VEDIC MATHEMATICS NEWSLETTER
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 previously but this will now be . 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:
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.
&
Varanasi 91 (0542) 2352331
Kolkata MLBD bookstore 91 (033) 22824872
Mumbai MLBD bookstore 91 (022) 2351-6583 / 3092-2105
Nagpur Alka Sahani 91 (0712) 2531363 / 2550906 / 2545637
/
Pune MLBD bookstore 91 (020) 24486190
Dr. Bhavsar 91 (020) 25899509 / 21115901
Bangalore School of Ancient Wisdom - Devanahalli, 91 (080) 768-2181 / 7682182 / 558-6837
/
MLBD bookstore 91 (080) 6533729 / 6542591
Chennai 91 (044) 24982315
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Editor: Kenneth Williams
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20th May 2005
