This DOES make it much easier to square large numbers. For instance, usually squaring a number like 73 for example is tedious, but instead calculate 70*76 + 3^2 = 5329. Okay, there was still work involved, but you saved at least half the time.
EDIT: I see I should have read more than just the most recent two posts, as this was already brought up. So this is redundant, but I don't want to delete it.