Should we teach young adults about the Slide Rule and the Planimeter?

[The2ndAmendment]

I often see many people who get A+ in their calculus courses completely devoid of any true insight of what calculus actually is. They simply "learn the motions" in laymen terms, and that's it.

I believe incorporating the Slide Rule and the Planimeter (especially the Planimeter when Riemann Sums are being covered before integration) into the curriculum in 11th/12grade and entry level college courses should be mandated by Government (what an authoritarian I am!)

There's no reason anyone should get anything higher than a C+ in calculus if they don't internally understand the beauty, nature and glory of the operations they are performing. The Planimeter would truly help "hands on" people understand how an integral actually works in reality.

The Slide rule should be taught in High School, and all electronic/digital calculators foribidden.

It would also be a LOT cheaper to buy a slide rule instead of a graphic calculator which inhibits conceptual learning and internalization.

 

[Moonglow]

maybe you would also like to go back to geometric shapes for computer programming??

 

[Moonglow]

I still use my cheat sheets from UGLY's...

 

[TEA Party Patriot]

Sure, why not. Children these days are stupid and lazy, they're too dependent on technology. What happens when technology fails? They should know how to do math on their own, without the aid of a calculator.

As long as it's not Common Core, I'm for it.

 

[Moonglow]

When I was in electronic basics in the Army(1982) they forced me to buy a calculator just to do square roots...

 

[Moonglow]

All I wanted to do with it was spell BOOBs and hell...with numbers

 

[hjmick]

Shit, I'd be elated if they could just read, write legibly, spell correctly, and use proper grammar...

 

[Moonglow]

Yeah, they are dropping longhand in some schools..Hell when I was in college they wanted everything typed, double spaced...

 

[Luddly Neddite]

OTOH, my son is a virus researcher and deals in enormous equations that I don't understand. It would be pretty silly for him to not use the tools he has at his disposal. None of those tools include a slide rule, an abacus or a yellow pad and #2 pencil because they're outdated and is not capable of doing the work he needs done.

Heck, these days, just understanding the tools he uses is beyond most of us.

That doesn't mean we are stupid or uneducated. It means we have other priorities. We also have other tools, better suited to the work we do.

I use this computer every day but I don't know the first thing about programming it. I couldn't take it apart and put it back together. Its a tool.

I use Photoshop a lot but I don't consider myself to be all that well versed in it. Its a tool that serves my needs. Nothing more. But, it may as well be Mandarin Chinese and, I have no clue how its programmed or why it does what it does.

I would agree with teaching theory of outdated tools as a way of teaching kids how to think (remember, it was Repubs who said that's not necessary!). I also believe kids should be taught how to do basic math with that #2 pencil and paper, and for the same reason.

But, bottom line is, we need to teach students real skills they can use in their lives and their jobs.

 

[initforme]

Yes but if you ask all the moronic business owners they want technological saavy workers so I blame them for part of what has happened

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Shit, I'd be elated if they could just read, write legibly, spell correctly, and use proper grammar...

And vocabulary. I'm very aware that I'm losing my vocabulary.

Yeah, they are dropping longhand in some schools..Hell when I was in college they wanted everything typed, double spaced...

Interesting isn't it. When my g-kids were in grade school, they learned "keyboarding" in the 3rd grade. We called it "touch typing" and learned it in high school.

 

[Moonglow]

Yes but if you ask all the moronic business owners they want technological saavy workers so I blame them for part of what has happened

It's not just that you know the basics, it is necessary to function with devices and an operation that they want....not what you want as an individual...

 

[Moonglow]

Shit, I'd be elated if they could just read, write legibly, spell correctly, and use proper grammar...

And vocabulary. I'm very aware that I'm losing my vocabulary.

Yeah, they are dropping longhand in some schools..Hell when I was in college they wanted everything typed, double spaced...

Interesting isn't it. When my g-kids were in grade school, they learned "keyboarding" in the 3rd grade. We called it "touch typing" and learned it in high school.

I didn't take typing class till high school but learned before the class with my Moms old beater(manual) typewriter, the i gotz and electric one with auto correct, man I was smooth.......

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Shit, I'd be elated if they could just read, write legibly, spell correctly, and use proper grammar...

And vocabulary. I'm very aware that I'm losing my vocabulary.

Yeah, they are dropping longhand in some schools..Hell when I was in college they wanted everything typed, double spaced...

Interesting isn't it. When my g-kids were in grade school, they learned "keyboarding" in the 3rd grade. We called it "touch typing" and learned it in high school.

I didn't take typing class till high school but learned before the class with my Moms old beater(manual) typewriter, the i gotz and electric one with auto correct, man I was smooth.......

Are we losing our language and our ability to spell because of auto-correct and spell check?

And are we raising a generation who can play computer games but can't function in the real world?

 

[Moonglow]

My youngest is 12 and in the 6th grade, they are still making them learn to spell and writing is not as important it seems. Reading is an important issue they reinforce with much post haste...My son's last book he read was To Kill A Mockingbird...

 

[The2ndAmendment]

When I was in electronic basics in the Army(1982) they forced me to buy a calculator just to do square roots...

Speaking of the military, they are the ones looking to resurrection analog computers to create super-hybrid analog/boolean computers.

Darpa Has Seen the Future of Computing ... And It s Analog WIRED
Analog Computing Time for a Comeback blog CACM Communications of the ACM

In fact, using each type of computer for its strengths, and using other types of computers to augment their weaknesses may be the next big thing.

I believe I even saw an article suggesting probability (not quantum btw) analog video cards, which would render a 99% perfect image for about 1/10000th the energy cost.

 

[The2ndAmendment]

Yes but if you ask all the moronic business owners they want technological saavy workers so I blame them for part of what has happened

If you read my above post, you'll see that the hybridization of mechanical/analog computers for seed values IS the future. Click the links.

 

[The2ndAmendment]

OTOH, my son is a virus researcher and deals in enormous equations that I don't understand. It would be pretty silly for him to not use the tools he has at his disposal. None of those tools include a slide rule, an abacus or a yellow pad and #2 pencil because they're outdated and is not capable of doing the work he needs done.

Heck, these days, just understanding the tools he uses is beyond most of us.

I can guarantee that if your son works in any DNA-related field, that he is currently using the most advanced hybrid analog/digital computers available, this is the particular field where they are being promoted and advanced. Without a doubt, some sort of slide rule mechanism exists within it in order to skip the first 10,000 years of digital iterations (provide a seed value), even if he's not manually using it/aware that it exists.

However, my thread is directed primarily at students getting a degree in mathematics itself. There's a video where a professor had he students rebuild a 1930's differential calculator. They all talked in depth excitedly about it. " it's let's you see math."

 

[Old Rocks]

Just finished my last course in calculus last spring. Now I took the 2nd year calculus over 40 some years ago, and, indeed, did use a slide rule. But we covered far more territory and the graphing ability of the calculator made the math far clearer. Then again, I am not a math student, and I don't need to understand all the theory to use calculus in geology.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Maybe not the slide rules, but the abbacus remains very popular. And before you laugh, you have got to see expert-use of them. It'll blow your mind, in particular when kids get so good with it they don't need a physical one anymore and can use air-abbacus.