andrel wrote:

> On 28-5-2011 14:36, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> > > > > If you don't know them by heart a large part of our culture is
> > > > > inaccessible to you.
> > > > 
> > > > Such as?
> > > 
> > > basically most of the mathematical knowledge.
> > 
> > I don't see why you need to memorise multiplication tables to
> > understand mathematics.
> 
> You can not understand long division or long multiplication without
> those tables.

One note: I think people should know them by heart and also be able to
do simple calculations in their head, simply because it is not very
pragmatic not to know them. You can't and shouldn't, IMO, always revert
to a calculator for that. It keeps you fit, up there.

But knowing these tables by heart does not help in *understanding*
anything. The knowledge only helps in applying that understanding a
little more pragmatically.

I can understand long division and multiplication, prime numbers and
number theory principles very well without knowing the multiplication
tables by heart.
-- 
Rudy Velthuis

"Go away...I'm alright." -- H.G.Wells, dying words

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