New Delhi: National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22 December to honor the great mathematician of India Srinivasa Ramanujan on his birth anniversary.
From Aryabhata and Bhaskar to PC Mahalanobis and Shakuntala Devi, India has produced many geniuses who have made great contributions to the world of mathematics.
It is said that in India, mathematics has its origins in Vedic literature, dating back many thousands of years.
Vedic mathematics is considered a mental math system, practiced through a collection of ‘sutras’ or word sutras that simplify the complexity of mathematics and allow people to calculate in an easier and faster way.
What is Vedic Mathematics?
Discovered in the middle of the 20th century, after the Indian mathematician Bharati Krishna Tirtha came up with a book (Vedic Mathematics) in 1965, Vedic mathematics is said to follow certain principles for various types of mathematical calculations. .
Various forums like Vedic Maths India are actively teaching the techniques of Vedic Mathematics to remove the fear of Mathematics from the minds of children. Its founder, Gaurav Tekriwal’s TED video shows its many applications such as how to multiply large digit numbers by finding their base.
According to Tekriwal, Vedic mathematics applications can be found in research and academia, and can be used in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, percentages, ratios, among other applications in trigonometry and other applications.
According to subject experts there are 16 sutras and 13 sub-sutras in Vedic maths to solve any mathematical problem.
Formulas like monopoly purvena can be helpful in finding the digits in the decimal expansion of numbers. Formulas can be said to be the underlying overview of mathematical understanding that makes solving complex problems easy.
Ed-tech brand Vedantu has also launched a program in Vedic Mathematics under its V-Nurture and Super School initiatives.
Read also | Ramanujan Jayanti: 5 interesting facts about the great mathematical genius
debate about vedic maths
It is seen that now a large number of people are learning Vedic Mathematics.
Professor James Glover has devoted 40 years researching and teaching the usefulness of Vedic mathematics. In one of his articles, he wrote: “Vedic mathematics … provides a deep insight into the nature of the subject and the human psyche.” According to him, it “encourages an intelligent and holistic approach”.
Speaking to ABP Live, Dr. Atul Gaur, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Delhi, said: “The need of the past ages was to calculate sums for business which were sometimes very large. In those cases Vedic mathematics was useful for solving complex problems in minutes. ,
He advocated the inclusion of Vedic Mathematics in the school curriculum. “It can be taught at the school level to enhance computation but it doesn’t meet all the needs of today’s maths,” Gaur said.
“It helps in doing mental calculations very fast. Hence, not only school children but even students appearing for entrance exams of JEE and other competitive exams take Vedic maths lessons,” says Vedic in Vedantu Mathematics curriculum curator Nikhil Agarwal said in a report in The Indian Express.
However, not everyone agrees that Vedic mathematics can add further depth to our understanding of mathematics.
SG Dani, senior professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, wrote of how Vedic mathematics outweighed the real contribution of ancient Indians to mathematics.
He wrote, “The approach of Vedic mathematics not only contributes nothing towards this important objective, but may actually work to its detriment, because of the emphasis on rapid computation.”
Professor Dani has written many articles and papers debunking the ‘myths’ of Vedic Mathematics. His main argument is that one should not indulge in fast calculation tricks. However, he agrees that it would be appropriate to use them as “helpers in teaching related concepts”.
What do students say?
Many students are now enthusiastically taking up Vedic Mathematics to enhance their skills.
Nandita, a class 11 student at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kottayam, will present a paper on Vedic Mathematics at the National Conference on Mathematical Education (NCME) organized by NCERT.
Speaking to ABP Live, Nandita shared her experience of teaching Vedic Mathematics to over 1,000 students during the lockdown. “I was introduced to Vedic Mathematics at the age of 10. It reduces the burden of big and lengthy calculations. My understanding of the subject increased and I became more confident about Maths due to better performance, “He said.
Kanan Gupta, a PhD student in mathematics at Texas A&M University, said Vedic mathematics helped in school but he no longer finds it useful.
“When it comes to high-level research mathematics, Vedic mathematics has little to offer as it is much less about coming up with new ideas and more about fast arithmetic.”
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