Short Cuts in Figures

In Short Cuts in Figures, A. Frederick Collins provides the essential "key which will unlock the door to rapid calculation", asserting that figuring is the "key-note of all business". This book is a practical guide for anyone who finds arithmetic tedious or difficult because they were "wrongly taught", offering simple methods and "scientific short cuts" to achieve both speed and certainty, saving time, effort, and money. Collins begins by rebuilding the fundamentals, explaining "WHAT ARITHMETIC IS" before diving into specific techniques for rapid addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The guide progresses to practical applications, covering shortcuts for fractions, decimals, percentages, and aliquot parts. It also demystifies complex operations like "EXTRACTING SQUARE AND CUBE ROOTS". Beyond calculations, the book serves as an indispensable reference, packed with "MANY USEFUL TABLES AND FORMULAS", including weights and measures, the metric system and rules for geometry. It concludes with a unique chapter on "MAGIC WITH FIGURES," exploring number puzzles and mechanical calculators like Napier's Rods.