Turn on The Human Calculator in You: The Human Calculator

I saw a talk the author did about being a world record holding human calculator and bought the book with excitement. I wish I looked at the sample pages and read other reviews on other books he's written. First of all, this book is simply page after page of number grids. For each page one is supposed to color in the grid in a different way and notice some sort of pattern. The author makes no effort to explain the implications of the pattern and what I'm supposed to 'GET' has so far alluded me. Second, there is a separate solutions book with all the grids colored in. I would recommend to anyone who wanted to see what patterns the author is talking about , they not waste their time coloring in over 150 pages of numbers and just buy the solution manual instead and spend some time taking it in. Just to be clear, the solution's manual is simply a completed coloring book! If I'm going to pay 20 dollars for a book of math tips I expect WAY more than this.At this point the author seems like a snake oil salesman to me, riding on his record holding reputation to make money off books. This is supported by this review of one of his earlier books: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2VUL29INXT54L/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0060726350&nodeID=283155&store=booksMy decision to buy a mental math book was between this one and http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Mental-Math-Mathemagicians-Calculation/dp/0307338401/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401985597&sr=1-1&keywords=mental+math I wish I got Arthur Benjamin's book instead. He has some very engaging TED talks and what is available on the Amazon preview of his book is better than all of 'Turn on the Human Calculator' Also, for someone interested in faster math techniques check out a free youtube channel called 'techmath'.Now that I have this book and can't return it because I've stupidly already started coloring in it, I'll have a look at it a few more times. If anything 'Clicks' I'll change my review but as of now I can't recommend this book.

What I didn't get from the description is that this book seems geared to young children, probably 9 and younger (9 being Flansburg's magic number).It is basically pages and pages of Flansburg's number grid, and the exercises involve using colored pencils or pens to shade the numbers that answer the exercise question. The premise is that doing this will make you familiar with patterns on the grid that will be helpful in doing mental calculations.Maybe it works, and maybe it doesn't. To an adult, coloring in number shapes over and over would be laboriously dull. And I can't really see a computer-savy kid with a short attention span spending much time on it.Here is what I recommend to Flansburg instead: Team up with a software developer to create a computer animated flash card type of self-training system. Make it something that a six year old can start with, but with advanced training that adults can jump into.

~ This all-number-patterns coloring workbook along with the companion answer book looks like alot of fun to work.. Get yourself some multicolored pencils or pens & get ready to spend time indulging in number patterns. All the pages are number patterns coloring exercises. I'll give it a five star to start since I just got it.

Curious to read and maybe learn some better ways to do math.

Would like more explanation for a person never exposed to digit sum manipulation. Bought for autistic son to increase numeracy and pattern recognition.

This is summer reading and practical work for my 10 year old son. There is also an answer key as we'll, unfortunately Amazon is NOT selling it. But, it is a great tool for bonding with my son, learning for both of us and ahead of the fame for the up and coming school year.

My child is experiencing some difficulty in math class. I purchased in hopes that it will assist me in assisting him & make math a little easier. After leafing through, it looks like it will be quite helpful. We cannot wait to begin using immediately!!

Helps children by using repetition.

Disappointed. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. Seems to be written for a 5 year old. I was expecting more substance.

I sent this book back, as it's nothing more than a glorified colouring book. I think it needed better explanations and more context. Such a shame, I really enjoyed the guys talks.

Very thought provoking. Keeps the brain cells working hard and the cobwebs away. I am really enjoying the testing experience..

I'm a professional online poker player and I as well as many players use a matrix similar to the one Scott designed. It is 13 x 13 grid with Ace to 2 but similar. It is colour-coded as well but just to 3 sections. I'm 30 years old. I think this book appears simple but it primes the brain to recognize patterns. The colour coding is to help visualize and each page has a simple but effective way to calculate. Spending enough time studying the number matrix and practicing the solving strategies he provides will help people solve problems faster and in a different way. I imagine he visualizes the matrix as he solves. It is simple but deliberate practice improves the speed and familiarity with numbers. It is also sort of like a meditative thing and great to keep our thoughts consciously working and focused on numbers or what we want. I imagine over months or years of working 20 minutes per day with the matrix, anyone can become insanely fast with numbers. I want to integrate this form of learning into poker to create a system that is easier to memorize and adjust the ranges of hands that I play.

This book is ok. There were some interesting nuggets in it but very repetitive. I would also love to see more on the multiplication and division from Scott. Interesting idea but needs more fleshing out.