I want to talk about math.
Bear with me.
I hate math, but it’s not the point.
Before we do some basic math together, I must take you to Japan.
You see, I have learned a lot from my Japanese friends.
There is a four-letter idiom 一期一会.
Ichigo ichie can be translated as 'one time, one meeting’ but what it means to tell us is that each meeting, everything we experience, everything we do is unique and will never be repeated in the same way again.
If we let it slip away, the moment will be lost forever.
The concept dates back to 16th-century Japanese tea ceremonies, where participants would meet to have tea together, with the understanding that this exact ceremony will never reoccur in their lifetime.
Think of this idea, next time you find yourself sitting at a table swiping away on your cell phone instead of engaging in conversation.
You see, it’s not just words and empty phrases.
It’s more than that.
It’s a mindset.
A lifestyle.
The way of thinking.
Remember 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia?
Japan may have lost the match against Belgium, but the team has won everyone’s hearts.
The players left behind a note that said "спасибо" in their locker room.
Oh, and they cleaned it up.
Here is my salute to the Japanese team AND Fans.
Well, if you live in Japan, you soon find yourself adopting the clean lifestyle.
You stop blowing your nose in public, make use of the hand sanitizers provided in shops and offices, and learn to sort your household rubbish into ten different piles for recycling.
I repeat that.
Ten different piles.
TEN.
Now, in Japan, there is a saying 裸の付き合い 'Hadaka no tsukiai’ which literally means a “naked relationship” or better in English “open relationship”.
Garr Reynolds has written several books on how to deliver powerful presentations with or without slides where he argues that when you remove all the ‘noise & clutter’ and communicate the ’naked truth’ you get people’s attention.
Simplicity.
Function over form.
Zen.
Sadly, 'Death by Powerpoint’ is still too common.
I read a blog post from James Fallow, who traveled from China to Japan.
He noticed two different approaches to refueling the same small plane.
This is the Japanese way - uniforms, safety outfits and a cushion to protect the plane’s wing.
Here is the Chinese way. They just do what has to be done, in any way they can.OMG.
As James writes in his blog:
'What this made me think was: Japan is all about the way of doing things.
Practice, ritual, perfectionism, as much fanatical attention to the process as to the result.
China is all about finding a way to do things. Improvisation, little interest in rules, putting up with whatever is necessary to attain the result.
Yeah yeah yeah, there are exceptions: perfectionist operations in China, loosey-goosey ones in Japan.
Still.
At the moment, I am feeling positive toward both approaches.
The emphasis on the right way of doing things is re-surprising on each encounter with Japan.
And the determination to do things in China, no matter what, commands respect, despite the obvious complications and problems it creates.'
Now, back to math.
If you grew up memorizing multiplication tables, you know the struggle of elementary math students.
IMHO, math isn't meant to be about memorizing, it is supposed to be about problem-solving.
I have argued many times, being in school is not the same as learning.
Anyway.
One Japanese method of multiplication teaches kids to both visualize how numbers multiply together and provides an easy method to solve large multiplication problems.
The best part?
It involves absolutely no numbers in the solving stage and reduces it to a simple counting.
It goes from abstract to visual.
That is what I love.
That’s what kids love.
It's different.
It’s creative.
It stimulates curiosity.
If you struggle with arithmetics, this can open a whole new look at math.
Plus, it scores high on the ‘cool factor’.
And more importantly, it works.
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