Abous & Vedic Maths
(Students & Teachers Programs)
We cannot imagine counting without numbers, but there was a time when written numbers did not exist. Earlier counting devices that were used for counting are the human hands and their fingers that are capable of counting only up to ten. Toes were also used to count when they had to count more than ten. A larger quantity was counted, with the help of natural items like pebbles, seashells and twigs. Merchants who used to trade goods needed a way to keep count of the goods they bought and sold.
Before the invention of Computers, calculators, or even arithmetic using paper and pencil, the Abacus was mostly used for counting numbers. Before the invention of the Abacus, the only methods people used were their fingers and toes for mathematical calculations. In this article, we will discuss the Abacus meaning their application and Abacus for kids.
It is an instrument that is used to calculate or count by using sliding counters and a rod. It was indeed the world's first calculator. It was first used in Europe, China, and Russia.
The old version of the Abacus was a shallow tray that consisted of sand where numbers could be erased easily when needed. The modern Abacus can be made up of wood or plastic. It is like a rectangular box consisting of nine vertical rods strung with beads.
Abacus Meaning- Abundant Beads Addition Calculation Utility System.
The Abacus is constructed of various types of hardwoods and comes in various sizes. The frame consists of a series of vertical rods on which several wooden beads are allowed to slide freely. A horizontal beam is used to separate the frame into two sections i.e the upper deck and the lower deck. Each rod consists of beads, which we can move up and down, with the help of the index and the thumb finger.
Today we find the oldest surviving counting board to be the Salamis Tablet. This was originally thought to be a gaming board. It was used in 300 BC by the Babylonians and was discovered in the year 1849 on the island of Salamis.
The Salamis Tablet is made from a white marble that measures 149 cm in length, 75 cm in width, and 4.5 cm in thickness. On this 5 groups of markings are made. At the centre of the Tablet, there are a set of five horizontal parallel lines that are divided equally with the help of a perpendicular vertical line. This is capped with a semicircle right at the intersection of the horizontal line and the vertical line at the bottom. Below these lines. One would notice a wide space that has a horizontal crack dividing it. Right below this crack, we come across another set of eleven parallel lines which are again divided into two sections by a line that is perpendicular to them but has a semi-circle at the top of the intersection. The third, sixth and ninth lines are marked with a cross where they go and intersect with the vertical line.
Along the left, right and bottom edges of the Tablets, three sets of Greek symbols are arranged.
Ancient Romans utilized stones as counters up and down on a smooth table to do calculations. It was developed to help bankers and money changers, businessmen and engineers. This Abacus is made from a metal plate. Additionally Romans invented other types of Abacus such as the dust Abacus, the line Abacus, the grooved Abacus.
Deriving inspiration from Chinese Suanpan, Soroban came into existence in the 14th century. The beads in the Japanese Soroban are made from wood and bamboo rods to slide up and down. This Abacus is still in use, however, it is overshadowed by the use of electronic calculators.
The main difference that one witness between the Chinese Abacus and the Russian Abacus is the position of its rods. These rods are placed horizontally in the case of the Russian Abacus and beads are slid from the right to left. A typical Russian Abacus would measure 28 cm wide and 46 cm in height.
It is to be kept in mind that the Abacus is to be kept on the desk in such a manner that the direction of the right hand should coincide with the wire of the Abacus.
In recent times it is witnessed that the use of the Abacus is not just limited to performing arithmetic operations. It is also used to explain how Computers would manipulate numbers. A binary Abacus is used to perform one such function. It teaches us the conversion of decimals into binary. A series of the beads are placed in three separate rows, where each bead is associated with counters as ‘on’ and ‘off’ or ‘1’ and ‘0’.
This Abacus was made by Tim Cranmer. This is known to be the modification of the current Abacus to support the learners that have vision disabilities. The learners can manipulate the beads that would in effect help them in the in-depth understanding of the numbers. This Abacus can be used to calculate various numbers involving arithmetic processes like addition, subtraction, division or multiplication. It can also be used to calculate square roots and cube roots.
Abacus is a man-made calculating device invented around 5000 years ago. According to Historians, it was the Chinese people who invented Abacus around 500BC. As time passed, the design of an Abacus kit has widely varied in terms of style, size and material but the design of Abacus kits remains to be in a combination of rods and pebbles.
It is used to show how numbers, letters, and signs can be stored in a binary system on a Computer, or using an ASCII number. The device consists of a series of beads on parallel wires that are arranged in three separate rows. The beads in the Abacus represent a switch on the Computer in either an "on" or "off" position.
At what age, should we get an Abacus for kids?
Students have learned numbers by the age of 5-6. So, they can be introduced to Abacus training, after that they can start practising addition and subtraction.
Mesopotamia or Sumerian civilization used the first Abacus to count. It is the belief that Old Babylonian scholars have used this Abacus to perform as addition or subtraction of numbers.
The Abacus is called “suanpan” in China. The divider is used to separate the left and right strings of beads. It has a total of seven beads, out of which two beads on the rods on one side and 5 beads on the rods on the other side of the divider. Chinese Abacuses are designed to be used for hexadecimal computation. Chinese also use their Abacuses for decimal computations. It can be used for doing division, multiplication and for taking square roots and cube roots as well if the user knows the techniques.
Vedic Mathematics
Shri Bharathi Krishna Tirthaji Maharaj was born in March 1884 in the Puri village of Orissa state. He was very good in subjects like mathematics, science, humanities and was excellent in Sanskrit language. His interests were also in spiritualism and mediation. In fact when he was practicing meditation in the forest near Sringeri, he rediscovered the Vedic sutras. He claims that these sutras/techniques he learnt from the Vedas especially ‘Rig-Veda’ directly or indirectly and he intuitively rediscovered them when he was practicing meditation for 8 years.
Later he wrote the sutras on the manuscripts but were lost. Finally in year 1957, he wrote introductory volume of 16 sutras which is called as Vedic Mathematics and planned to write other sutras later. But soon he developed cataract in both of his eyes and passed away in year 1960.
Vedic Mathematics can definitely solve mathematical numerical calculations in faster way. Some Vedic Math Scholars mentioned that Using Vedic Maths tricks you can do calculations 10-15 times faster than our usual methods. I agree this to some extent because some methods in Vedic Mathematics are really very fast. But some of this methods are dependent on the specific numbers which are to be calculated. They are called specific methods.
Lets take 1 example to see the Power of Vedic Mathematics.
1/19 is a Rational Number which forms a recurring decimal number and which recurs the sequence after every 18 digits.
Vedic Maths Techniques/Sutras have the maths tricks for fast calculation and can be used in exams like CAT, CET, SAT, Banking Exams, etc.