I used a calculator the other day to do 73 - 52, yet I can pass a third year university algebra course. Sure, tables are useful, but they are very far from the be-all-end-all of primary school education, which they very much were for me when I was younger (you were good or bad at maths based on how good you were at your times-tables, which is hardly a good way to motivate people who enjoy mathematics, but don't excel at rote memorisation)