Monday, October 01, 2007
Lordy, Lordy Look Who is Forty
Texas Instruments developed the hand held calculator forty years ago. TI donated some of the early models to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Early calculators were portable, but were 55 pound behemoths that plugged into the wall. These donated models will be displayed by the table Thomas Jefferson used when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and the stove top hat Abraham Lincoln wore when he was assassinated.
While some complain that the youth of America have become lazy at math because of this type of technology and can not work out problems long-hand, others believe they have simply avoided repetitive drill-based learning and can instead focus on creativity and satisfying curiosities.
You'll have to decide which is more important, getting the answer, or getting the answer in a more time-consuming manner, using one's brain for more of the work. In either case, I remember the large black leather like calculators on belts replacing slide rules. Yes, those were the days.
Texas Instruments developed the hand held calculator forty years ago. TI donated some of the early models to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Early calculators were portable, but were 55 pound behemoths that plugged into the wall. These donated models will be displayed by the table Thomas Jefferson used when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and the stove top hat Abraham Lincoln wore when he was assassinated.
While some complain that the youth of America have become lazy at math because of this type of technology and can not work out problems long-hand, others believe they have simply avoided repetitive drill-based learning and can instead focus on creativity and satisfying curiosities.
You'll have to decide which is more important, getting the answer, or getting the answer in a more time-consuming manner, using one's brain for more of the work. In either case, I remember the large black leather like calculators on belts replacing slide rules. Yes, those were the days.
