Angel, thanks for raising my consciousness.
>
> The trick to this quick use of the abacus is... he's memorized a whole
> series of what I would now call "verbal protocols"! [snip]... it was
passed on to him orally from his village school
> teacher... it's a neat set of verbal formulas, almost like a poem learnt
> by heart (reminds me of David Olson's favourite topic: the oral
Fascinating. I never knew this. Interesting both that not one
tuaght me and that I never thought to pursue it far enough to find out.
Wish I'd known during those years in Japan a few of the questions I have
about learning now. :)
Marie