Calculator Stories
ok, I have one for ya... an engineering friend was on his way to work. In the middle of the road, he noticed a calculator case. typical TI scientific calculator size (mid 80s). He stops, picks it up. Hoping to find a calculator. Instead it is perfectly stuffed with 10k in small bills. He sweats all day at work and comes home to an engineer and a working waitress english major. the bills are pulled and and counted. the word "shit" is flown around like no one has ever heard.....I am not telling the rest of the story. but...what's your calculator story?
He had a heckuva time adjusting to use my pocket calculator :)
was just getting started. I have no recent data, but
the memory of her honest appraisal is still fresh. -- j
Brain;; it cost $135 and I had to drive to Memphis
to buy it. I used it for years, and even carried it
for a spare to my PE test. 3 slide rules, 3 calculators,
and spare batteries. a suitcase full of books. pens
and pencils and scaled rulers and everything but
a pocket protector.
the Bowmar was forwarded to a high school kid
and lasted 10 years.
today I use an hp 41cx which I bought for my first
wife when she tried computer science in '82.
tough machine. it winked out once (N batteries)
when I was negotiating the purchase of 20 acres
of land, and the "opposition" brought out a light-
powered thing which came in a cracker jack box
to finish up. embarrassed??? -- j
http://www.computerhistory.org/collectio...
http://www.amazon.com/HP-41CX/dp/B004BNR...
I agree with your attitude on Excel.
I have to use it all the time, but I don't care for it. Or any of the MS-Office apps for that matter. Unfortunately that is what most of the work world uses. So of course your output has to be readable for that suite or be a pdf.
MS-Office has always been "adequate" for work but not a single one of the components has ever been best in class. Good enough, but not great.
I still spot check excel sheet with my HP calc as well. And installed some HP calc emulators on my ipad for nostalgia's sake as well as usability.
AF didn't exist until the key west accords.
At that point they became independent and had to start their own traditions. All the Army traditions became part of the "competition". And therefore, never to be mentioned LOL
grades in her vet school prep curriculum, she was
unqualified because she didn't have round heels. -- j
The first, major, problem, is that unless the person doing the programming is the one taking the test, they've demonstrated only the ability to run software and no understanding of the course material. So if they put the numbers in and get an answer that is 5 orders of magnitude off, they have no clue what went wrong, nor even that anything IS wrong. Entering numbers into a keyboard doesn't demonstrate a knowledge of the underlying concepts - so the test is invalidated.
The second argument is that using the programmability essentially amounts to turning the test into a "take home" test. If programming is part of the skill set, then no problem. If not, it amounts to an artificial advantage for those who may have knowledge unrelated to the course material. In effect, if you spent two hours programming your calculator, and everyone gets one hour to take the test, your pre-programming means you have a sizable time advantage.
In general, I believe that learning to do something "by hand" before permitting calculators (or hand computers) is the way to go. That way, when your calculations show that you need 5 million feet of lumber to build a set of shelves, you at least have a clue something might be wrong.
SHELLOIL
Yet the guy could multiply two, 3-digit numbers as fast, and in some cases faster, than I could enter them on a calculator...
The winter holidays for me are the Solstice, Christmas, and all the other ones that get shoehorned in around that time of year. We only celebrate the Solstice and Christmas.
Some of them, failing the 6x9, will say, "I'll use a calculator." I say, "Not for MY horse you won't!"
If you calculate the horse to get 30 ml of reserpine when 3 ml is required, the incorrect dose may kill the horse. There is no antidote.
I want my horse's vet to have a good sense of the numbers in dosing meds, and that means relying on the brain in addition to calculators or computers.
I'm awfully tempted to start a "remedial math for geniuses" class. We'll learn casting out nines, hand-calculation of square roots, calculating areas of fields by walking "Roman paces" to gather distances. There is so much one can learn, and I know such a small amount!
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