How to Multiply Like the Ancient Egyptians

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Find the largest power of 2 that's closest to the number you're trying to decompose

   For example, if you're trying to decompose 27, the largest power of 2 that's closest to 27 would be 24, or
   16.
2. 2

   Step 2: which will eventually be the smaller number in your multiplication problem.

   If you continue the above example, you would subtract 16 from 27, and get
   11. , If you continue the above example, you would find that 23, or 8, is the largest power of 2 smaller than
   11.
   
   Subtract it from 11, which will result in
   3. , If you continue the above example, you would:
   Find the largest power of 2 closest to 3, which is 21 or 2, and subtract it from 3, resulting in
   1.
   
   Find the largest power of 2 closest to 1, which is 20 or 1, and subtract it from 1, resulting in
   0.
   
   Stop here, because you've reached
   0.
3. 3

   Step 3: Subtract this power from the number you're decomposing.

4. 4

   Step 4: Find the largest power of two that's closest to the difference you just found

5. 5

   Step 5: and subtract it from the difference.

6. 6

   Step 6: Keep repeating this until your number is reduced to zero.

Detailed Guide

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