Friends & Family Webinar: How to Become a Human Calculator with Scott Flansburg

Kevin Hickey (Prevalent Inc. CEO): Hello, my name is Kevin Hickey, I’m the CEO prevalent in with schools and offices shutdown and most of us working from home and spending time with our families the prevalent team wanted to provide a little fun break with a special online presentation with Scott Flansburg, the human calculator. Kevin Hickey: Scott’s been a good friend for over 30 years he’s appeared on shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Ellen, The Today Show. Kevin Hickey: He is the Guinness world record holder for the fastest human calculator. Kevin Hickey: He’s also the founder of the counting bait. Kevin Hickey: When you’re home alone with your spouse, young children, or young adults, I think you’ll find there’s something for everyone. Kevin Hickey: But before we start, I want to ensure everybody we’ve taken every healthcare precaution necessary to put this webinar on the the cameras being operated remotely by phone we’re all practicing social distancing this office is closed where it’s three people in here. Kevin Hickey: And I promise you we’re taking every precaution wanted to kick back have a little fun and you know I’m going to turn it over to Scott now and and hopefully you all find this enjoyable. Kevin Hickey: We are going to record this session so be on our website in the future if you want to go back for any references for some fun tips that you’ve learned from Scott today have a great day.

Scott Flansburg: Okay, well thank you Kevin and I want to thank the Prevalent team for having me today. Scott Flansburg: I’m very excited about this opportunity because we’re all in a unique situation and so I just want to make it as fun as I can here today. Scott Flansburg: We’re not going to cover a lot of stuff, we’re just going to cover stuff that it’ll help everybody. Scott Flansburg: So to get started, I need Kevin to help me warm up my brain and so what we’re gonna do is start with number calculations so I’m gonna try to do them in my head.

Scott Flansburg: And Kev’s gonna do them on this calculator so here we go this is called an app called digits. Scott Flansburg: And so Kev, you get started, we’re gonna start out I got to warm up my brain I’m not an athlete I’m a mathlete so I have to stretch out a little bit. Scott Flansburg: So let’s do some addition of two-digit numbers a bunch of them and I’ll say plus between each two-digit number tells you I’m ready for the next one okay I’m ready.

Kevin Hickey: Oh sorry, cleared out.

Scott Flansburg: Clear out, just a bunch of two-digit numbers like 56, 73, stuff like that sorry we’re gettin to the bigger stuff later. Scott Flansburg: 49 plus plus plus plus four and one more three nine four she gets 394 all right. Scott Flansburg: Okay so I’m gonna show you how to do that a couple minutes all right I learned how to figured out how to do this when I was in third grade by accident. Scott Flansburg: But let’s keep going Kev, let’s do some multiplication just give me like two two-digit numbers and I’ll multiply them in my head.

Kevin Hickey: Times.

Scott Flansburg: That’s 8277 is all right that I get it. Scott Flansburg: 82 yeah. Scott Flansburg: All right, all right I’m still warming up. Scott Flansburg: Let’s go for a division give me like a three-digit divided by a one digit.

Kevin Hickey: 263.

Scott Flansburg: Try another one that was pretty easy pick tough numbers that’s 132 point four two eight five seven one four two eight five yada-yada-yada it just keeps going forever. Scott Flansburg: Okay, so now I’m warmed up so what I want to demonstrate for you next is something I could discover it I could do and I was in about eighth grade Kev just for fun.

Scott Flansburg: Clearly calculators punch in 12 plus 12 and hit the calculate and hit equals and it’ll say 24 but hit equals again and watch what happens. Scott Flansburg: It adds 12 more and if he hit equals again it should add 12 more. Scott Flansburg: Now you just take keep hitting equals it’ll count by that number. Scott Flansburg: And my buddy Andy did that in front of math class one day and he said hey Scott what’s 28 plus 28. Scott Flansburg: I said 56 and he accidentally hit equals again and it added 28 more and he goes hey what’s 28th morning so well that’s 84 he goes what’s enough to 28 more and it was like something woke up in my brain. Scott Flansburg: And now I’ve had this Guinness World Record for over 20 years as fastest human calculator. Scott Flansburg: So here’s how it works is the Guinness people gave me 15 seconds to race the fastest account in the world using a 10 key calculator. Scott Flansburg: The judge chose 38 so the guy in the calculator had to do 3/8 plus 3/8 plus 3/8 plus 3/8 plus 3/8 as fast as he could for 15 seconds racing me counting by 38 out loud. Scott Flansburg: At the end of the 15 seconds he had 28 answers and I had 36 so actually beat the Machine by 8. Scott Flansburg: And so Kev clear this out and I’ll pick a tough two-digit number you want. Scott Flansburg: I don’t tell me what it is yeah I just punch it in and then hit the plus sign and then hit the same two-digit number again and hit equals and I’m just gonna start counting by that number you just hit equals and keep up with me as I say the next answer I’m ready when you are. Scott Flansburg: 174, 261, 348, 435, 522, 609, six nine six, seven eight three, eight seven zero, nine five seven, one zero four four, one one three one, one two one eight, one three or five, one three ninety one, four seven nine, one five six six, one six five three, one seven four one, hu seven nine four, 2001, yada yada 2001 that was a good year. Scott Flansburg: Okay, so you can see I can just count by a number as fast as I can talk my mouth actually slows me down my brain is going so fast when that happens the numbers are just flying through there. Scott Flansburg: But when I film this for Guinness I did this and I set the record 36 dancers in 15 seconds that’s been there for about 20 years now. Scott Flansburg: We went to a commercial break and the guy said hey Scott you’re in the book but we think you’re cheating. Scott Flansburg: And I was like how do you cheat counting by 38 he goes well we don’t think you’re actually counting we think you’ve memorized all these answers. Scott Flansburg: And I said that would be even more amazing to memorize all those numbers. Scott Flansburg: And I said so instead what about instead of starting at zero we started a random number. Scott Flansburg: So Kev punching a random two or three digit number and I can see it it’s okay it doesn’t matter.

Kevin Hickey: 249.

Scott Flansburg: Now hit plus so our starting number is to 49 and now you hit Plus. Scott Flansburg: Now pick a two-digit number you want me to count by starting at 249 to just say it out loud that’s too easy cleared out. Scott Flansburg: Let’s start over because you had a 49 in the first one I could you know anybody could do that right 249 plus so I’ve never done this patter before here we go. Scott Flansburg: 327, four oh five, four eight three, five six one, six three nine, seven one seven, seven nine five, eight seven three, nine five one, one oh two nine, one mmm like that I can still go the same speed. Scott Flansburg: And so I am tuned into numbers. Scott Flansburg: And then I hosted the Olympics for mental math it’s called memory add for mental math World Records in Las Vegas in November 2016. Scott Flansburg: And I got challenged for my record and the girl that challenge we wanted to do a three-digit number so that has an error yet but we’re gonna do it right now just for fun. Scott Flansburg: So Kevin be gentle don’t go crazy on me but pick like. Scott Flansburg: A three-digit number and then don’t tell me what it is yet punch it in and then hit plus and then the same three-digit number and hit equals and I’m going to start counting by that three-digit number. Scott Flansburg: 498, 747, 996, one two four five, one four nine four, one seven four three, one nine nine two, two two four one, two four nine oh, two seven three nine, two nine eight eight, three two four seven like that just as fast. Scott Flansburg: I just fly as soon as I ask my brain that question the numbers should start flying it. Scott Flansburg: So I really tuned it into numbers and so the rest of the show I want to spend showing you how to see numbers and make it easier for you and everyday knife. Scott Flansburg: So Kev, thank you very much, great job, but now I want to get started with something real simple and I’m gonna start back when I was in third grade. Scott Flansburg: Our teacher wrote these for now I got to put this on here just give me one second screen here yes and so what I want to do is show you what happened to me is I was in third grade our teacher wrote this problem on the board. Scott Flansburg: We had already learned how to add up single digits and we were learning carrying with two-digit numbers and she showed everybody how you have to go start at the seven in the two is nine one more is 10 three more is 13 write down the three carry the one one two three four five and you add it up and there’s your answer. Scott Flansburg: And the only problem was I wasn’t paying attention that day. Scott Flansburg: I sat next to my best friend in class and we’d always talked about baseball we were on the same team so we really didn’t focus much on this and my teacher caught me not paying attention so she picked me to come up to the board to do this problem. Scott Flansburg: And I always used these four numbers to start my show because they’re seared in my brain because of the anxiety that I felt as I was walking up to the board realizing that I was busted and I didn’t know what to do. Scott Flansburg: I didn’t know where to start I didn’t know what the carry was and so I walked up to the board and out of fear or survival I’m not sure why my brain was like okay I learned how to read left to right so I must have to do my math left to right. Scott Flansburg: So I started over here in the tens column and then worked that way so here’s how I did and see if it makes sense to you this is a 10 10 10 10 all I did was keep a running total going down the columns backwards. Scott Flansburg: So watch this 10 plus 10 is 20 plus 10 more is 30 10 more is 40 now we can stop right there and you. Scott Flansburg: Learned estimation so this helps with estimation but let’s keep going we’re at 40. Scott Flansburg: 40 plus seven is forty seven plus two is 49 plus one is 50 plus three is fifty three and that’s the answer 53 and I wrote that down without a carry and my teacher said well you’re right Scott but where’s your carry and I said I don’t know what you’re talking about what’s a carry. Scott Flansburg: And she said well let’s try another one so you guys try this one out this was the next one she gave me I always use this one too. Scott Flansburg: All right just try it on your own first then we’ll do it together just I’ll give you a couple seconds here always starting on the left you learn estimation number sense place value it’s amazing. Scott Flansburg: Okay I’m sure some of you already got the answer let’s try it. Scott Flansburg: So this goes 20 plus 20 which is 40 20 more is 60 10 were 70 so estimation 70 something or higher. Scott Flansburg: 70 plus 6 is 76 plus 3 is 79 plus 1 is 80 plus 8 is 88. Scott Flansburg: So I promise you you might have never seen that before in your life but this is as simple as it gets. Scott Flansburg: Let’s try one together everybody do this on your own. Scott Flansburg: Race the people you’re watching the show with right now just shout out the answer when you get it Kevin over here you yet.

Kevin Hickey: Nope, not even close that was totally I don’t even think you’re looking at the numbers so here’s how it works.

Scott Flansburg: So let’s try it together we got 30 50 60 70 70 7 79 80 85 the answer is 85. Scott Flansburg: I hope you got that right and now I just wanted to break the ice with this simple thing because I discovered this by accident when I was in third grade but what happened was it made me question everything I learned the rest of my life. Scott Flansburg: In fourth grade I had a tough time with my math teacher he was my way or the highway. Scott Flansburg: And fifth grade I got very lucky I had a teacher named Mr. Potter and Mr. Potter goes Scott I’ve already heard about you he goes if you figure something out in my class you bring it to me and that’s why I can prove that it works algebraically and it’s not just a trick then I’ll let you teach it to the rest of the class. Scott Flansburg: So I’m just going to give you one example I you know I cover everything from addition to algebra and all my programs today we’re going to just do a couple of things but it’s funny when you get into memorization everybody memorizes up to 10 times 10 some people all the way up to 12 times 12 but really that’s about it. Scott Flansburg: If you ask somebody. Scott Flansburg: Thirteen times fourteen nobody has the answer so we all quit at ten but to me I couldn’t believe we were stopping at ten because 11 seemed like this amazing number. Scott Flansburg: Watch this when you multiply numbers times eleven there’s a simple pattern you know we could do it the way you normally do it you’re going to do 4 times 1 is 4 2 times 1 is 2 put the 0 then you got to you know do it this way and you know you end up with 240 and 24 and all that you got to add them all together it’s a lot of work. Scott Flansburg: But watch how easy this is now anytime you have to multiply a number times an 11 just go like this drop the back number here drop the front number here and now just add these two together 2 plus 4 is 6 and drop that in the middle and there’s your answer. Scott Flansburg: All right, let’s try another one. Scott Flansburg: 35 times 11 first step is you drop the numbers down from the top on to the ends and now three plus five is eight so 385 all right. Scott Flansburg: You should be able to do this pretty easily in your head so let’s just practice one let’s do 33 times 11 everybody try it in your head then I’ll write it down so you can visualize it. Scott Flansburg: A lot of people are very visual when it comes to math so 33 times 11 you’re gonna have a 3 here a 3 here and 6 goes in the middle. Scott Flansburg: This works all the time three-digit numbers four-digit numbers there’s a carrying process in here if you want to try it but if your kids love this just have them try bigger and bigger numbers and they’ll discover all these patterns and figure out how it works instead of just making them memorize how it works. Scott Flansburg: What I try to teach people to do is how to discover numbers not memorize numbers. Scott Flansburg: So this is my biggest concern is uh it seems like it’s become socially accepted to be bad at math. Scott Flansburg: And we all carry one of these in our pocket now we all have a calculator. Scott Flansburg: Take a look at the calculator for a second you take it for granted how many numbers are on a calculator some of you probably said 9 10 I’ve heard a Levin 12 I’ve heard 6 it’s crazy all the different answers when I visit schools and stuff. Scott Flansburg: But it’s really funny as is look at this calculator this is the most powerful machine now we have them on our phones in our pockets and everything but this at one time was a big thing took a lot of space to crunch numbers and now it’s down to this today. Scott Flansburg: This show I’m speaking to you in English when you speak English you have to use the alphabet ABCD and make words and sentences and all that stuff. Scott Flansburg: Well. Scott Flansburg: The human calculator and I’m speaking the language of numbers I use the alphabet of numbers which are these ten digits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. Scott Flansburg: There’s no 10 on a calculator yet we’ve all been brought up to think like this we have 10 fingers we’ve all there to go 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and that’s cool if you need to count your fingers but if you want to think like a calculator you have to count 0 because when you turn on a calculator it always starts at 0 so you have to count 0. Scott Flansburg: So really numbers work like this we have 10 fingers and there’s 10 digits and it goes like this 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 it’s really 0 through 9. Scott Flansburg: And I can’t explain why the world is wired 1 through 10 but all I can tell you is is when you start thinking about numbers 0 through 9 everything changes it makes numbers so much easier all these patterns start jumping out of the bigger numbers you can see them. Scott Flansburg: And so what I want to do is just introduce you to this language of numbers here’s the 10 digits and there’s all kinds of different stories about how these numbers got their shapes. Scott Flansburg: When I was a kid I asked my third-grade teacher how do the numbers get their shapes who picked the shapes and she said I don’t know we asked other teachers they didn’t know. Scott Flansburg: And so I sort of made it my mission to find out why numbers look like they do and if you go online now you can find these beautiful graphs that’ll show you how they evolve through the years. Scott Flansburg: But for helping kids connect with numbers one of the cool ways I saw that numbers maybe came about which isn’t probably true but it’s a great way to help the kids with numbers is that these shapes were made for to be able to communicate to you. Scott Flansburg: The value of each shape by one simple thing here’s how zero started zero as a circle the secret is is to count the corners of each shape. Scott Flansburg: So I’m going to show you how they originally look to make this happen but now you can see why zero is a circle because they wanted to communicate that this had a value of zero so there are zero corners. Scott Flansburg: The next number one started out like this it had a little thing right there that’s one angle so everybody knew when they looked at that shape that value had a shape and a value of one. Scott Flansburg: The number two started out like our letters. Scott Flansburg: Because this shape has two corners, two angles so everybody knew that was 2. Scott Flansburg: The number 3 started out like this it gives you 1 2 3 angles there’s your 3. Scott Flansburg: And the number 4 looked a little different it looked like that and this gives you one up there’s 1 2 3 and then for the outside angle. Scott Flansburg: And then the number 5 it looked almost the same it just has a little tail on it like that that gives you 1 2 3 4 5 angles. Scott Flansburg: The numbers 6 start it out like this they just boxed it up that gives you one two three four five six corners six angles. Scott Flansburg: All right, seven we’re lazy we draw like that but somebody really smart came up with this a long time ago and now you have one two three four five six seven angles. Scott Flansburg: And you think eight would be tough but I ain’t it’s actually very easy they just use this hourglass symbol so you’ve got one two three four five six seven eight with the outside angles. Scott Flansburg: And then nine they actually call this one the ugly duckling but it got the job done it looked like that you’ve got one two three four five six seven eight nine. Scott Flansburg: So there you go it’s really zero through nine and now you know why numbers look like they do and you know 10 is not a digit 10 is the number that uses a 1 and a 0 so it’s really 0 through 9. Scott Flansburg: And when you turn on a calculator it always starts at 0 if it started at any other number you wouldn’t get the right answer so 0 is the power number when it comes to a calculator. Scott Flansburg: But now if I want to show you how to make numbers add up to 9. Scott Flansburg: Because the secret to numbers is everything goes back to 9 which I’ll share with you in a minute. Scott Flansburg: But a lot of you have just memorized your math facts just say the answer out loud as fast you can what’s 7 plus 7 I’m sure everybody yelled 14 within a half a second. Scott Flansburg: How are you getting that answer so quickly were you counting your fingers were you calculating something or did you just memorize that. Scott Flansburg: That’s what we do in our schools our kids the parents and the teachers just want to make sure the kids have the answer is the easiest way to get that is just have the kids memorize their math facts at the beginning of school which really doesn’t serve a good purpose it’s a it’s a bad way to get started I think. Scott Flansburg: So today I’m gonna introduce you to you what I call chapter zero. Scott Flansburg: I believe it’s the missing chapter in arithmetic and if students around the world would learn this chapter first it would make the job easier for our teachers and our parents and for everybody to make sense out of arithmetic and move on to higher maths and get into science technology engineering arts and math. Scott Flansburg: So okay, so before we get into adding or any secrets I got to show you a simple pattern to help you make you realize how simple 9 is. Scott Flansburg: If you’re not good at adding just do this start writing your digits zero one two three four and now I’ll keep going underneath five six seven eight nine and look what happened. Scott Flansburg: You can see that 0 plus 9 is 9 1 plus 8 9 2 plus 7 9 3 plus 6 9 and 4 plus 5 9. Scott Flansburg: Those are all the combinations to make 9. Scott Flansburg: And so after you write this down and you get your students to go through this what I do is a quiz is I’ll just say one of the digits and make them say the other number that makes both of them add up to 9. Scott Flansburg: So if I say 4 they have to say 5 if I say 7 they have to say 2 but now this is a very simple way to know you’re addition facts for the number 9 because that’s what it all comes down to. Scott Flansburg: So I’ve been serving as the human calculator traveling the world for 30 years and for a long time it was just about me me me and what I could do and look what I can do and then I just leave you know I never really shared much. Scott Flansburg: And I invented a new calendar to save us from y2k in 1999 and it was supposed to come out on 9 9 99 I was really excited I thought that was the beginning of y2k and it was supposed to be in a newspaper story here in Arizona and it didn’t come out and the guy called me and said hey we’re gonna put it in next week’s paper instead. Scott Flansburg: And I said hey next week is it 9 9 99 this is a once in a lifetime date and he goes oh I didn’t even notice that so I was all bummed out. Scott Flansburg: And I was on the golf course with Alice Cooper that day we were playing golf and by chance on the 18th green that day Alice said to me hey 18 I wrote a song called 18 one and eight. Scott Flansburg: Adds up to nine how come eighteen adds up to nine. Scott Flansburg: And I said Alice that’s easy any number times nine the answer adds up to nine. Scott Flansburg: If you do three times nine you get 27 2 + 7 is 9. Scott Flansburg: Six times nine you get fifty four five and four is nine if you do 16 times 9 you get 144 one four and four is nine. Scott Flansburg: He goes okay I don’t care and so I was just thinking about this so I’m driving home from golf I’m like why is that and I got home and I looked at my calendar thirteen month calendar I tell you about that at the end of the show. Scott Flansburg: But for some reason I just looked at the number thirteen and this is on nine nine ninety nine at nine o’clock in the morning just after nine and for some reason I looked at thirteen I said hey one plus three is four thirteen minus four is nine and I just started laughing out loud like that was just a strangest coincidence to me and I didn’t think much of a first second. Scott Flansburg: But then I walked by my microwave and I saw the number eleven and I just reflexively went alright one plus one is two eleven minus two is nine and I started freaking out. Scott Flansburg: I was like what is this how could my first thought to be honest with you wise Here I am the human calculator traveled the world performing I thought that I had missed one day in fourth grade when they taught this it’s so simple you’re gonna see here a second. Scott Flansburg: I thought that I just missed that day and nobody ever shared it with me and so I did we moved a lot when I was a kid so I had a lot of reasons to think I just missed it so I started calling my math friends to say what is this what is it’s called. Scott Flansburg: But here’s how it works let’s start at the simplest number 10 first number after 9. Scott Flansburg: All you do is add up all the digits in that number and write that total underneath so 1 plus 0 is 1 put the total underneath and subtract 10 minus 1 is 9. Scott Flansburg: Let’s try a couple random ones 15 1 plus 5 add them together you get 6 15 minus 6 is 9. Scott Flansburg: Let’s try 19 1 plus 9 is 10 19 minus 10 is 9 that works up to 19 but watch what happens over 19. Scott Flansburg: Let’s do 20 here’s 20 first step add the two digits together 2 plus 0 is 2. Scott Flansburg: Put the total underneath and subtract 20 minus 2 is 18 and look at your answer 18 1 plus 8 is 9 your answer will always add up to 9. Scott Flansburg: The next time you’re driving and you see a speed limit sign you’re gonna see 55 add them together 5 + 5 gives you 10 put the total underneath and subtract 55 minus 10. Scott Flansburg: 45 a look at the answer 45 4 plus 5 is 9. Scott Flansburg: So I challenge all of you watching today. Scott Flansburg: Write down your age I’m sure a lot of you have pencil and paper if you’re really good with numbers or just confident just do it in your head but think of your age or write down your age. Scott Flansburg: All right, so let me do it – I am. Scott Flansburg: I think I’m 37 and different number base so anyway so those 37 let’s say that all right. Scott Flansburg: So you write down your age and now you add those two numbers together 3 plus 7 is 10 you take that away and you get 27 and look at the answer 2 plus 7 is 9. Scott Flansburg: This should have worked for every one of you this doesn’t just work for two-digit numbers it works for three-digit numbers 4 digit 10 digit 100 digit to infinity. Scott Flansburg: Just to show you let’s just do one more let’s do 123 one plus two plus three you got to add them all together and you get 6 123 minus 6 is 117 look at that answer 1 1 7 1 plus 1 plus 7 is 9. Scott Flansburg: This works for every number in the universe I don’t know why we’re not teaching this in schools but there’s two things I want to share with you. Scott Flansburg: One I believe this is a simple exercise that will train all of our brains for basic number of facts instead of memorizing all these numbers this