👉 Garlic math, also known as "garlic exponentiation," is a method for efficiently computing large powers of numbers by using the binary representation of the exponent. Instead of raising a number to a power through repeated multiplication, which can be computationally expensive, garlic math leverages the properties of binary numbers. For example, to calculate \(a^b\), you convert \(b\) into its binary form and then use a series of multiplications where each bit of \(b\) determines whether to multiply the current result by \(a\). If a bit is 1, you multiply; if it's 0, you skip. This process is repeated for each bit, significantly reducing the number of multiplications needed compared to traditional methods. For instance, calculating \(2^{13}\) using garlic math involves only 6 multiplications, as \(13\) in binary is \(1101\), and you perform operations on the intermediate results corresponding to each bit. This technique is particularly useful in computer science and cryptography for its efficiency with large exponents.
