The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics

It’s the last place one would associate with any sort of creative endeavor—a Nazi concentration camp. And yet, it was in one of those living hells that Prof. Jakow Trachtenberg, a Russian engineer and mathematical genius, came up with his famous—in mathematical circles—system for high-speed mathematical calculations.

Condemned to death, the Professor barely escaped with his life, only to be arrested again. Amidst the misery that surrounded him, he found solace in numbers, playing with them, finding patterns, perfecting his system in his mind before he wrote them down—even scraps of paper were a rare luxury.

The system deals with a range of mathematical problems—division, multiplication, and squares—that students generally find, well, problematic. (You can view a simple example here .) It is similar to its Eastern counterpart, the Vedic Mathematics system in some of its approaches, and its application in aiding students with Learning Disabilities. 

Prof. Trachtenberg, having given the Gestapo the slip, went on to found the Mathematical Institute in Zurich after the war. Today, it is better known among the Swiss as the “School of Genius".  The Trachtenberg system is extensively used in that country in banks, commercial institutions, and tax departments. It can add great value to any course on numerical calculations—after all, the Swiss bankers would know.

(Vivek is Manager – Content at Tata Interactive Systems and a graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology)

Comments

[Sarah]

I think it is great that you have a blog on this topic I have been looking for a way to improve my mathematic skills for a while and believe that this is a great way to do so!!