Twitter User’s Math Hack Has Take the Internet By Storm

Math can be confusing and difficult. There are types of math we’re taught in schools that we never find a use for later on and some that we use on a daily basis. One such type of math adults often find a use for is percentages and recently, a Twitter user named Ben astounded many with an easy hack to solve them

“Fascinating little life hack, for doing percentages:

x% of y = y% of x

So, for example, if you needed to work out 4% of 75 in your head, just flip it and do 75% of 4, which is easier.”

Peoples minds were blown

“This is the day Twitter changed my life,” one user named Antonio van Oijen commented. “I earn a living as a scientist, juggling numbers every day, and I never realised this.”

“Not sure whether I should be happy or embarrassed…Maybe both,” he admitted.

Having a daughter in fifth grade has meant a lot of pain and anguish surrounding math homework. So often these days, parents trying to help with their kids’ homework get the same response: “we don’t do math like that.” The sentiment seems to go both ways.

Common Core math isn’t all bad

Common core math often makes math problems needlessly complex, which is why math hacks like Ben’s percentage trick are so exciting.

I still contend there is no substitute for learning one’s times tables by rote, and each multiplication problem shouldn’t need to have a story written about it to grasp it. 60 x 8 needn’t take up a half a page and be broken down by 10s.

Regardless, I’ll be sharing this percentage hack with everyone I know, including my 5th grader. Although, being 11 going on 21, I’m sure she won’t appreciate it until she’s older.