Persephone Emerald Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, Emma Krokus said: I tried to look up "slip sticks" but totally failed. I'd love to know more! I think this must be another name for a sliderule. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolig Loon Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 15 minutes ago, Zalificent Corvinus said: I kept seeing references to "slip sticks" in Bob Heinlein novels, and wondered what the hell they were, so I looked it up, thought it sounded interesting, and managed to find an office stationers shop that STILL sold them, so I actually have one, someplace, and sort of know how to use it, because it came with a little instruction booklet in the plastic case. If nothing else, they were a good aid to understanding how to calculate with logarithms (which are also a bit of math that's forgotten in schools today). I remember a joke about an engineer trying to teach his son how to use a slide rule. "So, to multiply 2 X 2, you move the slide so that the 1 on the C scale is lined up with the 2 on the D scale. Then, move the cursor to the 2 on the C scale and read the answer on the D scale below. And it's .... 3.999 ..... call it 4. Easy!" 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalificent Corvinus Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said: Then, move the cursor to the 2 on the C scale and read the answer on the D scale below. And it's .... 3.999 ..... call it 4. Easy!" Sounds like somebody forgot the bit in the instruction booklet about keeping the thing someplace cool, so it doesn't warp. The plastic ones are apparently less prone to warping and shrinkage than the really old boxwood ones. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolig Loon Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Zalificent Corvinus said: Sounds like somebody forgot the bit in the instruction booklet about keeping the thing someplace cool, so it doesn't warp. The plastic ones are apparently less prone to warping and shrinkage than the really old boxwood ones. Sadly true. Because all of this made me curious, I just went to dig my Dad's old slide rule out of the box of stuff I saved from his desk. It's junk at this point. Not only has the wood dried out so everything is loose and sloppy, the veneer (plastic of some kind) that has the numbered scales on it has come unglued in places. What an end. I read a biography of Richard Feynman years ago in which they described how physicists in the Manhattan Project sat for hours with slide rules analyzing the results of their nuclear experiments. Feynman would race them to the answers because he had memorized great portions of the logarithm tables and could do the math in his head faster than they could do it with the slide rule. These days a high school kid could get the numbers by pushing a few buttons on a calculator (and without having the faintest idea what the calculator was doing). Edited October 12, 2023 by Rolig Loon Egads! A terrible typo. Fixed 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 STOP IT! 4 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 13 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said: STOP IT! Peeve: And then there's "Girl Math". https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/girl-math-is-going-viral-on-tiktok-but-it-has-a-cost_uk_64ddf1d5e4b0f4cf3ed719eb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said: Peeve: And then there's "Girl Math". https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/girl-math-is-going-viral-on-tiktok-but-it-has-a-cost_uk_64ddf1d5e4b0f4cf3ed719eb I aced Accounting but struggled with algebra and geometry both of which I have not used since graduation. Perhaps the only geometry I've used is to calculate the square footage of wall surfaces when buying paint. Accounting just made practical sense to me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Rowan Amore said: struggled with algebra and geometry Same here. Partly because of this, I ended up with a Major that only required me to take up to Calculus 2. Edited October 12, 2023 by Love Zhaoying "that" not "tha" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolig Loon Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 I am convinced that everybody has a personal limit beyond which math is uncomfortable. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something to recognize because it can make some parts of your life difficult. It's worth the effort to push against the limit, but at some point even pushing doesn't help. I once tutored the daughter of an MIT professor who could not grasp the idea that a fraction is a division problem. She had trouble even making change, and it frustrated her no end. (I imagine it also frustrated her father, but I never asked.) Basic arithmetic was simply her limit and it was painful to go farther. I reached my own limit well beyond that and learned that the best way for me to solve a nasty math problem is to ask a mathematician. Some math is "intuitive" for me; some is hopelessly confusing. I have no idea why some people have an easier time with numbers than others, but I strongly suspect that it's something we are hard-wired for. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 8 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said: I am convinced that everybody has a personal limit beyond which math is uncomfortable. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something to recognize because it can make some parts of your life difficult. It's worth the effort to push against the limit, but at some point even pushing doesn't help. I once tutored the daughter of an MIT professor who could not grasp the idea that a fraction is a division problem. She had trouble even making change, and it frustrated her no end. (I imagine it also frustrated her father, but I never asked.) Basic arithmetic was simply her limit and it was painful to go farther. I reached my own limit well beyond that and learned that the best way for me to solve a nasty math problem is to ask a mathematician. Some math is "intuitive" for me; some is hopelessly confusing. I have no idea why some people have an easier time with numbers than others, but I strongly suspect that it's something we are hard-wired for. Peeve: Some people are "good at math", some people are "good at music", some people have talents yet to be discovered. If you ever meet someone who simply annoys you, then you can think to yourself, "I bet this person has some amazing hidden talents!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Krokus Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said: STOP IT! I feel very much like you Rowan. And yet, sometimes I get fascinated by little things about maths that seem... oddly beautiful to me! Patterns based on numbers, neatness around multiples of the number 9... did you know any number where the numbers adds up to 9, can be neatly divided by 9..., and my one perfect A exam score when I did binary in school - I'm ok as long as there's just 2 numbers. Edited October 12, 2023 by Emma Krokus 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Mistwalker Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Ayashe Ninetails said: Honestly, high school and college were a massive peeve for me. It always seemed that most people slept their way through and did the bare minimum and that annoyed the stuffins outta me. What's worse is when your one of the students who learned faster than most so were bored and averaged Cs because little to no effort then a "topic" of interest to me came up and I passed the test as the only student with a perfect score. That's when the accusations of cheating from other students started. Thankfully, the teacher was smart enough to know I hadn't cheated but the accusations never stopped. I lost all interest in school after that. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orwar Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Rowan Amore said: STOP IT! If Jim's bike has 21 gears and Mrs. Wottle's apple tree blooms in January, how many pigeons can you feed with a pineapple? 2 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Mistwalker Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Rolig Loon said: I think our high school generation was the last to actually still be taught how to use a slide rule. My Dad gave me his Log-Log-Decitrig model when I was in (I think) 10th grade and we had to bring one to math class. I got a big, heavy TI "pocket" calculator when I was in college. I graduated in 77 and we were taught how to use a slide rule. It was still being taught in local schools in the 80s. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid Nagy Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Orwar said: If Jim's bike has 21 gears and Mrs. Wottle's apple tree blooms in January, how many pigeons can you feed with a pineapple? Simple, the answer is: Friday. Peeve: It is that simple. everybody knows. Edited October 12, 2023 by Sid Nagy 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 Peeve: Kids these days won't lean the important "Schoolhouse Rock" lessons. Or "Electric Company". And "Sesame Street" is now an HBO Max property. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephone Emerald Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Silent Mistwalker said: What's worse is when your one of the students who learned faster than most so were bored and averaged Cs because little to no effort then a "topic" of interest to me came up and I passed the test as the only student with a perfect score. That's when the accusations of cheating from other students started. Thankfully, the teacher was smart enough to know I hadn't cheated but the accusations never stopped. I lost all interest in school after that. Pretty similar for me, except I didn't lose interest. My 6th grade teacher accused me of cheating because my Mom was a teacher and one of my answers was "too close" to one in her answer book. (My Mom taught 3rd grade and didn't have a 6th grade answer book.) I ended up having my IQ tested in 6th grade & it came out as 149. I had been bored with standard teaching and was drawing in the margins of my workbooks in lower grades, but I'd also gotten behind from not doing my math homework in 5th grade. My Dad helped me with my math homework, and I got caught up. My Mom, who almost never went to my parent-teacher conferences, had somehow suggested in 1st grade that I should be in the slower reader, early class, so I was tracked as a slower learner until I had that IQ test. By then it was too late for me to get into the gifted program, though I did benefit by being able to take advanced placement classes in junior high and high school. Edited October 12, 2023 by Persephone Emerald 149, not 139 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 18 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said: Pretty similar for me, except I didn't lose interest. My 6th grade teacher accused me of cheating because my Mom was a teacher and one of my answers was "too close" to one in her answer book. (My Mom taught 3rd grade and didn't have a 6th grade answer book.) I ended up having my IQ tested in 6th grade & it came out as 139. I had been bored with standard teaching and was drawing in the margins of my workbooks in lower grades, but I'd also gotten behind from not doing my math homework in 5th grade. My Dad helped me with my math homework, and I got caught up. My Mom, who almost never went to my parent-teacher conferences, had somehow suggested in 1st grade that I should be in the slower reader, early class, so I was tracked as a slower learner until I had that IQ test. By then it was too late for me to get into the gifted program, though I did benefit by being able to take advanced placement classes in junior high and high school. I was the "dumb one" in my family (dad, brother, cousins were valedictorians, dad was literally a rocket scientist, etc.) I remember getting evaluated for "gifted" and taking some advanced "reading", and some "premium" classes in school, but I never really tried too hard (and grades reflect that). Peeve: Kids, if you get bad grades you can STILL be a success! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) Peeves 1) We too often think of intelligence as though its possession were a personal virtue and accomplishment, rather than a really lucky gift of inheritance and chance. What you do with what you've got is a choice; what you're born with is not. 2) We have a tendency to think of intelligence in the singular rather than plural, as though it were only of one kind. It seems to me to be a really complex aggregate of a huge variety of different kinds of intellectual capacity. I know people waaaay "smarter" than me on some ways who are outright stoopid in others. 3) I wonder if we don't sometimes overvalue intelligence. I'm not suggesting it isn't important, of course, but I value someone who is kind and generous as a friend at least as much as I do intelligent. And I'm not sure I wouldn't say the same about leaders: there are some really clever a-holes out there. Edited October 12, 2023 by Scylla Rhiadra 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 16 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: Peeves 1) We too often think of intelligence as though its possession were a personal virtue and accomplishment, rather than a really lucky gift of inheritance and chance. What you do with what you've got is a choice; what you're born with is not. 2) We have a tendency to think of intelligence in the singular rather than plural, as though it were only of one kind. It seems to me to be a really complex aggregate of a huge variety of different kinds of intellectual capacity. I know people waaaay "smarter" than me on some ways who are outright stoopid in others. 3) I wonder if we don't sometimes overvalue intelligence. I'm not suggesting it isn't important, of course, but I value someone who is kind and generous as a friend at least as much as I do intelligent. And I'm not sure I wouldn't say the same about leaders: there are some really clever a-holes out there. I'm on the Intelligence Spectrum! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) On 10/11/2023 at 2:59 PM, Zalificent Corvinus said: Anti-Peeve: None of our avatars are getting any older So true... while I have controlled the keyboard for over 16 yrs, Lil is still the young 30-yr old that she was when we started. Edited October 12, 2023 by LittleMe Jewell 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 6 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said: I assume they'd have a tablet. You know, for reading and stuff. Can use a simple Kindle for that -- and lock out the Amazon shopping and internet. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: Can use a simple Kindle for that -- and lock out the Amazon shopping and internet. Oooh! Use an old Kindle Paperwhite!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Sid Nagy said: Simple, the answer is: Friday. Peeve: It is that simple. everybody knows. Everyone know that the answer is ................. 42 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said: Oooh! Use an old Kindle Paperwhite!! Old? They are still putting out new ones. I've been thinking of upgrading to the newer one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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