http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf This. It speaks of so much truth.
Never have I agreed more with something.
I haven't been amazed by math since the time I learned the pattern for 1089:
1089 x 1 = 1089
1089 x 2 = 2178
1089 x 3 = 3267
1089 x 4 = 4356
1089 x 5 = 5445
1089 x 6 = 6534
1089 x 7 = 7623
1089 x 8 = 8712
1089 x 9 = 9801