from Hacker News

How do different people draw their tally marks?

by arvindh-manian on 7/7/23, 4:24 PM with 2 comments

• by jaclaz on 7/7/23, 5:10 PM

  There is a way (that I learned from a site surveyor in Tunisia, cannot say if used elsewhere in North Africa or in any other country) that is (IMHO) the most practical one.

  You start with one as a vertical trait (top to bottom) I.

  For two you go to the right (L).

  For three you go up (U).

  For four you go left (and you get a square).

  For five you go diagonal from top left to bottom right (the final result is a crossed square).

  It has the advantage that you never need to lift the pen from paper until you get to five and with a little of practice you don't even need to look at the sheet until you actually need to calculate the sum of more than one tally.