1/22/2024 0 Comments Abacus math contest![]() The small discs have different values, and the four beads on the bottom have a value of 1. As I discovered while reporting on a book on the science of learning, the typical abacus has small discs that move up and down on thin posts. The key to her success was an ancient technology called the abacus. But she also answered many of the problems correctly, including the addition of multiple five-digit numbers in her head. Sometimes she would get problems wrong and smile and shrug. ![]() The movements were fast and exact.įor almost an hour, she used the abacus-based approach to solve math problems. For each question, she closed her eyes, and then the fingers of her right hand began to twitch, a progression of plucks and jerks. SoroTouch learning centers have spread to 10 countries and regions now, and more than 8,000 students are learning the skills while being connected online.A few years ago, I stood in a small basement classroom just outside of New York City, watching a high schooler named Serena Stevenson answer math questions in rapid succession. ![]() Then he joined Digika and helped the SoroTouch business take off. He met Yamauchi in Japan, and they got along in part because he had learned soroban. The fact that people used both hands overseas was surprising to her, but she realized, "Instructors in Japan teach how to use the soroban, but in other countries, using mental calculation skills in everyday life is the purpose (of learning abacus) from the beginning."Īfter various trials and errors, Yamauchi developed the SoroTouch app and released it in 2016.Ĭurrent Digika President Yasunobu Hashimoto, 39, used to be in charge of overseas business development at Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc. The pair were no match for other competitors, so Yamauchi studied abacus methods from across the globe. In 2012, she participated in the mental calculation world championships held in Turkey with her second daughter, who had obtained the second-dan rank in mental arithmetic. Yamauchi thought, "This skill is necessary for business."Īfter leaving the bank for reasons including taking care of her children, Yamauchi opened a soroban school at home with her friends in her community of moms. When she was in charge of developing financial products at Citibank, she saw a Japanese trader who was good at soroban-method mental calculations being relied on by their coworkers around the world. The technology was developed by Chika Yamauchi, 56, founder and chairperson of Digika Co. This lets users naturally learn mental calculation skills. Features of the app include the "mental calculation mode," on which the beads' color does not change but just flashes for a moment when they are touched. But unlike Japanese soroban abacuses, both hands are used on this app. ![]() Beads like those used for soroban abacuses are shown on the tablet screen, and their color changes when users touch them, allowing them to do math like on the traditional calculation tool. founder who developed the SoroTouch app, is seen at the company's office in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 15, 2022. His mother Akina, 38, said, "I have him calculate (the total amount) when we go shopping."Ĭhika Yamauchi, the Digika Co. The 8-year-old can work out the sum of five three-digit numbers that appear one after another on the tablet screen in just five seconds in the app's "flash mental calculation" mode. A facilitator was seen cheering participants through the Zoom app in Japanese and English. Yeah!" Komatsu, joining the event from Tokyo, was one of the some 630 children from seven countries competing in mental math calculations. In a "SoroFes" online event held in June, Shuhei Komatsu, 8, expressed his excitement, shouting, "Awesome! I'm in first place. The game-like app allows people to enjoy developing mental calculation skills. Users perform calculations by touching virtual beads on the SoroTouch app, just as they do when using a Japanese abacus, or soroban. Shuhei Komatsu, background, performs a mental calculation while moving his fingers before a tablet device in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 12, 2022.
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