Whether we like it or not, the majority of us spend at least twelve years in math classes learning how to recognize numbers, add and subtract them, multiply and raise powers, and other mathematical concepts. Let’s face it, a few years later, most of us have forgotten most of it.
We are fortunate to live in a social media age. While TikTok, for instance, undoubtedly occasionally leads to unintentional war crimes or the destruction of thousands of scientific research, it may also be used for more beneficial, math-based purposes. You may have recently seen a new video that precisely falls into this second category.
According to Howie Hua, who recently appeared in a popular TikTok video, “Adding left to right is highly underappreciated.” According to Upworthy, he is a lecturer at California State University, Fresno, where he instructs future primary school teachers in mathematics. He is also a math expert online, with hundreds of videos offering advice on how to master the queen of the sciences.
But what does it mean to “add left to right”? Let’s utilize the illustration that Hua uses, which is 245 plus 567. If you were to solve this in class.
We hear you say, “But wait!” “That is not how you do it! If I ever tried to do that, Mrs. Grunderwald from fifth grade would give me a paddlin’!
The beauty of math is that you can do anything. It doesn’t matter as long as it makes sense! The goal is to make your life as simple as possible; there is no right or wrong, and there is no such thing as “cheating.” Hua shows how to subtract from left to right as if to support this further:
Not only is that entirely feasible, but it also somewhat facilitates visualizing the situation, don’t you agree? Visit his YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok accounts to get the remainder of his advice.
Now, it would be fantastic if he could just begin working through the Riemann hypothesis from left to right.
