Matt McIrvin on Nostr: npub1zdp33…2vqv8 Because I'm interested in old calculating machines I've been ...
npub1zdp33shl69xr0uq3x8n5gsjykq9upycwh6nqm02c3f6x0frrn0dq42vqv8 (npub1zdp…vqv8) Because I'm interested in old calculating machines I've been reading up a lot on slide rules, and while they fascinate me, there's this aggressively nostalgic "calculators rot your brain" angle to the whole fandom that I'm really skeptical of.
The main reason being that I was a kid who HATED math in elementary school because I hated manual arithmetic. But it was the exact moment when fairly powerful affordable pocket calculators were first hitting the market, and my dad got me one.
I was fascinated by it and started pondering questions like "why do some of these mysterious function buttons settle down on a fixed value if I hit them over and over, but others blow up until the calculator shows an error? Why do some fractions have interesting digit patterns in decimal?" Which in hindsight were real mathematics questions.
Yes, kids will sometimes punch buttons on their calculator and trust whatever nonsense they get, especially if they don't care about the assignment. But anything that works at making you care is good.
The main reason being that I was a kid who HATED math in elementary school because I hated manual arithmetic. But it was the exact moment when fairly powerful affordable pocket calculators were first hitting the market, and my dad got me one.
I was fascinated by it and started pondering questions like "why do some of these mysterious function buttons settle down on a fixed value if I hit them over and over, but others blow up until the calculator shows an error? Why do some fractions have interesting digit patterns in decimal?" Which in hindsight were real mathematics questions.
Yes, kids will sometimes punch buttons on their calculator and trust whatever nonsense they get, especially if they don't care about the assignment. But anything that works at making you care is good.