Papy's minicomputer

Juan Pablo González · Jun 15, 2005

Does anyone know what this is, and more importantly, do you know/remember how to multiply or divide with it ? I'm just trying to remember how that thing works...

milesUK · Jun 16, 2005

Juan, Not much on Google for this. Can you provide any more info please? Is it a physical device or a method/process?

Juan Pablo González · Jun 16, 2005

It's a 2x2 "board" I guess, that works basically in binary. This is the one thing that I've found so far:

http://www.nativelab.it/software/MenuPapy.htm

http://www.nativelab.it/software/FilmPapyda1a9.html

It was invented by Frédérique Papy (Belgium). But I just can't remember how they taught us to use it for math operations...

starl · Jun 16, 2005

http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~jwww/
scroll down some - there's a lesson on Papy.. dont' know if that's what you're looking for .. or more?

bethhentges · Mar 5, 2010

See this site:
http://mengelberg.home.comcast.net/~mengelberg/CSMP/csmp.html

mvptomlinson · Mar 9, 2010

Every time I look at "alternative" methods to teach kids math it seems to only make me want to slap more people upside the head. If a kid can't learn long division the real way, take away his PSP or iPod for a few weeks until he can. :P

bethhentges · Mar 9, 2010

More information can be found here:
http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/

snowblizz · Mar 11, 2010

OMG, "new maths". My mom showed me an old text book from the 70s when they attempted to bring that into the school system around here that she has kept . That experiment lasted a couple of years, tops.

I am (well, was

) a straight A student. And I couldn't make any sense of that textbook. I swear, it would have destroyed a generation worth of people's ability to do math.

mvptomlinson said:
Every time I look at "alternative" methods to teach kids math it seems to only make me want to slap more people upside the head. If a kid can't learn long division the real way, take away his PSP or iPod for a few weeks until he can. :P

Verily this is the truth. There's no methods that can make teach kids math, or anything else for that matter, if they lack the motivation to do so. Trying to disguise learning won't work. People seem to fail to realise kids are too smart to fall for that.

hatman · Mar 11, 2010

Turn on your speakers, and enjoy Tom Lehrer: New Math

bethhentges · Feb 11, 2011

The Four Basic Operations on the Papy Minicomputer

To add a+b

Note: The two numbers a and b can each be positive or negative.

1. Put the number a on the board.
2. Put the number b on the board.
3. Do robot moves and/or remove zero pairs until you have the standard configuration of the result.

To subtract a-b

Note: The two numbers a and b can each be positive or negative.

1. Put the number a on the board.
2. Put b sets of zero pairs on the board.
3. Remove b from the board.
4. Do robot moves and/or remove zero pairs until you have the standard configuration of the result.

To multiply a*b

Note: If the number a is positive, the number b can be positive or negative.
If the number a is negative and the number b is positive, use the Commutative Property to think of a*b as b*a.
It is difficult to use the board if both of the numbers a and b are negative.

1. Put a groups of b on the board.
2. Do robot moves until you have the result in the standard configuration.

To divide a/b

Note: If the number b is positive, the number a can be positive or negative.
If the number b is negative and the number a is positive, then rewrite the fraction by multiplying by -1/-1 first.
It is difficult to use the board if both of the numbers a and b are negative.

1. Put the number a on the board.
2. Do backwards robot moves until every square that has a checker on it has b checkers on it. (There might be some remainder left-overs.)
3. Read the answer off of the board by thinking of only one checker being in each occupied space rather than b checkers being in each occupied space.

Papy's minicomputer

Juan Pablo González

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Papy's minicomputer

MrExcel MVP

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