Chisenbop tutorial

Introduction
Chisenbop is a method of doing basic arithmetic using your fingers. It is attributed to the Korean tradition, but it is probably extremely old, as the soroban and abacus use very similar methods. Probably these other devices were derived from finger counting.

Counting
The key to finger math is understanding how to count. The right hand stands for the values zero through nine. Each digit counts as one, and the thumb counts as five. Here's an illustration:

0 1 2 3 4 As you can see, digits 0 through four are pretty self explanatory. The thumb counts as five, so here's how to represent five through nine:

5 6 7 8 9 The left hand represents multiples of ten, with the right thumb representing 50. Here's how the left hand works:

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Counting practice
Below is a place to practice your counting techniques. You can use it in a number of ways. Press the add 1, add 10, subtract 1, and subtract 10 buttons to see the various combinations. You can also enter in any two-digit value into the text box, hit the tab key, and the fingers will show that combination. Note that I showed the fingers either fully extended or completely hidden. Usually, finger counting is done against a table or other surface, and the finger is pressed against the surface to indicate it is 'on', or lifted to indicate 'off.' I have chosen this other representation just because it is more clear than looking carefully at pictures to determine if the fingers are touching the surface or not.

Streaming media lessons

These files are experiments in SMIL programming. The files all require real player, which you can download for free from www.real.com

Counting Adding and Subtracting Multiplication Division

Thoughts on Multiplication
I've recently been thinking about finger-based multiplication. Below is a mini-essay I've been working on in various online forums regarding the topic. Let me know what you think. mult.html

EMT App

Here's a note I received from an EMT who uses a variation of Chisenbop to rapidly

determine a patient's age -Andy This page is a recipient of the "Seven Wonders" web award Return to Andy's main page Andy Harris Indiana University / Purdue University, Indianapolis email: aharris@cs.iupui.edu homepage: http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~aharris