I don’t know about you, but the multiplication table was not the most favourite table for me at P.C.E.A Umoja Primary School. My Maths Teacher, Mr. Karimi, gave me lots of thrashings simply for not being able to figure out 8 * 7 = 45 without the help of using my fingers. Or 12 * 12 = 356. See, I still got it wrong, eighteen years on. 8 * 7 = 56; and 12 * 12 = 144, for the record. Mr. Karimi is now retired and runs an agro – vet in Subukia town. Every time we meet, he greets me with a firm handshake and I can still picture his hand scribbling on the chalkboard. This kinda gives me a bittersweet form of nostalgia. What Mr. Karimi did not teach me is this simple magic trick to multiply the number 9, using your ten fingers. You can get the answer to any multiple of 9 simply by moving your fingers. Spread out your hands with your fingernails facing away from you and look at your fingers. They are ten, I presume. Number them in your mind, starting from the left, in ascending order. Now let’s do some math. […]
