Most people will probably remember the times tables from primary school quizzes. There might be patterns in some of them (the simple doubling of the 2 times table) but others you just learnt by rote.

I like things that come in twos, I like ears and elbows and knees, I like pairs of gloves and turtle doves, I like wings and wellies and water skis. When you’re counting slippers or flippers or shoes ...

Anita Ponsaing receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical & Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). Most people will probably remember the times tables from primary school quizzes.

1 1 is 1 2 1s are 2 3 1s are 3 4 1s are 4 5 1s are 5 6 1s are 6 And 7 1s are 7 8 1s are 8 9 1s are 9 And 10 1s are 10 With 1s you can make any Numberblock. Now, isn’t that clever? If you just add 1 or ...