All language subtitles for Home.Town.Bens.Workshop.S02E02.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb

How many people
do you know that are
skilled in multiple fields?

Like, you never hear of a...

concert pianist who is also
an accomplished film director.

You never see an opera singer
slash racecar driver.

Supreme Court Justice...

slash tattoo artist.

Those worlds don't cross.

Which is why I'm
so excited that today,

we have a published mathematician

and math author,

and successful,
beloved actor,

and she may have
been your first crush.

Danica McKellar

is here today.

Most of you know
her as Winnie Cooper
from The Wonder Years .

Or from her long and
successful film and TV career.

But also,

some of you know her from the
Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem,

her own math theorem
that she helped prove.

That...

that's the one that's
the most impressive to me.

P-squared
over Q-squared.

So, this is the proof

that the square root
of two is irrational.

This can't possibly be true

if this were written
in reduced form.

As soon as I found out
that Danica was coming,

I thought like,
what could I do,

what would be so perfect?

We're gonna build
a set of Napier's bones.

The Napier's bones can be used
to teach multiplication.

Originally invented
by my ancestor 400 years ago.

16th and 17th century mathematician,

John Napier.

That's pretty cool.

Ben?

- Hey, Danica.
- Hi!

Look at this place.

- Hi.
- How are you?

I'm great.

I cannot wait
to figure all this out.

Who's gonna be teaching
who today?

It might be me teaching you,
but you might be teaching me.

You're a mathematician.

So, my brother's
a math professor.

That's awesome.

I mean, most people,
when you talk about doing

you know, hey, we're gonna
work on math problems today...

- Right.
- ...that sounds like a fun
Saturday for my brother.

I can relate to your brother.

When I was in college,
I had...

I actually got a chalkboard
for my apartment

because I'd wake up in the
middle of the night,

and turn on the light
and go to my chalkboard

solving something.

It makes you feel alive.

Me and my brothers,
we were all pretty good
at math growing up.

And we had this sense
of pride because

John Napier is our ancestor.

I heard that.
That is incredible.

You are related. The same
Napier as John Napier.

- Same family.
- The inventor of logarithms.

I mean, and--

The Marvelous Merchiston
was his nickname.

Inventor of logarithms,

the decimal point,
made that common use.

Think about a decimal.

My ancestor is the
reason you use that.

He invented this thing
we're building today.

- That's right, we're gonna
build Napier's bones.
- Napier's bones.

We're gonna make our own
version of Napier's bones

which we will then donate

to Ms. Thigpen's
5th grade Math class

at Laurel Upper Elementary.

And talk to them about math
and Napier's bones and

multiplication and...

- it's gonna be good.
- Can't wait!

- Come on.
- All right.

- So,
this is John Napier.
- Yes.

Okay, this is--

See?

You know, I mean, yes...

- Which way is he looking?
- ...with the beard
and everything--

I'm trying to make
my best John Napier face.

For sure.

His advancements
in mathematics,

were so impressive,

that he was believed to be...

a magician.

That's right, magic math.

Lattice multiplication
is the way that

multiplication is taught today.

John Napier helped
advance that.

The Napier's bones
helped with that.

That's what the Napier's bones
are most useful for.

Do you know why
they're called bones?

Is it just 'cause they
look like bones?

They look
kind of like bones.

5th grade
is about the level
when multiplication starts.

So, that's why we wanna give
this to a 5th grade class.

Do you know
how these work?

Yes, I do know
how these work.

So, what problem should
we start off with?

Let's so two times 43.

All right, so the two
multipliers over here.

- Yeah.
- Make 43 with
the other strips.

- Put it next to it.
- Cross the top.

Cross the top,
and then you look in
the two column.

You start from right to left,
just like you would

with any other kind
of multiplication,
with the units digit.

First you write down six,

and for the next one,
you look at this diagonal

and you add eight plus zero.

You're gonna get eight.

And then here's zero,
so you just...

- leave it and 86.
- 86.

Two times 43 is 86.

What's seven times 4396?

All right, write down the two.

Two.

- Next column is four plus
three which is seven.
- Seven.

Next column is six plus one
which is seven.

Seven.

Next column is eight plus two,
which is ten.

So, just write down a zero,

and you carry
the one to this two.

Two plus one is three.

30,772.

And that's pretty fast
considering that there's
no calculator involved.

I mean...

this is awesome.

So, we're going to build...

Napier's bones.

So, what we're gonna do
is actually build...

a tray with a lid.

Gonna start with
a 12 by 12 box.

What I was imagining
is using Southern walnut,

and splined miter joints.

And we're gonna
spline it with mahogany.

And then, the bottom of the
tray and the top of the lid

are gonna have
quarter sawn white oak.

We're gonna take
a sheet of maple

to a local engraver

and then we'll come back
here and actually cut
the bones out.

- Cool.
- I can nerd out about this

all day long.

Multiplication, right here.
It's a fun, creative
way of doing it,

and it's right in line
with what I've been doing.

Have you always been
good at math?

I've not always been
good at math, actually.

Uh...

in the 7th grade,
I really struggled with math.

- Okay.
- And I thought I couldn't do
it and I thought I was stupid,

and then midway through
the 7th grade,

something amazing happened.

We got a new teacher.

And somehow,
the exact same concepts

that had been so scary and
foreign to me, made sense.

And they were accessible.

And she changed
my life in math.

- That's awesome.
- Yeah.

Our first stage is
gonna be at the table saw

where we're gonna be cutting
our quarter sawn white oak

and our walnut,

and prepping them
for the build.

We gotta get you suited up.

All right, a Scotsman apron.

That's it.

Right, I'm ready.

- We're ready.
- We're ready, okay.

- We look official.
- We pose first.

Yeah.

It's a pretty
simple build,

but I want to add
a little flair

in the wood types that we use.

This is what most people
when they think of walnut,

- this is it.
- Mmm-hmm.

Okay, but then you see
how this Southern walnut,

I mean, that looks
like silk piled up.

I see like, blue and
purple and orange--

You see how...

- this fades
from dark to light?
- Mmm-hmm.

We're gonna take a board

and as we build our piece,

we're gonna continue
that grain

all the way around.

That looks
really pretty.

So, we're using
Southern walnut,

we're using quarter
sawn white oak,

we're using bird's-eye maple,
we're using mahogany.

Like, these are
all woods that...

have a little something
to them.

This is the...

frame or the sides
of our tray...

- Mmm-hmm
- ...and the lid.

- Cool.
- So we'll make
eight sides out of this.

Whoa!

- All right.
- Look at that.

Whoo.

Did it. All right.

♪ I take home
Enough for bills ♪

♪ Supermarket brands
With no frills ♪

I'm sure you've
been asked this...

probably more than
anything in your life,

but...

what was it like,
doing The Wonder Years?

You know,
it was my childhood.

The show started when I was 12
and it went till I was 18.

My first kiss in real life
or anywhere happened...

on television.

We all know how
nerve-wracking it is
before your very first kiss.

- Yes.
- Because you don't know

if it's gonna happen or not.

- Right.
- Well, guess what?

You know it's happening.

I knew it was gonna happen.

- It's in the script.
- It was in the script.
It was right there.

But I was still nervous
and I had a huge crush
on Fred at that time

and to make matters worse...

after the first kiss,

when they yelled, "Cut!"

The entire crew
broke out into applause.

I mean...

you know, you're 12,

you get your first kiss,

and you're just... you're
trying to have a moment.

Good job, okay, okay.

So, it was my real life
junior high and high
school experience.

I really had that...

dual life.

So, we'd like, do
20 minutes of a math test,

and then go off and do like,
an emotional, crying scene,

and then come back
and finish the test.

It's two extremes.

Right. And it really
taught me

how to get a lot done.

Which kind of, I think,

is why I'm able to have
the career that I have today,

which is acting and
writing math books,

and being
a homeschooling mom.

And a woodworker.

So, quarter
sawn white oak is...

my favorite wood
species to work with.

Okay, now, it's the same
as any white oak

except for the way
it's sawmilled.

This way that it is cut,

exposes a different
grain pattern

that is crossing it.

And those are called
medullary rays.

It's just... stunning.

That'll make our tray
and our lid.

For our frame,

we're gonna put in
a dado stack,

which is essentially just
a stack of saw blades.

And we'll cut
a groove out

that our white oak
will fit into it.

So, now we're gonna change
from a singular saw blade,

to our dado stack
on the table saw.

We're gonna use that to cut
the groove in our walnut

that we're gonna use for the
frame of the tray and the lid.

And once we assemble it,

our quarter sawn
pieces will fit

into these grooves.

So, we'll cut our groove,

- and then we're gonna jump
over here to the miter saw.
- Mmm-hmm.

We will cut 45-degree angles.

- Ah, 45 degrees,
as in half of 90.
- Half of 90.

Okay, that's math.

- I mean...
- It started.

Hello! We're doing math.

Hold on to
your hats, everybody.

This is not currently
perpendicular but we must
make it perpendicular.

That's right.

Awesome.

So, for Stage 2,

we are actually
cutting the frame.

- Perfectly perpendicular.
- Perfect.

We're gonna have
these joints continue
all the way around,

so we're gonna
mark everything.

Oh, I see.
So they match each other.

I typically use letters.

We're actually gonna grain
match the frame of the box
using a miter joint.

The important thing here
is that we have to mark

the ends of each board.

When we put it all together,
we can match our symbols.

Much like in mathematics,
you use symbols.

And that way,
our grain will continue
all the way around.

I'm gonna do
a heart.

Oh, a heart?

You know, algebra
symbols can be anything.

Heart times two equals four.

Exactly.

Look at that
beautiful 45-degree angle.

I love it.

And 45 degrees
is a quarter of...

is one-fourths of--

- 180.
- And it's one-eighth of--

- one-eight of 360.
- 360.

I mean, just math-ing
it up, over here.

- Full circle!
- That was a 360 for you.

This is similar
to a waterfall pattern.

When we connect them,
and glue them together,

that grain will start
on one corner,

and it will run all the way
cleanly through the next
three corners.

Then it'll end back
where we started.

- Look at that.
- Go together.

And the grain matches.

What was it like
getting into UCLA?

You know, I'd done
The Wonder Years for six
years at that point,

and the show had just ended.

Everywhere I went,

"Hey, Winnie! Where's Kevin?"

or, "aren't you
that girl who's on TV?"

You don't get a chance
to figure out who
else you are.

And at that age, we're all
trying to figure out who
we are in the first place.

My plan was to get
a degree in filmmaking.

And I had to take
a physical science.

I thought college math was
going to be so difficult,
just beyond me.

And when I look back, I
realize it was the stereotypes
that I held in my own mind...

- Yeah.
- ...about who was
good at math

and what a good math
student looked like.

So, when you say the
stereotypes of what
a math student looks like...

- Yes.
- ...what did you see?

Uh... a guy.

You saw it as a man's world.

Yes, of course.

- Okay.
- This is the '90s.

And the idea
that most girls just...

- aren't gonna be
smart enough to...
- Not good at math.

...study math, something
really, truly challenging

was stuck in my head.

And I studied really hard,
I took the first midterm.

The professor came up
to me afterwards and said,

"You have a gift
in mathematics.

You must pursue this."

But even more importantly,

the next day
in this math class,

this guy taps me on the
shoulder and says,

"Excuse me,
aren't you that girl...

who got the 22?"

For me, that moment was...

it was magical.

Because I felt this sense
of pride and value,

and it really helped me
to ground myself and
find a new identity

outside of the persona
of Winnie Cooper.

- Which, I am so grateful
for The Wonder Years...
- Absolutely.

...and so grateful
for Winnie Cooper.

But it was so refreshing
and important for me
to find mathematics

because it gave me
a sense of value.

- That was you.
- It was just me,
not the show.

You are no longer Winnie,
you are winning.

I was winning.
Yeah, I like it.

We're gluing our
white oak into two panels.

One for the tray base which
will hold the Napier's bones,

and the other for the lid.

After they're dried,

we're gonna drum sand them
to the correct thickness

so they can be fitted
and glued into the rails

we cut out of our
Southern walnut frames.

Two pieces
of quarter sawn white oak.

- Mmm-hmm.
- You can see the seam.

- Yep, yeah.
- We have...

four sides for this one.

- Four sides for this one...
- Mmm-hmm.

...glue and clamps.

We're gonna dry-fit
this together.

And make sure
your symbols line up.

There's a star.

How did you
get the opportunity

to prove a theory?

Theorem?

Theorem, not theory.

The Chayes-McKellar...

- Winn Theorem
- ...Winn Theorem.

Myself and
another student, and
this one particular professor

saw a lot of potential in us,

and said, "Hey, would
you guys like to help
to prove a theorem

that's similar to
something that I've proven,

but something that
I haven't proven yet."

We're like, "Sure."

Here's the thing though,
there's no "Eureka!" moment.

So, we took about nine months.

And if it's not
an airtight argument,
you've not proven it.

Coming up with a cool way
to prove it is exciting.

We were published in Britain's
Journal of Physics.

That's next level...

math.

- It was fun, though.
- Yeah.

It was a fun place to be.

- We can go ahead
and clamp and glue up.
- Okay.

And then we'll work on the
bones while that dries.

Perfect.

From Stage 2 to Stage 3,

it looks like things
move really fast

because we're actually
assembling our tray

and our lid.

Our cuts are so perfect
and so precise,

that everything just comes
together really nicely.

We're gonna glue
everything up.

- That's it.
- Cool.

While we've got our
tray and our lid drying,

we're actually going to
work on the bones.

This is our Napier's bones.

The bones, they're in there.

This shall be the bones.

This will be the bones.

The original
Napier's bones were
a light-colored material.

And so, we are
gonna use maple.

Maple's typically
a light-colored wood.

That's pretty thick.
We're gonna cut these thinner.

- Okay.
- You've ever heard

someone say a piece
of wood was bookmatched?

What this is, is...

- they cut it,
and open it like a book.
- Uh-huh.

How did you get
into book writing?

- See how I did that?
- Oh!

- Did you see what I did there?
- Oh, I like-- I like it.

- Yes!
- You know, uh...

So, in 2000, shortly after
graduating from college,

I was invited to speak
in front of Congress

about the importance
of women in mathematics.

And I started learning
about the issue

that middle school is the time
when girls start to shy
away from math.

That was what
I wanted to focus on.

And I pledged to Congress
that I would get better
PR for mathematics.

Because I know that a big part
of the problem is stereotype.

And so for middle school,

I wrote my first book called,
Math Doesn't Suck:

How to Survive Middle-School
Math Without Losing Your Mind
or Breaking a Nail.

My most recent book that
came out is called
The Times Machine!

It's fun and it's not
so intimidating.

It's so useful for kids.

I regularly donate my books
to charities all the time

because I just want
to get them into more
hands of more kids.

That's cool.

Might have to get
some for my girls.

Yes!

♪ I like to do my business
With some attitude ♪

Danica is using her
ability as a mathematician,

as an entertainer,

and fuse them together
in her books,

into this one thing that
is changing the way
kids look at math.

Beautiful!

- And you see how the grain
continues around?
- Yes!

It's beautiful. It's perfect.

Now that
our maple is prepped,

our tray is dry,

we're gonna head over
to Sawmill Monogramming.

We're gonna have
some engraving done

on our Napier's bones.

So, this is my chariot.

I love it.

- What year is this car?
- This is a '62.

Just like on The Wonder Years.

- That's right.
- Here we go!

♪ I'm cruising up the highway
I'm stuck in overdrive ♪

- ♪ So keep ♪
- ♪ Keep on rolling ♪

Do you see
everything in numbers?

Yeah, I do like numbers.

Like, memorizing
a phone number
is pretty easy because

- I'll find patterns in it.
- Yeah.

This
is Sawmill Monogramming.

- Cool.
- They do...

embroidery, engraving,
screen printing.

They do a lot of work
for us.

- Hey! How you doing?
- Hi! Danica.

Mike Garick. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

Ben, how you doing?

I'm good. I'm good.

So, these are
the Napier's bones.

- Okay.
- We sent
you the artwork.

- This is the grid
with the numbers.
- Right.

- Well, cool. Take it in here
and I'll show you.
- Okay.

This is where the bones
become bones.

I've already sent
the pattern over.

It's on the computer.

Once you start
the button, this is
gonna move up.

There's a laser beam that's
gonna come out of that.

And it's gonna burn
it into the wood.

Just hit the 'Start.'

There she goes.

- Whoa.
- Whoa!

So how long does this take?

This particular item,
30 minutes.

The numbers are
starting. You can see them.

You can start seeing
the numbers.

This is a really
cool process.

It's like a laser printer.

Like you see in an office.

But it is a laser
that is burning...

the numbers into the bones.

I want to get a little video
of this because it's
so awesome.

Now
you're gonna want one.

I know. I do.

This is so cool.

T he way that woodworking
is done has pretty much
not changed...

ever.

The tools and equipment
have changed.

I could have done this
with a wood burner

or with a little, you know,
engraving tool,

and it would have
taken me two days.

But this is so much faster
and so much cleaner,
and why not,

you know, show a new
way of doing it?

This could be considered
a form of woodworking.

Back at the shop,

before we cut out our newly
engraved Napier's bones,

we're gonna focus on adding

a little something special
to our miter joints.

The joinery that
we're gonna focus on

is actually splined
miter joints

for our tray,

and for our lid.

Nothing wrong with
a 45 mitered corner.

Okay? It's pretty,
it's clean,

it's classic.

But what we want to do is then
take that a step further,

and we're gonna do a splined
joint inside of that.

And the way that works is,

you take your frame,

you lay it in a jig,

and run it across
your table saw.

So that you cut a groove
that is going against,

perpendicular,
to that 45 joint.

Then we will spline that,

or we will insert
a piece of mahogany
that crosses that joint.

And just makes the joint
a little bit stronger.

But also, it's really pretty.

The idea here is that,
over time,

our math teachers
will pull these out,

to show the students.

It's gonna get beat up
and it's gonna get used...

- Right.
- ...and this joint
will hold for a lot longer.

Awesome.

- You finish college.
- Yes.

Published...

mathematician.

Yes.

But you're going
back into acting.
How was that?

It was a rocky reentry.

For a lot of child actors,
they come back to the
business and...

you know, they've been
through some hard times.

So, I would go on
these auditions

and casting directors
would look at me like,
with pity.

Like, "Oh, we haven't seen you
for a while. You know,
everything okay?"

And I'm like, "Yeah, no.
I was actually getting
a degree.

I was at college."
Like, "Oh!

That's nice. That's so good.
Theater?"

And I get to say, "Well,
actually, mathematics."

The expectations
were so low of me.

They were expecting that
I would have gotten
into drugs or

- something on the wrong
side of the tracks--
- That's the stereotype.

It is a stereotype. It is
a stereotype for a reason.

A lot of insecurities
come when

your identity is grounded
in something that's not
you anymore.

But in this case,
I got to say,

I was actually busy getting
a degree in mathematics.

But eventually then, yes,

everyone kind of
learned that I had...

taken this break
for mathematics

and I started
on The West Wing,

How I Met Your Mother and

Big Bang Theory.

and then I found
Hallmark channel,

and kind of got into
doing Hallmark movies.

That is so cool
to me, that you...

did this thing,

then you got out of it and
you mastered this other thing.

And then you came
back to that.

- Yeah.
- So cool.

Maybe the
most interesting part
of Danica's success story,

is her books.

She saw a problem there that,

math is hard to talk about.

You know, a lot of people
don't like math.

We got our bones.

- Let's go sand them.
- Amazing.

Any book that helps
a kid learn something,

or maybe piques their
interest into something,

it can be life-changing
for a kid.

And maybe this tool,

maybe this set
of Napier's bones

will be life-changing
for somebody.

The bones
of Napier's bones.

It says, "Made by Danica
McKellar and Ben Napier"

Ugh, I love it.

- That's us.
- That's us!

Putting our little mark on
Laurel, Mississippi.

- Pack it up.
- Right.

- Let's go
back to school.
- Okay.

Danica and I,
both share a love of learning.

We both share
a love of math.

We're gonna take this
to a 5th grade math class.

We're going to surprise
a math class

with this new tool.

- I'm excited.
- We're going in right here.

So, we're looking
for Ms. Thigpen's
5th grade math class.

These kids are gonna
be so excited.

I hope so.

Do
those signs flip?

- No.
- No.

- because math--
- Does not change.

Hello.

Oh, my gosh!

Hey.

What's up, y'all?

- Say hello,
boys and girls.
- Hello!

Hi!
How you guys doing?

- Good!
- Good.

What are we reading?

We're reading
The Times Machine!

I know that book.

Do you
know who wrote it?

"Danica McKellar."

So cool!

- She's here!
- Do you guys like it?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Awesome.

So, we have brought you...

a set of Napier's bones.

Ooh...

And it is
a multiplication tool.

This is for you.

- Thank you.
- So, you have fun
with your students.

Thank you for being such
a wonderful math teacher,

- and inspiring them.
- Yeah.

And I appreciate this gift.

It's gonna work so well
with of centers,

and having the kids
move around.

Learning these
multiplication facts.

I am excited about this gift.

- I'm so glad.
- So, thank you so much

for making this for us.

You guys
want to try it out?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Yeah? Okay.

So,
what's two times two?

Four.

So, you put a zero,

and then the what?

The four.

Very good job.

Y'all are awesome.
Y'all are super smart.

This is a really
special project

because one, it's something
I've always wanted to make.

I mean, it's a part of my,
you know, family history.

Okay? That's special.

- Yes, ma'am. So, you got
to put them right there.
- There you go.

But then also, to get
to hang out with Danica,

to get to build this with her,
a mathematician,

that makes it a little
bit more special.

I've seen pictures
of Napier's bones.

But to see it all
come together,

with the engraving,

with the spline joints,

with the different
wood species.

This is a really
beautiful piece.

Let's give our guests
five big claps.

Five big math claps.
- I love it.

That's good.

I think we're leaving
these Napier's bones
in really good hands.

- Yeah, we are.
- With an amazing teacher.

And thank you so much
for having us.

You're welcome.

- Thank you.
- Bye, y'all.

Bye.

Have fun doing math.

- We will.
- Yes.

To give
something to a class

that the teacher immediately
starts using to teach,

that's pretty cool.

Six times six?

36.

Great job, kiddos.

Math is awesome.