Author Topic: How about slide rules?  (Read 22998 times)

Offline toolman

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #15 on: August 26, 2018, 12:32:36 AM »
I have one like J.A.F.E. posted, that i found last year. Funny Story: While attending College many years ago, we were required to learn, and use a slide rule. I had a good instructor, who had a 6 foot monster S.R. hanging above the chalk board. I tried and tried, but had a mental block in learning it. So, when ever test time came around, with some algebra involved, i would have to work out all the calculations in long hand on paper. The square root calculations alone, would take up half a page of scratch paper, and allot of wear on my pencil lead.lol!!!  >:D
« Last Edit: August 26, 2018, 12:35:01 AM by toolman »

Offline J.A.F.E.

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #16 on: August 26, 2018, 12:41:46 AM »
I remember those huge classroom models. I'd love to snag one just to hang up.

I suspect my wife would be a little less enthusiastic about the idea though if I ever found one.
People who confuse etymology and entomology bug me in ways I can’t put into words.

Offline bonneyman

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #17 on: August 26, 2018, 08:48:26 AM »
I have one like J.A.F.E. posted, that i found last year. Funny Story: While attending College many years ago, we were required to learn, and use a slide rule. I had a good instructor, who had a 6 foot monster S.R. hanging above the chalk board. I tried and tried, but had a mental block in learning it. So, when ever test time came around, with some algebra involved, i would have to work out all the calculations in long hand on paper. The square root calculations alone, would take up half a page of scratch paper, and allot of wear on my pencil lead.lol!!!  >:D

For awhile there I didn't have a calculator, so would do tax calculations long hand for every work ticket I wrote up. I felt it was keeping me in practice.  ;D

Offline goodfellow

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #18 on: August 26, 2018, 09:21:33 AM »
You guys have some wonderful keepsakes there. I still have one -- somewhere, but in the early 70's I was in engineering school when the transition between the slide rule and the scientific calculator started to happen. My sophomore year the school recommended the latest in modern tech -- a TI30, HP35, or HP45

Bought a HP45 for $450 -- what a bargain!!! -- but I was glad to get rid of that slide rule

Offline bonneyman

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #19 on: August 26, 2018, 11:09:12 AM »
6 inch ones are probably the best for me and my needs now. (Although an 8 or 10 inch would be easier to hold and read accurately). Doing sales tax and fuel mileage on the cars is what the SR has been reduced to in my house. Plus, it's a great prepper tool....and EMP proof!  :D

Offline skfarmer

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #20 on: August 27, 2018, 08:59:24 AM »
i have never used one  and was never taught anything about them. why don't  you teach us hairy knuckled sloths a little about them!  :-[
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline goodfellow

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #21 on: August 27, 2018, 09:16:29 AM »
i have never used one  and was never taught anything about them. why don't  you teach us hairy knuckled sloths a little about them!  :-[

Gov't training film on slide rule manipulation  -- a very good tutorial from 1944. Many colleges used to teach a required course on slide rule calculating to incoming freshmen in engineering and the physical sciences.


Offline skfarmer

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #22 on: August 27, 2018, 09:54:38 AM »
i watched to about 7 minutes and my eyes  started to fog over. :))
from the ashes shall rise a phoenix

i was here when the hangout turned into mexican food site!

Offline goodfellow

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #23 on: August 27, 2018, 10:12:34 AM »
i watched to about 7 minutes and my eyes  started to fog over. :))

LOL -- that's how I felt back in college when we started working trigonometric functions using that damn thing. The first HP and TI scientific calculators were a true game changer over the slide rule  -- by an order of magnitude.

Offline strik9

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #24 on: August 27, 2018, 10:39:25 AM »
I took algebra1 three times to finally barely pass it.    By then I was only filling spaces on a class schedule as I had "applied math" credits enough to graduate.

   And promptly forgot it all in a week with that soup of numbers and symbols moving around.  Meanwhile my siblings were in alg3 or better at least by then.

   A guy tried to show me how to use a micrometer too and that didn't work well.  I have a digital now and am calculating the price of a battery....lol!  For about 3 years now.  Its very important after all.

   Different strokes for different folks.....

   

Offline J.A.F.E.

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #25 on: August 27, 2018, 02:06:29 PM »
I think for most people a slide rule makes their eyes fog over. Takes a lot of practice and a lot of use to get comfortable and a calculator is more accurate and a lot easier for most of us.
People who confuse etymology and entomology bug me in ways I can’t put into words.

Offline bonneyman

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #26 on: August 27, 2018, 11:00:19 PM »
I think for most people a slide rule makes their eyes fog over. Takes a lot of practice and a lot of use to get comfortable and a calculator is more accurate and a lot easier for most of us.

I agree, but over the last year or two I'm having calculators regularly drop a LCD pixel or two out of the blue - got tired of 6's and 0's that were really 8's with a pixel missing.  >:(
Finally decided that when my current group of digital calcs quit I ain't buying any more. Even my newer TI-30 X lost some pixels over time - and it didn't get hardly any use..

Offline strik9

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #27 on: August 27, 2018, 11:28:54 PM »
Every phone I have has a basic calculator function built in.  I don't need to carry or even own any other anymore.

     The rare occasion I need one I always forget its there......

Offline highland512

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #28 on: August 28, 2018, 08:42:26 AM »
I have never been able to use a slide rule successfully, I grew up after full calculator integration was complete. My mother the calculus and trigonometry teacher is a wiz with one though. (she is a nerds nerd, who else will sit down and do formulas because its "fun")

Most of my work is performed on a TI-84 (mainly sin, cos, tan functions) or a construction master V. The construction master was carried in my pocket everyday for the last 10 years, it is invaluable in my construction life.


Offline bonneyman

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Re: How about slide rules?
« Reply #29 on: August 28, 2018, 09:28:43 AM »
I have never been able to use a slide rule successfully, I grew up after full calculator integration was complete. My mother the calculus and trigonometry teacher is a wiz with one though. (she is a nerds nerd, who else will sit down and do formulas because its "fun")

Most of my work is performed on a TI-84 (mainly sin, cos, tan functions) or a construction master V. The construction master was carried in my pocket everyday for the last 10 years, it is invaluable in my construction life.

Learning calculus is about the only thing left on my bucket list that I haven't done.
I've tried several times but just can't get it. I think either you're gifted and have a brain that's wired for it, or you gotta put TONS of time into learning. Neither of which I have.