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Figuring: The Joy of Numbers
"There is a range and richness to numbers—they can come alive, cease to be symbols written on a black board, and lead the reader into a world of intellectual adventure where calculations are thrilling." In Figuring, Shakuntala Devi dramatizes the endless fascination of numbers and their ability to amaze and entertain. She offers easy-to-learn short cuts—how to add long columns in your head, multiply, divide, and find square roots quickly, almost magically. Fractions, decimals, and compound interest become clear and easy to deal with. The author takes delight in working out huge problems mentally—sometimes even faster than electronic computers. In Figuring she shares her secrets with you. Shakuntala Devi shows you a foolproof method to guess your friends' birthdays and how to determine the day of the week for any date since 1582, and, sublimely ridiculous, she "proves" that 1= 2 . Puzzle-lovers will enjoy the stories of the wise temple priest who divided 17 elephants in half without bloodshed; the man who will be 3 years older next year than he was the day before yesterday; and the feat of describing each number from 1 through 18 with exactly 4 fours in each equation. Shakuntala Devi has delighted world audiences-with her lightning-fast computations and her infectious enthusiasm and love for numbers. No one can read this book without falling under the spell of Figuring and of Ms. Shakuntala Devi.
