Russian Multiplication - Numberphile

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  • Опубликовано: 10 июн 2024
  • Johnny Ball on Russian and Egyptian Multiplication.
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    More links & stuff in full description below ↓↓↓
    More on Johnny Ball, including his books and live shows: www.johnnyball.co.uk
    Russian multiplication is also known as Ethiopian multiplication.
    Why Use Binary? (on Computerphile) - • Why Use Binary? - Comp...
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Комментарии • 1,6 тыс.

  • @AshuTosh-tg8bq
    @AshuTosh-tg8bq 4 года назад +3542

    9 × 13
    Brady : I want another example
    Ok
    13 × 9

    • @PopeLando
      @PopeLando 4 года назад +111

      True, this was the worst example ever of "falsifying the premise" to test the hypothesis! 😂

    • @angelmendez-rivera351
      @angelmendez-rivera351 4 года назад +331

      PopeLando Well, not necessarily. Mathematically, it is necessary to treat 9*13 and 13*9 as separate calculations, and in order for the method to be valid, it is necessary that both calculations have the same output, since we know multiplication is commutative. Hence, we can consider this as a teat of sorts. If the result for calculating 13*9 fails to be equal to the result for calculating 9*13, then the method is invalid - the converse is not true, though, so if this test is passed, more tests are needed to determine sufficiency. However, this is the first step.

    • @phyphor
      @phyphor 4 года назад +90

      @@angelmendez-rivera351 the magic phrase is "necessary but not sufficient"

    • @anigianesin6674
      @anigianesin6674 4 года назад +16

      Outstanding move

    • @ruthsquire958
      @ruthsquire958 4 года назад +27

      ​@@PopeLando How do you know the operation he performed gives you the same thing for a*b and b*a? The reason you rely on your usual intuition for a*b = b*a is is because multiplication over R is commutative. It may well be that the operations he was performing would result in a*b not being the same as b*a or one of these not being defined altogether.

  • @ExaltedDuck
    @ExaltedDuck 4 года назад +3975

    I could enjoy listening to this man reading a phone book.

    • @triton6490
      @triton6490 4 года назад +17

      True

    • @RalphDratman
      @RalphDratman 4 года назад +1

      @שחר א. No entiendo

    • @ActuatedGear
      @ActuatedGear 4 года назад +26

      He sounds happy and he talks in a way that makes it infectious.

    • @rcb3921
      @rcb3921 4 года назад +25

      What's a phone book?

    • @SierraSierraFoxtrot
      @SierraSierraFoxtrot 4 года назад +4

      Gonna take a long time in binary!

  • @supermarc
    @supermarc 4 года назад +710

    I've been told this is the person that got Numberphile's very own James Grime into maths!

    • @jacksonpercy8044
      @jacksonpercy8044 4 года назад +33

      Makes me wonder what got Johnny's father's friend into maths.

    • @thomasyates3078
      @thomasyates3078 4 года назад +25

      @@jacksonpercy8044 What makes you think it was his father's friend. Johnny's story took place in a time when adult men could still speak to strange children without anyone being suspicious of their motives. I've always thought it's sad that can't happen anymore.

    • @qwertyTRiG
      @qwertyTRiG 4 года назад +6

      @@thomasyates3078 He says so.

    • @thomasyates3078
      @thomasyates3078 4 года назад +1

      @@qwertyTRiG No he doesn't. He says he met a fella in a pub.

    • @kenbiery807
      @kenbiery807 4 года назад +31

      @@thomasyates3078 At 26 second he says "Mate of me dads".

  • @macronencer
    @macronencer 4 года назад +327

    Just seeing Johnny Ball in a Numberphile video was enough to blow my mind, never mind the maths! One of my childhood heroes, definitely inspired me in my early life. I'm now a software developer of thirty years. Love you, Johnny!

  • @elementalsheep2672
    @elementalsheep2672 4 года назад +1926

    This guy is a 22 year old in the body of a 52 year old, but he’s 82.

    • @RemnantCult
      @RemnantCult 4 года назад +90

      Hot damn. He's healthy for 82.

    • @christosvoskresye
      @christosvoskresye 4 года назад +62

      I hates them even numbers.

    • @stefan1024
      @stefan1024 4 года назад +27

      That doesn't sum up at all ...

    • @An.Individual
      @An.Individual 4 года назад +8

      he is actually 81 (from wikipedia)

    • @mgeorgescu
      @mgeorgescu 4 года назад +26

      52 year old body LOL

  • @shruggzdastr8-facedclown
    @shruggzdastr8-facedclown 4 года назад +746

    Am I alone, or does anyone else want more Numberphile videos featuring Johnny?!

    • @ericpraline
      @ericpraline 4 года назад +11

      You‘re not

    • @fredsnicker
      @fredsnicker 4 года назад +9

      He's truly a master educator/communicator/story-teller, the perfect combination for this channel.

    • @BernardWilkinson
      @BernardWilkinson 3 года назад +14

      Just look for 'Think of a number'. Johnny Ball is a hero to many Brits. During the 70's and 80's this is what we all watched (Only 3 tv channels at that time and on at 5pm).

    • @drenz1523
      @drenz1523 3 года назад +3

      I want MORE Cliff Stoll and Johnny Ball!

    • @ThoughtandMemory
      @ThoughtandMemory 3 года назад +2

      More. Much more.

  • @klaxoncow
    @klaxoncow 4 года назад +543

    When he was halving it at first, I didn't realise what was going on.
    But when he did the doubling on both sides, it dawned on me what was going on because I've actually used this.
    You see, old CPUs - like the MOS 6510 in the C64, which was the second computer I ever owned - didn't have multiplication or division instructions. They were cheap and simple 8-bit chips and complex operations like that would have used up too much of the silicon.
    And this is exactly how you'd do multiplication on a chip like that, which didn't directly have a multiplication instruction.
    Because, in binary, to multiply something by 2, you just shift all the bits over to the left one. Just like how, in decimal, when you multiply anything by 10, all you do is stick a zero at the end - basically shifting all the digits left and dropping a zero in the gap you just created. Same idea works in binary, but shifting it all left and dropping a zero in the gap is multiplying by two, rather than ten, as this is "base 2" and not "base 10".
    So multiplying by any power of two is simple, just shift the bits over to the left. Once to multiply by 2. Twice to multiply by 4. Three times to multiply by 8.
    But what if you want to multiply by 3? Well, shift the bits over one - that's multiplying by 2 - and then add the original number to it. I.e. 3 x 9 = 2 x 9 + 9.
    If you want to multiply by 5 then multiply it by 4 - shift left twice - and add the original number to it. As 5 x 9 = 4 x 9 + 9.
    If you want to multiply by 6 then you can multiply by 4 - shift left twice - and multiply by 2 - shift left once - and then just add them together. Because 6 x 9 = 4 x 9 + 2 x 9.
    And if you keep following this logic, then you realise that you can - by arrangements of shifting left and adding it together (where adding on the original number can be seen as being "shift left zero times" - that is, 3 x 9 = 2 x 9 + 1 x 9).
    Then you realise the combination of what you need to shift left and add together is given to you by the binary of the number you're multiplying by. 5 in binary is 1001 = 4 x 9 + 1 x 9. 6 in binary is 1010 = 4 x 9 + 1 x 9.
    So you can write a subroutine to multiply two numbers together that shifts right one of the numbers and tests if there's a 1 bit shifted out. If there is then shift the other number left by as many times as you've shifted the other number right. Add this to a running total. Repeat until you've shifted all the original bits out of the "shift right" number.
    Done. The running total will now be the result of multiplying those numbers together. Multiplication using only bit shifting and addition. Using only halving and doubling, and adding up.
    (And, truth is, though modern CPUs do include multiplication and division instructions directly, doing it manually on those older CPUs tells you exactly how the hardware is doing it. It just automates the whole procedure into a single circuit for you.)
    Oh, and the other thing to note is that you need double the number of bits to store the result. If you're multiplying x and y together and they're both 8-bits, then you want 16-bits to store the result. Because 8 bits times 8 bits cannot produce a result more than double the size - so 16-bits. Or 32-bits by 32-bits, you need a 64-bit register for the result. As long as the result is double the size of the longest number in those you're multiplying, the result can't overflow.

    • @david102994
      @david102994 4 года назад +20

      Thank you for explaining

    • @Endrju219
      @Endrju219 4 года назад +15

      That's the missing part of the epilogue 😄 It's all clear now! Thank you!

    • @PvblivsAelivs
      @PvblivsAelivs 4 года назад +1

      I thought it was the 6502 processor.

    • @wobblysauce
      @wobblysauce 4 года назад +1

      The video was great, just like this response. Nice things to learn.

    • @akshayb56
      @akshayb56 4 года назад +1

      Very interesting, particularly the bit shifting. Thanks!

  • @benuscore8780
    @benuscore8780 4 года назад +129

    The egyptian method also shows how computers multiply numbers together - if you shift a number left by one position, you've doubled it, and the first factor is already in binary.

    • @Carewolf
      @Carewolf 4 года назад +21

      Plus the egyption method is basically the same as the standard decimal way of multiplying most kids learn, except in binary.

    • @ivanti7433
      @ivanti7433 4 года назад

      @@Carewolf о

    • @dishant8126
      @dishant8126 3 года назад

      I would like but your comment's at 64 likes

    • @tibbsgaming7460
      @tibbsgaming7460 2 года назад +2

      What? Shifting a number left means youve multiplied it by 10.

    • @benuscore8780
      @benuscore8780 2 года назад +5

      ​@@tibbsgaming7460 In binary it multiplies by two.

  • @PhilBoswell
    @PhilBoswell 4 года назад +921

    I have adored Johnny Ball since I was a small child, he was one of the inspirations for my love of maths.

    • @davidjackson2114
      @davidjackson2114 4 года назад +8

      Likewise

    • @onesagotoomany
      @onesagotoomany 4 года назад +16

      My son and I both have our own copies of his "Think of a Number" book. Bought for each of us 35 years apart by my mother. The cover is different, but inside it's the same. The latest textbook I wrote has a section on phyllotaxis, which I remember first learning from that book. He is such a legend. And such an inspiration for our whole generation.

    • @simonjgriffiths
      @simonjgriffiths 4 года назад +4

      Me too, he was inspirational then and still is now

    • @Mroziwanman
      @Mroziwanman 4 года назад +2

      Ditto!

    • @markzambelli
      @markzambelli 4 года назад +5

      Me too...I loved him on TV in the 80's and I still have 'Think of a Number' on my bookshelves.

  • @hehexdjnp_prakn2589
    @hehexdjnp_prakn2589 4 года назад +515

    love his accent

  • @BonJoviBeatlesLedZep
    @BonJoviBeatlesLedZep 4 года назад +223

    When I saw the 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 in a column my eyes widened. The ancient Egyptians were using binary and had no clue they were doing it. This is blowing my mind.

    • @1996Pinocchio
      @1996Pinocchio 4 года назад +98

      to be fair, the only thing they didn't know was that a future civilization will call them "binary numbers" ^^

    • @35571113
      @35571113 4 года назад +8

      I think they did not even have positional notation for numbers - neither binary nor decimal! I am now wondering if they had influenced the invention "Arabic" numerals, or if Indian people came to them independently.

    • @icyuranus404
      @icyuranus404 4 года назад +12

      the egyptians probably knew it very well and were super advanced beyond what you know. think about what would happen if the internet disappeared along with all your ebooks. future civilizations would not know about your technological prowess

    • @hypsin0
      @hypsin0 4 года назад +5

      @@icyuranus404 There's evidence of Egyptians urinating near anthills to diagnose diabetes. I really don't think they were very advanced beyond what we do actually know of their advancements.

    • @icyuranus404
      @icyuranus404 4 года назад +8

      @@hypsin0 it is more environmentally friendly to pee on an anthill than to concoct a test that is administered by a debt laden college student wearing sterile gloves produced by dinosaur turds. they used binary because they knew what they were doing and we use it too and one day when civilization falls, there will be no youtube to convince the world that we ever used binary to interface with video drivers and it will only be found in egyptian and russian caves. maybe they had it all together and knew they were going to pass on so they encoded binary into our ancestoral knowledge which gave us the ability to use binary to make computers and share in their technological prowess. maybe they were so woke that they understood that you can still keep some things simple

  • @BillySugger1965
    @BillySugger1965 4 года назад +21

    Oh Jeez! I absolutely LOVED Johnny Ball’s TV when I was a kid, and ever since. I’m SO glad he’s still passionate about maths. PLEASE do as many videos with him as he feels able to do.
    My wife and I met Brian Cant in Poole after a show there, told him what a difference he’d made to us growing up and introduced our own kids to him. He seemed genuinely touched. Would love to meet Johnny too some day!

  • @frozenmoon998
    @frozenmoon998 4 года назад +349

    The way we get into Mathematics is not always an easy decision, however every minute after that, we get to appreciate our decision more and more.

    • @briangeer1024
      @briangeer1024 4 года назад +11

      Until stats

    • @FathinLuqmanTantowi
      @FathinLuqmanTantowi 4 года назад +3

      @@briangeer1024 or when numbers no longer arranged linearly, and ancient letters show up

    • @brucanthwood
      @brucanthwood 4 года назад

      I just dont get it... psi.

    • @Hikafujo
      @Hikafujo 4 года назад

      I love this comment.

    • @thomasyates3078
      @thomasyates3078 4 года назад

      @@briangeer1024 Stats is the best bit.

  • @ballinbadger8635
    @ballinbadger8635 4 года назад +239

    I could listen to this man for hours. His enthusiasm for the field of mathemaics is apparent & astonishing!

    • @FeLiNe418
      @FeLiNe418 4 года назад +1

      Nobody beats the enthusiasm of Prof. Klein Bottles

  • @andyryan7874
    @andyryan7874 4 года назад +29

    Johnny Ball is such a legend! He made that so simple for somebody as maths illiterate as me. Never knew he grew up in my home town of Bristol either. 🙂

  • @anon6514
    @anon6514 4 года назад +45

    For clarity:
    Division by two then rounding down is equivalent to removing the last digit in the number's binary representation.
    All even numbers end in 0 and all odd numbers end in 1.
    This process is the very definition of the binary representation.

    • @turtlellamacow
      @turtlellamacow 4 года назад +2

      Thank you, I was wondering why this crucial step was left out. Without it the "connection" between the methods is incomplete.

    • @legendgames128
      @legendgames128 2 года назад +1

      1st Column: Shift Left (automatically rounds down) until equal to 1.
      2nd Column: Shift Right the same number of times as the above line.
      Check each number in the 1st column to see if the 1s bit is a 0. If so, remove the same entries in both columns.
      Add together what's left.
      ​ Edit: thanks for the correction, @theblinkingbrownie4654, also because of your first correction I found another mistake.

    • @theblinkingbrownie4654
      @theblinkingbrownie4654 5 месяцев назад

      ​@@legendgames128you confused your lefts and rights

    • @legendgames128
      @legendgames128 5 месяцев назад

      @@theblinkingbrownie4654 Thanks.

  • @mrmonster3434
    @mrmonster3434 4 года назад +150

    Suddenly, I'm a kid again. We need more Johnny Ball!

  • @domramsey
    @domramsey 4 года назад +57

    I can't believe you got Johnny Ball. He was like the Brady Haran of kids' TV in the UK in the 1980s. He made maths & science fun for a whole generation.

  • @thomashughes4859
    @thomashughes4859 4 года назад +12

    The fascinating part is finding out how/why it works. He said that he learnt this from someone who was taught around in the 19th century. Thank you Numberphile.

  • @DavePoo
    @DavePoo 4 года назад +4

    I can guarantee you that every 6502 programmer knows this egyptian method. The 6502 processor did not have a multiply instruction so If you wanted to multiply you could do it with a series of Add and "Shift Left" instructions (shift left will double a binary number!).

  • @soreg666alex
    @soreg666alex 4 года назад +478

    I'm russian and i never heard of something like that.

    • @dozenazer1811
      @dozenazer1811 4 года назад +51

      Same lol
      But it might have been used a long time ago (I’ve heard of that from a 1910s book)

    • @FriedrichHerschel
      @FriedrichHerschel 4 года назад +115

      Maybe it's just called "russian" because of the "purging" part.

    • @r-4spberry
      @r-4spberry 4 года назад +29

      Абсолютно аналогично.

    • @reduser3731
      @reduser3731 4 года назад +43

      @@FriedrichHerschel I don't think it's related to that, it was a joke. As far as I know, it is named "Russian peasant multiplication" which explains a lot lol

    • @constantin6705
      @constantin6705 4 года назад

      ( Хорошие книги по истории математики у Ван дер Вардена {Van der Waerden}) "Science awakening"

  • @EebstertheGreat
    @EebstertheGreat 4 года назад +62

    The arithmetic you describe definitely appears in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus ca. 1550 B.C. This is not from ancient Egypt (where it was likely preserved in Alexandria) but in fact from ancient Sumer. These sections in Book 3 (as in all the sections) used units and common denominators to work out difficult fractions. One problem to look at is 79. Although the solution to problem 79 suggests an arithmetical fact which is not true in general, it clearly shows an intimate understanding of arithmetic in its working out in this specific case.

    • @RalphDratman
      @RalphDratman 4 года назад +18

      Problem 79 of Rhind Mathematical Papyrus? Where do I find a copy of that?

    • @icyuranus404
      @icyuranus404 4 года назад +1

      i see...

  • @pepemapache
    @pepemapache 2 года назад +2

    Beautifully explained, fascinating to see so many different ways to find the result. Numbers don't lie!

  • @damionlee7658
    @damionlee7658 4 года назад +1

    Johnny was teaching me as a child with his TV show (and the audio cassette that came with my Salter Science chemistry set... And now is teaching me something new as an adult...
    Hats off to Johnny, what a fantastic influence he has been for so many of us.

  • @X_Baron
    @X_Baron 4 года назад +79

    That Bristol geezer voice is priceless. :D

    • @ubertoaster99
      @ubertoaster99 4 года назад +4

      Pretty damn accurate, gotta say (as a Bristolian).

    • @russ18uk
      @russ18uk 4 года назад

      Arr kid does a proper job with maths proper like

    • @PhilBoswell
      @PhilBoswell 4 года назад +1

      @@ubertoaster99 seeing as he's *from* Bristol, not particularly surprising ;-)

    • @ubertoaster99
      @ubertoaster99 4 года назад +2

      @@PhilBoswell Yeah, but he moved north when he was young. His normal accent is slightly northern.

  • @bemusedindian8571
    @bemusedindian8571 4 года назад +91

    Initially, I was like “Meh, I know this one”. Then the binary connection and... boom. :)

  • @rubenlarochelle1881
    @rubenlarochelle1881 4 года назад +57

    Definition of a pleasing explainer: he begins at 0:40, I fully understand the video at 0:47, I still watch it until 5:10.

    • @emperortbw402
      @emperortbw402 4 года назад +3

      There's still an interesting bit hidden starting at 5:57 where he explins how this can be used to almost effortlessly convert from base 10 into binary.

  • @Flamingbob25
    @Flamingbob25 4 года назад +4

    That cheeky little wink at the end, I love it.

  • @jays2001
    @jays2001 4 года назад +18

    One of my childhood heroes, and once again, he reveals all...

  • @mirjanbouma
    @mirjanbouma 4 года назад +18

    Do we have more videos with this man? I need all of them.

    • @SlartiMarvinbartfast
      @SlartiMarvinbartfast 4 года назад +3

      Plenty outside of Numberphile, just search RUclips for Johnny Ball.

    • @xera5196
      @xera5196 4 года назад +1

      I search that and just get videos in climate change denial

    • @gordslater
      @gordslater 4 года назад

      @@xera5196 search YT for Johnny Ball think of a number, then play a few and click like a few. Algorithm will correct itself.

  • @user-oq3qs6ws3r
    @user-oq3qs6ws3r 4 года назад +309

    Ноль, целковый, полушка, четвертушка, осьмушка, пудовичок, медячок, серебрячок, золотничок, осьмичок, девятичок, десятичок.

    • @sergiitomachynskyi1704
      @sergiitomachynskyi1704 4 года назад +54

      Так считали наши предки.

    • @yardvader458
      @yardvader458 4 года назад +23

      Партия и сюда добралась

    • @keithstathem872
      @keithstathem872 4 года назад +8

      Does that translate into english? Google Translate just made me more curious.

    • @PersimmonHurmo
      @PersimmonHurmo 4 года назад +2

      @@keithstathem872 lol go study languages

    • @keithstathem872
      @keithstathem872 4 года назад +9

      @@PersimmonHurmo I've tried several times, and the differences in grammar are very interesting, but I have such a hard time remembering vocabulary that I've never been able to get very far.

  • @marksyb957
    @marksyb957 4 года назад +4

    Great to see Johnny again. He was a hero of mine when I was younger. I've got a signed copy of one of his books that had this method in it.

  • @FlammaVulpes
    @FlammaVulpes 4 года назад +91

    My uni professor taught us this method when we were studying binary, oct and hex, haha. Pretty interesting!

    • @SpiacyLos
      @SpiacyLos 4 года назад +1

      I understood binary, but how does it work with base 8 and base 16 numbers?

    • @FlammaVulpes
      @FlammaVulpes 4 года назад +2

      @@SpiacyLos uh, it was more like a fun fact that had some relation to binary numbers. Not sure if it works with octal and hexadecimal tbh...

    • @suokkos
      @suokkos 4 года назад +2

      @@SpiacyLos , base 8 and base 16 are just compressed binary representations. Hex is specially perfect for human readability because it divides all power of two variable sizes to whole sections.

    • @GreenIllness
      @GreenIllness 4 года назад +1

      not sure what I said before made sense, but halfing and doubling seem to apply to any base systemI think:
      in deci (convert it)
      9x13
      in octal (start doubling and halfing)
      11x15
      4 32 (remember halfing 11 in octal is half of 8+1, i.e. 4&half, etc.)
      2 64
      1 150
      15+150=165
      165 octal is 117 in deci.

    • @suokkos
      @suokkos 4 года назад

      @@GreenIllness , Correct. Base doesn't matter.
      Odd bases are harder because you can't make even or odd check as easily as in even bases. But basic algorithm doesn't care about base as long as you can do even or odd check.

  • @damianknight8064
    @damianknight8064 4 года назад +16

    oh seeing johnny ball just made my day ! loved him as a kid

  • @AdamHowie
    @AdamHowie 4 года назад +8

    Was so good to see Johnny Ball again, such a massive influence on my childhood and love of science :)

  • @mousefad3673
    @mousefad3673 4 года назад +1

    Such a treat to see and hear Jonny Ball after so many years. I remember him being a fixture on the telly back in the early 80s! Very happy to see he's still going string, and as enthralling as ever.

  • @qclod
    @qclod 4 года назад +11

    This may be my favorite fact about maths practices, at least for now. Thank you for sharing this, including the history and the binary reasoning behind it. Makes so much intuitive sense with the doubling and halving, especially with this fantastic presenter. Grazie to both of you!

  • @ryanchavez1895
    @ryanchavez1895 4 года назад +9

    This is the greatest thing I’ve heard today. Love it and want to teach my son this.

  • @EddieGriffith2802
    @EddieGriffith2802 4 года назад +2

    Yep, I was one of them kids that sat glued to Think of a Number on the telly back in the 80s! 40 years later and Johnny still showing us maths in a fun and entertaining way! Brilliant!

  • @JackSchytte
    @JackSchytte 4 года назад

    I love Johnny Ball! One of my earliest school memories was watching him forty years ago! This video took me back. He has all the energy and love of numbers he always used to. Great to see him on one of your videos.

  • @mebamme
    @mebamme 4 года назад +37

    I've been using the Egyptian method in programming, and I didn't know where it came from! I thought for sure that was a computer-era invention, or at least not older than binary.

    • @Archanfel
      @Archanfel 4 года назад +2

      They used this method for engineering calculations when designing pyramids.

    • @Apjooz
      @Apjooz 4 года назад +2

      The aliens had very fancy computers so it indeed was computer-era invention.

    • @fghsgh
      @fghsgh 4 года назад

      I'm not sure why you would need this method when every programming language has a * operator, except for some low-level old 8-bit chips. And to figure out what a number is in binary, the bitwise and and shift are generally more handy.

    • @mebamme
      @mebamme 4 года назад +3

      @@fghsgh Yep, it's on a low-level 16-bit chip! The SNES to be exact. It does have multiplication registers, but multiplying by powers of two and adding is probably more efficient there.

    • @fghsgh
      @fghsgh 4 года назад

      @@mebamme Is doing it manually really faster? Maybe check the instruction set. I don't know the SNES CPU though. I do mostly Z80.

  • @McChes
    @McChes 4 года назад +6

    Why isn’t Johnny Ball still explaining it all on national television?

  • @yankeeclipper4326
    @yankeeclipper4326 4 года назад

    Wow! This is my favorite Numberphile yet. Maybe because I actually understand it. Really, this is something I've never heard of before and is so mind warping-ly simple yet at the same time perfectly illustrates the complexities and symmetry of math. Thanks for making these Brady (and Objectivity!). You and your comrades make, imho, the perfect videos: Fun, smart, thoughtful, and positive. Your vids are full of exuberance and there is no negativity, which is refreshing in today's world. You made my day!

  • @sillybrit2006
    @sillybrit2006 4 года назад +1

    I can probably thank Johnny Ball for getting me hooked on maths & science when I was a kid, he's great. Loved his TV shows!
    Didn't know about this approach for multiplication.
    Great anecdote & history to go with the great explanation. Many thanks.

  • @caitgems1
    @caitgems1 4 года назад +30

    Johnny is a legend.

  • @carpii
    @carpii 4 года назад +5

    Gotta love Johnny Ball.
    Still teaching me stuff, 35 years after I used to watch him on TV as a kid 🍺

  • @madmanarca3558
    @madmanarca3558 4 года назад +9

    Johnny Ball on Numberphile!? I would never have expected this. Also this method is kinda mind boggling.

  • @helloarigato
    @helloarigato 4 года назад

    This is my favourite numberphile video in years. Johnny Ball is amazing, thank you so much!

  • @jamesdecross1035
    @jamesdecross1035 4 года назад +7

    Oh, yes, more of Jonny Ball, please… so inspiring, he is a superhero!

  • @fanq_
    @fanq_ 4 года назад +79

    I never saw that connection before... it does get a little unruly with larger numbers pretty quick tho

    • @Sharklops
      @Sharklops 4 года назад +16

      yeah, although I don't suppose that would have been much of an issue for most of the people making use of this method centuries or millennia ago in their everyday lives

    • @chaosme1ster
      @chaosme1ster 4 года назад +4

      True if done by hand, but I can see how doubling and adding can be computationally less expensive than multiplying in certain programming environments or on certain processor architectures.

    • @himagainstill
      @himagainstill 4 года назад +9

      @@chaosme1ster This basically reduces multiplication to bit shifting, comparison and addition.

    • @JNCressey
      @JNCressey 4 года назад

      @@chaosme1ster, a question is why the multiplication wouldn't just be implemented like this.

    • @hugovangalen
      @hugovangalen 4 года назад +2

      I think it's even to convoluted for 9×13. The way I have learned it school seems more straightforward and wastes less ink and paper too. :)

  • @classawarrior
    @classawarrior 4 года назад

    Wow, what a great presentation! Love the way it tied together at the end

  • @harriehausenman8623
    @harriehausenman8623 4 года назад +1

    Absolutely brilliant episode! What a wonderful connection.

  • @nodroGnotlrahC
    @nodroGnotlrahC 4 года назад +27

    Johnny Ball on Numberphile! Never have I clicked so fast!

  • @YiannisANO1911
    @YiannisANO1911 4 года назад +4

    this was fascinating information compacted in 5 short minutes, mind blowing

  • @dawiz9671
    @dawiz9671 4 года назад

    We want more Johnny!! His voice and energy is so lovable and enjoyable!

  • @CannarWilm
    @CannarWilm 4 года назад

    So great to see Johnny Ball on this channel. More please please please.

  • @davidwilkie9551
    @davidwilkie9551 4 года назад +4

    Wow, truly brilliant techniques from what must be an original "learning by doing" pattern.

  • @nothankyou4859
    @nothankyou4859 4 года назад +3

    fantastic video. this is the spirit of numberphile

  • @subliminalvibes
    @subliminalvibes 4 года назад

    Johnny Ball is such a wonderful personality from my childhood.
    Despite my rocky relationship with maths I find numbers so fascinating I'm going to give subscribing to this channel another try for 2020. Cheers from Australia!

  • @DarkCydeCA
    @DarkCydeCA 4 года назад

    This is one of the greatest things I've ever watched on this channel and I've watched nearly every video. I love these "tricks" that also tie into modern concepts.

  • @frasersteen
    @frasersteen 4 года назад +20

    The OG still reveals all

  • @Seraph.G
    @Seraph.G 4 года назад +5

    While watching this video, I ran into my sister's room to show her the ancient Egyptian multiplication halfway through putting my socks on because I thought it was so cool.

  • @BonrekTheOrc
    @BonrekTheOrc 4 года назад

    Wow! It's good to see Johnny Ball, I remember watching him on Think of a Number as a teenager, and always loved the way he explained maths in such a simple and easy to understand way. I would like to see more videos with him in.

  • @333peacher4
    @333peacher4 4 года назад

    Thank you for the new horizon and beauty.

  • @jerberus5563
    @jerberus5563 4 года назад +12

    That's pretty darned brilliant if you ask me...or even if you don't ask me, it's still pretty darned brilliant.

  • @PTNLemay
    @PTNLemay 4 года назад +47

    This is how I imagine Samwise Gamgee's gaffer sounds like.

  • @gunnararc
    @gunnararc 4 года назад +2

    This is what numberphile is about! The math doesn't have to be complicated - it's all about the storytelling and the fantastic presentation of an interesting subject.
    What a great video!

  • @martijn3151
    @martijn3151 4 года назад

    Love this guy! Amazing story teller. I’d love to see more math history episodes.

  • @StephenHind
    @StephenHind 4 года назад +7

    Johnny Ball: legend!

  • @TentoesMe
    @TentoesMe 4 года назад +8

    Oh my! They're converting it to base 2 and multiplying in base 2!

  • @abracadabra8501
    @abracadabra8501 4 года назад +1

    This is insanely cool. Thank you for showing it to us! Спасибо большое!

  • @druid_zephyrus
    @druid_zephyrus 4 года назад

    every single time Numberphile shows up in my recommended, I go, ehhh, okay, I'll watch and then everytime I'm like no effing way!!! Ty for not having click bait titles where i get to be pleasantly shocked and awed each time.

  • @StuMas
    @StuMas 4 года назад +3

    *Johnny is still on the ball!*

    • @fellowcitizen
      @fellowcitizen 4 года назад

      now purge any words briefer than four characters or containing a narrow vowel

  • @rayhanmansoor2951
    @rayhanmansoor2951 4 года назад +3

    Brilliant is really helpful
    I learned a lot in 6 months

    • @kay486
      @kay486 4 года назад +1

      lol nice bot comment

    • @rayhanmansoor2951
      @rayhanmansoor2951 4 года назад

      Jolly Joy I’m not a bot
      Check my channel

  • @KeldWolf
    @KeldWolf 4 года назад

    If more ad placements had such relaxing music i think i'd sit through it. That was simply pleasant.

  • @mattjackson9859
    @mattjackson9859 4 года назад

    Great to see Johnny here, used to love his TV programme Think of a Number back in the day.

  • @hamiltonianpathondodecahed5236
    @hamiltonianpathondodecahed5236 4 года назад +5

    Cliff Stoll, Johnny Ball, -Matt Parker- ,these people should never ever die atleast not before me

    • @JohnMichaelson
      @JohnMichaelson 4 года назад

      Is there some inside humor about Matt Parker I'm not aware of for his name to be crossed out?

    • @chaosme1ster
      @chaosme1ster 4 года назад +1

      @@JohnMichaelson Parker Square

  • @Twilzeth
    @Twilzeth 4 года назад +4

    I was shown this by my math teacher like 12 years ago and I've never remembered it since but now I do and know why it works

    • @Carewolf
      @Carewolf 4 года назад

      @Nhật Nam Trần Because of the binary representation. The Egyption method makes it obvious. The original method is a round about way to get the same pattern as the binary presentation on the left hand side.

    • @Carewolf
      @Carewolf 4 года назад

      @Nhật Nam Trần No, that is exactly how it works. The division by 2 and looking at whether or not something is even or odd, is the same as looking at every bit in the binary representation in turn. Every division by 2 moves on to the next binary bit, and looking at whether or not the result is odd or not, it looking at if that bit is set.

    • @Carewolf
      @Carewolf 4 года назад

      @Nhật Nam Trần Yes, but not in format this short. The only short proof is to show it is equivalent to binary and use the known properties of that format.

    • @MichaelPohoreski
      @MichaelPohoreski 4 года назад

      Nhật Nam Trần It is basically equivalent to **binary multiplication:**
      === Algorithm ===
      1. Initialize sum

  • @DuncanEllis
    @DuncanEllis 4 года назад

    Johnny Ball! What an absolute joy to see him continuing to be enthusiastic about maths.
    I remember his explanation of cycloids with a rolling cycloid log keeping a plank level.

  • @Maladictus
    @Maladictus 4 года назад

    Very cool! Thanks for the vid Brady

  • @moshe_raz9385
    @moshe_raz9385 4 года назад +5

    Omg that blew my mind

  • @gnenian
    @gnenian 4 года назад +9

    He taught me to count in Sumerian (12s) and months and seconds and minutes on my hands when I was young.
    You count the 3 sections of the 4 fingers on your hand with your thumb. When you have counted 12 sections of one hand you close 1 finger on your other hand. When it makes a fist you have 60.
    Counting the twelve sections of both hands gives you the 24 (hours) in a day.

    • @JNCressey
      @JNCressey 4 года назад +1

      Here's another way to count:
      Your finger has 3 sections and 2 bends, that's 5 points to touch. You can touch the front or the side of the finger, doubling the points you can touch to 10.
      Each finger on one hand can point to a point on one finger on the other hand. You then have 4 sets of a finger pointing at a point on another finger.
      Now you have a 4 digit base-10 abacus.

    • @MichaelPohoreski
      @MichaelPohoreski 4 года назад

      You can actually count up 1024 on your fingers.

    • @JNCressey
      @JNCressey 4 года назад

      @@MichaelPohoreski, 9999>1024

    • @MichaelPohoreski
      @MichaelPohoreski 4 года назад

      @@JNCressey Yup, you can use different bases but sadly most people aren't familiar with base 2 or base 60.

    • @JNCressey
      @JNCressey 4 года назад

      @@MichaelPohoreski, then it's serendipitous that my method is in base 10.

  • @Lunareon
    @Lunareon 4 года назад +2

    His explanation is like a suspense novel: intensely captivating. I wish there were more teachers who excel at storytelling. It makes learning so much more interesting and effective. :)

  • @matthewgough9533
    @matthewgough9533 2 года назад

    That was absolutely fantastic! I've seen this about 10 years ago but it was great to see it again.

  • @bssyamkrishnan
    @bssyamkrishnan 4 года назад +5

    okay now THIS should be taught in all schools all over the world!!

    • @inyobill
      @inyobill 4 года назад +1

      Not practical for large numbers, complicated to multiply fractions. The method taught always works and is over-all he most efficient.

    • @terranrepublican5522
      @terranrepublican5522 4 года назад +1

      it's taught in the second week of the first semester at my uni, computer science

    • @corasundae
      @corasundae 4 года назад +1

      Doubling isn't that easy to do in your head with larger numbers.

  • @shambosaha9727
    @shambosaha9727 4 года назад +48

    Last time I was this early, the Tsar was still alive.

    • @Tyulenin
      @Tyulenin 4 года назад

      Do you mean.. Tsar Bomba?

    • @SouthPark333Gaming
      @SouthPark333Gaming 4 года назад +2

      Last time I was still alive, Russia was called Kievski Rus

  • @Jenked
    @Jenked 4 года назад

    OMG it's Johnny Ball! I haven't seen him since I was a kid. Brilliant to see and hear him again. Thanks Numberphile, and thanks Brady!

  • @leanbravo8856
    @leanbravo8856 4 года назад

    This was both enlightening and charming. I am delighted.

  • @jase6709
    @jase6709 4 года назад +9

    "That's Numberwang"

  • @user-fg1jn8iz3n
    @user-fg1jn8iz3n 4 года назад +27

    Well i’am from Russia and I haven’t heard about this method 😄
    But I admit it’s stunning!

    • @andres6868
      @andres6868 4 года назад +1

      It's on several books I have as the "Russian peasant multiplication method"

    • @pansepot1490
      @pansepot1490 4 года назад +8

      Lol the comment section is full of people from Russia who have never heard of this method. I guess “Russian” is just the name the Brits have for it. Like French kiss.
      Also, Russians must be very fond of mathematics if there’s so many who follow this channel. 😀

    • @willdarling1
      @willdarling1 4 года назад +1

      next we'll find out brazil nuts actually come from Spain

    • @user-iw8iq1vz2y
      @user-iw8iq1vz2y 4 года назад +1

      Нихера не понятно, но очень интересно))

    • @ivansusanin6748
      @ivansusanin6748 4 года назад

      @@pansepot1490 This method was widely used by Russian peasants. This is indicated by the mathematics historian Wiktor Wiktorowitsch Bobynin (1849-1919). But since 1917 in Soviet times he was not taught.

  • @murk1e
    @murk1e 4 года назад

    Johnny Ball.... I absolutely love this man. He was a major factor in my childhood. Lovely to see him. Thanks, Brady.

  • @yanktheworld
    @yanktheworld 4 года назад

    Thank you for this. I first learned about this method some years ago in a Math for Educators course (the professor called it “The Russian Peasant Method of Multiplication”). I couldn’t remember quite how it worked, and was never able to find an explanation of it. You just made my day.

  • @RalphBellairs
    @RalphBellairs 4 года назад +17

    Anyone else want a series of "Think of a Numberphile"?! 😎😃

  • @sk8rdman
    @sk8rdman 4 года назад +9

    It is a rare and beautiful moment when I see a new (to me) piece of math like this.
    I just want to grab it like a toy and start playing with it. Figure out how it works.

    • @tudormontescu6275
      @tudormontescu6275 4 года назад

      It works the same as the usual method, only slower.

    • @sk8rdman
      @sk8rdman 4 года назад

      @@tudormontescu6275 But why does it work? That's what's intriguing.

  • @nowhereusa
    @nowhereusa 4 года назад

    So happy to see Johnny ball again. Just brought my childhood flooding back!

  • @stephenaustin3026
    @stephenaustin3026 4 года назад

    So great to see Johnny Ball again. Thanks Brady.

  • @cosminxxx5287
    @cosminxxx5287 4 года назад +13

    and we keep wondering how they built pyramids.... well they probably didn't have the tech but for sure they were very inteligent so they knew how to use the limited things they have. very nice stuff. we can use our brain to multiply 2 digit numbers and sometimes 3 digits.. but when it comes to big numbers and you dont have a calculator, this egiptian/russian method and also the indian method are golden.

  • @loolka2029
    @loolka2029 4 года назад +8

    I'm from Russia and I've heard about this for the first time. REALLY!

    • @michendo1
      @michendo1 4 года назад +3

      Ice_Cream dont worry about it. The French never played French cricket, and the Chinese didnt invent Chinese burns.

    • @coppersandwich
      @coppersandwich 4 года назад +2

      hopefully you've heard about how much Russians hate fractions and love purges?

    • @thulsa_doom
      @thulsa_doom 3 года назад

      Also the French don't use the words "French kiss" or "French fries".

    • @thulsa_doom
      @thulsa_doom 3 года назад

      Btw, in Portuguese we call a "roller coaster" as "Russian mountain". But the Russians call it "American mountain" 😅

    • @garrick3727
      @garrick3727 3 года назад

      The Russia connection is a joke. It's just some story an old guy told a kid in a pub. It's designed to help the kid remember the procedure.

  • @apollobraden
    @apollobraden 4 года назад

    More of this!!! This was amazing.

  • @GaryMarriott
    @GaryMarriott 4 года назад

    I never thought I would have Johnny Ball astound me ever again, thanks Numberphile.