Japan's ancient secret to better cognitive memory - BBC REEL

The centuries-old abacus, once a common tool in many countries, has now been abandoned around the world. But in Japan, thousands of students are still taught proficiency on the abacus.

Advocates argue that sliding the beads up and down with your fingers and then thinking with your brain creates a mind-body connection that helps with calculation skills and cognitive memory.

Video by Terushi Sho
Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh

#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews

[terrancekayton]

Wow. Must be nice to have a nation of leaders devoted whole heartedly to the early childhood education.

[shubhambhardwaj]

I couldn't even see the numbers correctly and these children calculated the whole numbers. It's marvellous. We need this type of training for our brain.

[Daily_Llama]

4:30 “The hands are the visual part of the brain” is an absolute truth as far as I'm concerned. I used to trace the letters of words into my palm during spelling bees. That action greatly increased my ability to construct large words in my brain. I had a childhood disability that made my hands unable to hold a pencil yet I beat most that used repetition to compete

[rineng]

Wow this is the first time I've learned the true potential of an abacus. Our math teacher just took us to the math lab and showed the colorful beaded abacus and said it was invented by someone and that was it.
I wish i had learned it as a kid. Japan truly never fails to amaze me🇯🇵

[RohitPant]

I think the important lesson to take from this video is that it's never too late to learn fundamentals of Mathematics and Science. It's better to exercise our will to learn solving complex problems starting today than to feel bad about what we couldn't learn as a child.

Keep learning!

[ashura_]

" The hands is the visible part of our brain ". Love that quote! ❤

[kirn]

I learnt abacus from the age 10 to 13. I am 19 now and this video makes so much sense. I still use abacus in my "head" to do a lot of calculations and also, I think it has a huge role on the way my brain works. I find myself thinking deeply; I seek the truth. My actions seem radical. The best gift you could give to your kid would be to let them join the abacus classes(only if they want to) when they're super young!

[kajihararin]

I enjoyed Japanese abacus from 10 to 13 years old. I know people can’t believe this, but abacus is really fun! I liked concentrating on calculating numbers without any distractions and felt “I achieved!” when my answers were correct. We can calculate even √route with it. I always imagine “abacus” in my mind and calculate everything without real one. This is normal for people who learned Japanese abacus. Please try it!!

[TheAdizone]

15 numbers in 1.5 8377!
My brain: wth just happened

[Briguy]

Doh, I wish I had learned this as a young lad. Like any language it probably is easier to learn as a child. The finger movements and how they add is somewhat akin to reading music but different. I'm thoroughly impressed and definitely jealous of these type of skills.

[jannickharambe]

I didnt even see the numbers in those almost 2 seconds. And that girl had the answer almost instantaneously.
I cannot compete.

[LiLGouda.]

Now, here's a country that actually cares about the minds of the next generation.

These children are absolutely impressive. ❤

[koleyw]

I have deep respect for the many positive aspects of the Japanese culture.

[mrinmoybanik]

I learned abacus in school in my 3rd and 4th grade.It's actually not that difficult as it seems.But i could only calculate fast with an abacus, as i had difficulty visualizing it in my head(I could only do around 6 significant digits in my head).It's an art that you will never forget once it goes into your muscle memory like solving a rubics cube.

[wynez]

I learnt abacus when I was kid. I had a lot of fun and because of that my math was always better than most of the student in primary school, that set my confidence and passion about math! Will def let my kids learn this in the future!

[GierlangBhaktiPutra]

Learned this as a kid. While calculation is what the abacus is about, but the core teaching is about discipline. It's about the mindset and attitude to perform such calculation. Impressed with the kids who take the calculation to the next level!

[rukathehamsteratwork]

What I found impressive is the lady’s ability (at 3:46) to read out a 12 digit number in a clear voice within 3 seconds without biting her tongue.

[jeremiahsmith]

This is very eye-opening and motivational. Every person's brain is capable of so much more than we assume, all it needs is a bit of good training and discipline. I'm glad I watched this video.

[TheGrenadier]

Absolutely lovely to see the children using the abacus. It's always good to learn the old ways.

[manjusaka]

I am so grateful that my mum sent me to an abacus learning centre and now that i am able to visualise an abacus and count faster and more easily than most ppl who didn't learn it. Back thn in the 90s and early y2k, it was a fad to learn this in Malaysia and you could see centres blooming every neighbourhood. I only regret that I gave up on it when I was moving up to the level of division