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My mathematical trick (caveat: I did not invent this, I discovered it while reading a book about Richard Feynman, who learned the trick from some fellow scientist/mathematician, whose name escapes me).
To calculate the square of numbers (especially those near 50):
Given a number X, that you want to find the square of:
50^2 = 2500.
Add to this number (X-50)*100 (ie: for X = 48, add -200, for X = 53, add 300).
This will give you the "almost exact" answer.
You'll have, for example, 2300 is the square of 48. However, if you need to be exact, just add (X-50)^2.
Sorry if I didn't explain it too well, but it's an interesting trick that, if you do it enough, you can quickly churn out squares on the spot.
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Eat antimatter, Posleen-boy!
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