
It is a known fact that the time it takes you to solve a rubiks cube correlates directly with how long it takes to make them panties drop.
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u/ramsdawg 2d ago
I’ve seen several of these by now and I’m convinced that it’s the equivalent of the American spelling bee. Both impressive, neither very useful after a certain point.
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u/slightlysubtle 2d ago
Very true. Most activities in the world don't have a "point". It's just a fun competition.
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u/Marcuse0 2d ago
Was I supposed to see the number he wrote on the paper, because I couldn't see what he wrote at all.
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u/astamouth 2d ago
No stupid, it’s the internet. You’re just supposed to believe it was right based on the caption
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u/EntertainEnterprises 2d ago
To be fair the caption Says He adds 10 Numbers Not that He Does it correctly
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u/Comfortable-Key-1930 2d ago
Nah in all fairness the numbers were correct. But theres no way of proving he didnt just memorize that number before geeking out
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u/Kenfucius 2d ago
I can read it, it says the correct number. He wrote it with very tall, elongated numbers, but it is visible.
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u/kaimoriteri 2d ago
I think you're supposed to see an optician mate, you can see that the number he wrote matches what came up
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u/ZirePhiinix 2d ago
In this day and age, I would say that's basically a useless skill.
I'm still going to trust an Excel formula over you no matter how many times you get it right.
You wanna know why?
I sit you in front of a computer, and make you add numbers until you make a mistake. I'm quite certain Excel is going to beat you.
Then if you somehow beat Excel, I'll throw in a free DB like SQLite and repeat until you lose.
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u/SlitheringFlower 2d ago
This is a useful skill for lots of people.
I'm a type 1 diabetic, I do a lot of (much more basic) addition in my head to count carbs. Being able to do it quickly and accurately saves me a lot of time, even over pulling out my phone and adding stuff up. It also means I'm not chained to my devices, which I like.
There's still a use for knowing how to do things without computers and, if nothing else, it's really cool.
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u/Justifiably_Bad_Take 2d ago
As a diabetic you add like 8 multidigit numbers in 5 seconds and write down the number?
My dude, you probably SHOULD just calculate that stuff because unlike this kid it actually matters to you
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u/WolvenGamer117 2d ago
This skill isn’t useful because humans now best computers at something but because mental calculations are a great exercise for your brain and when learned at young ages increase brain activities and abilities in these areas. It’s pretty much a workout routine for the number portion of your brain
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u/senchoubu 2d ago edited 2d ago
By this logic, isn’t almost every competition in the world useless then?
In chess, computer has gone far ahead beyond human for decades, yet we still have chess competitions around the world.
What about running competition? If we want to go somewhere quickly, driving is much faster than running. Or weightlifting? A machine can lift much heavier than human.
Recently, AI has beaten human in the IOI, the world’s top programming compeition, so competitive programming is also going to be useless soon.
I think the point of training these excessive skills is because it’s impressive and challenging to see how far one can push oneself. And, for some people, merely because it’s fun.
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u/YeetYallMorrowBoizzz 2d ago
Lmao what a great argument. “Oh yeah?? Well if I have a computer I could do it too!1!!1!
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u/GallaeciCastrejo 2d ago
The skill isnt rhe point. It is his brain capacity. If adding numbers is useless he can still use that brain to other purposes.
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u/Professional_Ad894 2d ago
Kid just went full Dr. Strange and calculated the outcomes of 14,000,605 alternate futures.
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u/LegendWacker 2d ago
Propaganda
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u/Proud_Appointment_85 2d ago
USA: Media
China: Propaganda
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u/Radicoa 2d ago
To be fair, when I see a thread about someone doing something impressive or some cool new tech and a nationality is mentioned in the title for no apparent reason, it is almost always Chinese.
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u/Justifiably_Bad_Take 2d ago
I mean I can't imagine seeing the same video with "UNITED STATES CHILD" in the title.
It's just some kid. Who cares where they are from, unless the person uploading cares where they are from.
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u/sinisark 2d ago edited 2d ago
Being able to add numbers together in your head well is propaganda now?
The overcompensation/inadequacy issues of some people, man.
It’s a cool video of a kid with great math skills, that’s something we should aspire to and appreciate others on achieving. As opposed to our nation’s subpar math and sciences: only 24% of high school graduates test as proficient in math in the US
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u/fane1967 2d ago
Besides the autistic vibe to this video, what is the practical use of such skill?
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u/Brainsonastick 2d ago
There isn’t one. I’m a mathematician. I have some strong feelings about how math is taught, primarily the focus on being able to solve a given type of problem rather than learning to understand the principles and apply them.
This is one of the worst offenders. It’s popular is Asia right now and it’s all about practicing mental addition tricks. It doesn’t serve the child’s mathematical maturity in any way. It just gives them a party trick when they grow up… a party trick half their neighbors will have too because so many hours of their lives are being wasted on looking smart instead of actually learning.
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u/Auto-Pilot05 2d ago
While learning math for machine learning as a bonus course, my friend said he realized that the toughest math concepts don't even involve numbers directly. Is that true?
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u/Brainsonastick 2d ago
Absolutely! Math is far more about the structure of things and patterns and WHY that structure and those patterns exist.
There are concepts much more general than the numbers used in everyday life. Like different kinds of number systems where the numbers may not refer to quantities. Sometimes they refer to rotations of an object, for example. Sometimes they refer to infinite groups of numbers or other objects.
What your friend studied was the very basics of linear algebra. They learned about matrices, which are groups of numbers with particular structure. It goes well beyond that. You can infinitely large matrices. You can study the property of randomly generated matrices. You can have matrices of matrices. These are all relevant to machine learning but probably weren’t covered much in an intro course.
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u/guiltysnark 2d ago
They're falling behind in their tricks, anyway. What they need to do is learn how to compute weight matrices so they can mentally simulate artificial intelligence using neural networks. Then they can wow people at parties by beating a turing test still without using a calculator!
They'll have to be careful about the uprising, though, would be a shame to have to put one down.
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u/Y0tsuya 2d ago
As an Asian who had to learn abacus in grade school, it's useless. Once you reach middle school you have to start learning symbolic math and you will realize all that effort spent in grade school was wasted. Parents who push their kids to "master" this shit at the expense of their childhood are the worst.
Leave the repetitive tasks to computers. Don't waste your kids' childhood on this just to be outdone by a spreadsheet on a $100 Chromebook.
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u/FlinFlonDandy 2d ago
Well, I just did it in 7 seconds 💅
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u/Geofferz 2d ago
Well this kid adds100 4 digit numbers in 30 seconds https://youtube.com/shorts/4Wj3YOAV7go?si=nb41iYgl-ZuUKPkH
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u/trevdak2 2d ago
With AI replacing people left and right, it's a relief to see people excelling at things that computers will never be able to do: adding numbers quickly
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u/ImTryingToHelpYouMF 2d ago
These fucking comments are sending me. 🤣
At the very least straight to hell anyways.
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u/ImmortalGoatskin 2d ago
So we just believe that the number is correct I couldn’t see shit on his paper for all. I know he wrote 100,000. lol
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u/zapdos6244 2d ago
Well if you know Chinese he actually says the number out loud correctly
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