VEDIC MATHEMATICS NEWSLETTER
Newsletter of the World Academy of Vedic Mathematics (part of the
International Research and Resource Foundation for Indian heritage)
ISSUE No. 45
A warm welcome to our new subscribers.
Vedic Mathematics is becoming increasingly popular as more and more
people are introduced to the beautifully unified and easy Vedic methods.
The purpose of this Newsletter is to provide information about developments
in education and research and books, articles, courses, talks etc.,
and also to bring together those working with Vedic Mathematics. If
you are working with Vedic Mathematics - teaching it or doing research
- please contact us and let us include you and some description of
your work in the Newsletter. Perhaps you would like to submit an article
for inclusion in a later issue or tell us about a course or talk you
will be giving or have given.
If you are learning Vedic Maths, let us know how you are getting on
and what you think of this system.
This issue's article is by Anand Pattabiraman, an eleven year old
sixth grader enrolled in the ROGATE Program (Resources Offered for
Gifted And Talented Education) of the National Talent Network, in
Tenafly, New Jersey, USA, who has conducted research on Vedic Math.
RESEARCH IN VEDIC MATH
In spring of 2003, Anand Pattabiraman conducted research on a topic
called Vedic Math. Vedic Math was said to be a fast way to do arithmetic
and he wished to see if this was true.
Ancient Indian mathematicians made numerous contributions to mathematics
such as Vedic Math. The decimal system and the concept of zero were
other major contributions. The advanced system of Vedic Math is believed
to be described in the Parasista (Par - a - shish -tha), the appendix
portion of the Atharvatheva, one of the 4 Veda books. The Vedic Math
system was rediscovered in the 20th century by Jagadguru Swami Sri
Bharati Krishna Tirthaj Maharaja.
For his ROGATE Research Project, Anand selected Vedic Math as the
topic. He did some preliminary research and formulated his hypothesis.
He found two primary and two secondary resources to complete his research.
He designed and conducted an experiment. He collected and analyzed
the data and finally created his presentation and report.
The hypothesis that Anand formulated was: Students who use Vedic Math
are quicker and more accurate when doing computations. The primary
resources that he used to research this hypothesis were an interview
with Kenneth Williams, a Vedic Math scholar and mathematician, and
an experiment involving six 6th grade students who were advanced in
mathematics. The secondary resources were three websites online and
a newspaper article.
As one of Anand's primary resources, he contacted Dr. Kenneth Williams,
Vedic Math scholar and mathematician, and interviewed him on the topic
of Vedic Math. Dr. Williams stated that Vedic Math can and does apply
to all mathematical problems.
But how can Vedic Math apply to all mathematical problems when there
are just 16 sutras (rules)? Dr. Williams explained "These seem
to relate to the way the mind works and that is the reason why there
are 16 sutras as there are just 16 ways that the mind can function
and from that point of view, the Vedic math must cover all of math
if these 16 functions cover all the ways in which we think, then it
must be a complete system."
But could there be any disadvantages that could make teachers not
want to teach Vedic Math to students? "Doing mental maths increases
your brain power and your mental agility and creativity, it's really
an advantage, there aren't really any disadvantages.", Dr. Williams
told Anand.
But is Vedic Math right for everyone? Dr. Williams declared "Oh
certainly, it should be used everywhere it's a much more coherent
system, much easier to use, more flexible. Children who are slow at
math find it easy and kids who are good at math find that they like
it as well, everybody seems to like it. It has been demonstrated that
people do get higher grades and win awards who do Vedic Math."
All of the information Anand Pattabiraman found online agreed with
what Dr. Williams cited and had only positive opinions regarding Vedic
Math. "The beautiful system of Vedic Mathematics is far more
unified and direct than conventional mathematics.", Dr. Williams
expounded, adding that "exceedingly tough mathematical problems
…can be easily and readily solved with the help of these ultra-easy
Vedic Sutras. The Sutras (aphorisms) apply to and cover ...every branch
of mathematics …. In fact, there is no part of mathematics, pure
or applied, which is beyond their jurisdiction."
Dr. Williams exclaimed "It is so fascinating, it has turned math-haters
into math-lovers!" Anand Pattabiraman was very surprised by all
this information.
For his experiment, Anand selected three out of the 16 sutras. These
three sutras helped with adding and subtracting fractions, multiplying
with numbers close to 100, and subtracting from numbers in the series
10, 100, 1000, etc. He created a test involving the uses of these
three sutras. The test had 30 problems with ten problems for each
of the sutras. Three 6th grade students were given this test and were
supposed to use their own method of arithmetic. Three other 6th graders
were taught the Vedic Math guidelines and then given the same test.
During all the tests, the completion time was noted and the tests
were scored for accuracy. In addition, the students who learned Vedic
Math were also given a questionnaire to see their reaction to Vedic
Math.
RESULTS
Control Group Time (minutes) Accuracy
Subject #1 8:26
30/30
Subject #2 13:53
28/30
Subject #3 14:32
24/30
Average 12:28
27/30
Experimental Group Time (minutes) Accuracy
Subject #1 6:36
27/30
Subject #2 11:33
29/30
Subject #3 14:58
25/30
Average 11:03
27/30
The average completion time of the control group, i.e. the kids who
were not taught, was 12:28 minutes, while the experimental group,
the kids who were taught Vedic Math, had an average of 11:03 (minutes).
Therefore the experimental group was 11.5% faster than the control
group.
The efficiency for each subject was calculated by dividing the %accurate
answers by the time taken to complete the test. Then the average efficiency
for each group was calculated (Control = 8.02, Experimental = 9.19).
The conclusion is that the experimental group was still 15% more efficient
than the control group, even though they had the same average score.
After the tests were taken and times recorded, children in the control
group were taught the rules of Vedic Math (optional). It appeared
that the only student who had scored 30/30 in this experiment belonged
to the control group and she had already learnt 2 out of the 3 rules
and used it in the test. This suggests that Vedic Math could be taught
in other places, it is just not known by the title Vedic Math. This
person should really have been part of the experimental group and
could have boosted the accuracy of the experimental group even further.
At the end, Anand Pattabiraman conducted a survey on the kids who
were taught Vedic Math. Some of the questions and answers are listed
here. Two out of the three sixth graders agreed that the Vedic Math
rules were useful it but the third student Anand attempted to teach
said "Yeah, the ways of doing Vedic math were cool… but,
it didn't really help me." This person didn't want to participate
in the experiment. All three of the sixth graders thought it was cool
and liked it. They were undecided whether it should be used in schools
but one was sure, "Maybe, it will be sort of hard if kids don't
know their basics." "Yes, it can help other kids solve problems
easier, too." All of them agreed that they would remember some
of it and use it again.
Anand concluded that his data and research support his hypothesis
that Students who use Vedic Math are quicker and more accurate when
doing computations.
How can this research be applied to new situations?
The Vedic Math system can be used in schools around the world.
The system will be easier for teachers to teach and students to use.
It can also be used to train math teams for competitions where speed
and accuracy count.
Acknowledgement: Anand Pattabiraman would like to thank Mrs. D. Schulthes,
Coordinator of the Discovery Programs at Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly,
NJ, for her guidance and help and Dr. Kenneth Williams and the students
who participated in this research.
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NEWS
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ARTICLE
An excellent article has been published in Australia in the Global
Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 8, No. 2., 2004 (which belongs
to UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE) &
published from Melbourne - Wismar 2004, Australia).. Authors are Purushottam
D. Chidgupar and Mangesh T. Karad.
Some quotes:
Digital signal processing (DSP) is the technology that is omnipresent
in almost every engineering discipline. It is also the fastest growing
technology this century and therefore, it poses tremendous challenges
to the engineering community. Faster additions and multiplications
are of extreme importance in DSP for convolution, discrete Fourier
transforms, digital filters etc. The core computing process is always
a multiplication routine; therefore, DSP engineers are constantly
looking for new algorithms and hardware to implement them.
Two-digit yields….a time saving of approximately 59% can be
achieved using the Vedic method. In the case of three-digit multiplication,
approximately 42% of the processing time is saved. Similar results
can be obtained on other processes as well.
Therefore, such approaches are extremely beneficial in DSP applications.
There is an overwhelming need to explore Vedic algorithms in detail
so as to verify its applicability in different domains of engineering.
Vedic algorithms implementations on specially designed BCD architecture
will also help to enhance processor throughput.
An awareness of Vedic mathematics can be effectively increased if
it is included in engineering education. In future, all major universities
may set up appropriate research centres to promote research works
in Vedic mathematics.
NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES - update your address book
Please note that all email addresses ending in @vedicmaths.com and
@vmacademy.com will now end in @vedicmaths.org. For example this newsletter
used news@vedicmaths.com previously but this will now be news@vedicmaths.org.
This will simplify the email addresses that are in use, but we will
keep the old addresses for some time. Please therefore update your
address book if necessary.
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP ON VEDIC MATHEMATICS
An "INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP ON VEDIC MATHEMATICS" has been
arranged at Chinmaya Mission auditorium on 21st May 2005 at 4:00 p.m.
which will be conducted by Debmalya Banerjee.
The workshop has been arranged by World Academy for Vedic Mathematics
in collaboration with Rotaract Club of Calcutta Metropolitan (RI District
3290).
The contact person in Ms.Shrabonee Paul who can be reached at 98308-
23090.
ARTICLE
Take a look at two excellent articles from Brian Mc Enery in Eireland:
www.simplesums.org
"We have just begun publishing the first in our series of special
reports on mental computation. The title of this report is 'All those
tables - eliminating rote learning from mental computation'".
The second article is called: 'Table manners with Number Friends -
laying the foundation for superfast mental computation'.
NEW BOOK
'Practice Vedic mathematics Skills for perfection of intelligence'.
1. Title: Practice Vedic mathematics - Skills for perfection of intelligence
2. Authors: Cosmic Kapoor S. K., Cosmic Kapoor R. P.
3. Publishers: Lotus press, 4263/3, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110002
E-mail: lotus_press@sify.com
4. Price: Rs. 195/-, $ 12
5. I.S.B.N. 81-89093-82-7
Dr Kapoor has also just started a 100 lesson course at the request
of engineering students.
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CORRESPONDENCE
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Many many thanks. I have enjoyed our talk. Today I learnt the squaring
sutra and taught some students. They think India rocks and that makes
me
proud because I am from there.
Shefali
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WORLD ACADEMY FOR VEDIC MATHEMATICS - contact details
Registered Address: Vishwa Punarnirman Sangh, Raval Bhawan, Near
Telankhedi Garden, Nagpur-440 001, India.
Contacts in other Cities in India :
Delhi R.P. Jain, MLBD bookstore
91(011) 2385-2747 / 2385-4826 / 2385-8335 / 2385-1985.
mail@mlbd.com & mlbd@vsnl.com
Varanasi 91 (0542) 2352331 mlbd@rediffmail.com
Kolkata MLBD bookstore 91 (033) 22824872 shantiniketancenter@yahoo.com
Mumbai MLBD bookstore 91 (022) 2351-6583 / 3092-2105 mlbdmumbai@vsnl.net
Nagpur Alka Sahani 91 (0712) 2531363 / 2550906 / 2545637
IRRFIH@vmacademy.com / worldVMacademy@vmacademy.com
Pune MLBD bookstore 91 (020) 24486190 mlbdpune@eth.net
Dr. Bhavsar 91 (020) 25899509 / 21115901
Bangalore School of Ancient Wisdom - Devanahalli, 91 (080) 768-2181
/ 7682182 / 558-6837
ancientwisdom@vsnl.net / rammenon1995@yahoo.co.in
MLBD bookstore 91 (080) 6533729 / 6542591 mlbdbgl@vsnl.com
Chennai 91 (044) 24982315 mlbdbook@md3.vsnl.net.in
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Your comments about this Newsletter are invited.
If you would like to send us details about your work or submit an
article or details about a course/talk etc. for inclusion, please
let us know on news@vedicmaths.com
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to that
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Editor: Kenneth Williams
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http://www.vedicmaths.org
mailto:news@vedicmaths.org
20th May 2005
