A recently resurfaced video by a college math instructor has introduced people to an easier way of adding and subtracting large numbers.
Howie Hua shared the trick with his followers on Twitter, explaining that it is sometimes easier to add and subtract by going left to right, rather than right to left as taught in many schools. Brace yourselves, and prepare to say goodbye to the phrase “carry the one”.
Instead of going from the right, adding the two smallest digits and carrying over the one, Hua starts at the left, adding the two largest digits together. Creating a new line underneath, he then adds the middle digits, before adding a new row and adding the smallest digits together.
This adds an extra stage of adding, but of much simpler numbers, and doesn’t involve any fiddly carrying of ones.
In a TikTok video, he also demonstrated that you can subtract from right to left as well.
With subtracting, you subtract the number on the left first. Then the smaller number is subtracted, and the total of this number is taken away from the total shown by the number to its left.
Or you could cheat and use a calculator.
[H/T: Upworthy]
Source Link: College Math Instructor Explains An Easier Way To Add And Subtract Big Numbers
