Who invented the Trachtenberg system of mathematics?
A system of speed mathematics, it was developed by Jakow Trachtenberg when he spent long years at a concentration camp during WWII
The Trachtenberg system is a system of speed arithmetic. With this system, you can do multiplication, division, addition, subtraction and square root operations very quickly and without a calculator. Multiplication and division can be done without the use of multiplication tables. In order to learn this system, all that you need is the ability to count.
This system was developed by Jakow Trachtenberg (1888-1953), a Russian Jewish mathematician and engineer. Trachtenberg developed his unique system of mathematics when he spent long years at a concentration camp during World War II. He was surrounded by violence, disease and death. But he escaped into a world of his own-a world of numbers, logic and order. He visualised gigantic numbers to be added and he tried calculating mentally. He invented a fool-proof method that would make it possible for even a child to add thousands of numbers together without ever adding a number higher than eleven! He scribbled his theories on whatever bit of paper he could lay his hands on - wrapping paper, old envelopes. German worksheets, etc.
In 1944, he and his wife escaped to Switzerland. There, he perfected his mathematics system.
The first students to whom Trachtenberg taught his system were children especially those who were doing poorly in studies. The results were heartening and successful.
In 1950, he founded the Mathematical Institute in Zurich, where both children and adults were taught the system. The system has been thoroughly tested in Switzerland and is found to increase the self-confidence and general aptitude to study, as the students develop outstanding arithmetic abilities.
It is a fool-proof method that would make it possible for even a child to add thousands of numbers together without ever adding a number higher than eleven.
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