Ancient-algorithms Memes

Ancient Egyptians apparently invented a multiplication algorithm that works by repeatedly doubling and halving numbers, then adding only the rows where the halved number is odd. So 13 × 24 becomes a series of doubles (24, 48, 96, 192) while halving 13 down (6, 3, 1), then you cross out rows with even numbers and add what's left: 24 + 96 + 192 = 312. It's basically binary multiplication disguised as ancient wisdom. The pharaoh smugly declaring "IT'S VERY SIMPLE!" while modern programmers realize they've been doing bit-shifting operations the whole time without the cool historical context. Turns out the Egyptians were doing bitwise operations before computers existed. They just didn't have Stack Overflow to copy-paste from.