Quick: What's 624 squared? What's 72 divided by 91? And what's 125 times 46? Math teacher Mike Byster can tell you in a flash (see answers below). Better yet, he can teach our kids. Once a successful commodities trader in Chicago, Byster, 49, is the creator of Brainetics, a learning program that opens up the world of numbers to numerophobes young and old. He's taught more than 5,000 classes in fast calculation -- for free. Showing kids how to solve problems is hugely rewarding, he says. "I feel that I'm making a big difference when a kid tells me he feels good about himself for the first time ever." (Answers: 389,376; 0.7912087; 5,750)
• A "Mike" math trick: Multiply 93 x 96.
• Note how far away each number is from 100, like this: 93(7) x 96(4).
• Add up the numbers in parentheses and subtract that number from 100: 100 – 11 = 89.
• Then multiply the two numbers in parentheses together and tack that answer onto the end of the number from step one: 7 x 4 = 28.
• Answer: 8,928
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