Automatically knowing the times tables

Hey, guys, what’s 7 times 9? - 63. - 35 … 42 … 63. … 56 … but, how can you already ...? Fiftiiiiee … [sigh] no! Yes, 7 times 9 is 63. Kim was the quickest because they did not calculate. They did not use a calculator and they did not count with their fingers.

Kim just knew. While the others were still calculating, Kim was juggling and whistling! In our brains, there are areas where our memories are gathered. What you see, hear and experience right now becomes brand new memories, in the working memory. It keeps track of where you keep your book, your pencil or your notebook.

In the working memory, there is also the memory of what page you paused on in the book you read some minutes ago. The working memory is connected to our ability to focus, to follow instructions and solve problems. A lot of what’s stored in the working memory will be forgotten, since it is only important for a short time. After which you never think about it again. Do you remember the driver on the bus yesterday?

Do you remember what you had for lunch last Saturday? Maybe not. But some memories proceed to another area in the brain, and are stored there for a long time, in the long-term memory. Perhaps you remember your very first day at school. Most people remember their first kiss.

In the long-term memory, there is knowledge that is simply obvious for the brain. It comes automatically. Finish the expression: “Black and…” You wanted to say “white”, didn’t you? Fill in this: “Day and …”. What word do you think about now? “Night”, right?

It’s a connection, an association, your brain makes whether you want it or not. It comes automatically, without effort, and you cannot control it. And the working memory is not involved at all. The association happens in your brain because ”black and white” and “day and night” are expressions repeated many times. The World’s not just black and white, you know!

Probably you have expressed the words yourself, and you have heard other people mention them. Not twice, not ten times, maybe hundreds or thousands of times. And each time you hear the words “day and night” or yourself repeat the words together, the connection in your brain is strengthened. I’ve been working day and night lately. The knowledge is built into the long-term memory, and comes automatically if someone asks for it.

9 plus 9, that’s 18 ... When Leon calculates using his working memory, he must keep track of the task, and he performs a series of calculations which all demand an effort from the working memory. He cannot think about anything else at the same time. And when the working memory gets full he must use his fingers for help. Kim, on the other hand, rapidly, and without reflecting, fetches the answer from their long-term memory.

This makes Kim able to use their working memory for other things at the same time. So, anyone who knows the times table fluently does not need to make an effort to calculate the answer. The brain can rest, or devote to more complicated problems or instructions. But needless to say it’s not easy to learn. Kim has practiced, and practiced, and practiced.

5 times 6 is 30, 6 times 6 is 36… It can be tedious to memorize so much, but each time Kim rattles off the times table they learn it a tiny bit better. Each time the knowledge becomes a tiny bit more automatic in the long-term memory. Soon the knowledge will stick. Kim will never forget it, and they will never have to work to fetch the knowledge. They’ll just know.

Okay, guys. 9 times 5. 45!