Re: OT retro-styled HP calculator

"glen herrmannsfeldt" <gah@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:oKudnZYcsua1QpbVnZ2dnUVZ_gSdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Walter Spector wrote:
> (snip)
>
>>> Kids of today don't even know what RPN is, what more appreciated it.
>
> Complaints every time I offer my calculator for use.
>
>> Every student in the (middle/high) school system here is essentially
>> required to own TI 30XIIS - which, of course, has no RPN.  The local
>> office supply stores sell 'em by the thousands.  I had to hold my nose
>> when buying them for my kids.  But at least they were cheap.  And RPN
>> aside, they are a pretty decent choice.
>
> Schools I know now require the TI-83 series by the time they
> start algebra.  The ability to graph a function is part of the
> current teaching system.  They are completely programmable such
> that one could write an RPN calculator for them, though I don't
> know that anyone has done that.
>
> -- glen
>

I still have my Thornton slide rule c1967 with manual.
No buttons. No Enter key. no RPN. Real easy to use. :-)
Almost unreadable now even with my gl***** :-(

Alas I don't have my book of log and other tables.

I must say I was slightly miffed when my nephew was allowed to use his 
scientific graphical calculator in his school exams, while we had to make
do 
with school-provided log tables (to prevent cheating, in case we had
written 
formulae etc. in *our* own books) In those days we had to be able to "show

from first principles". In the intervening 40 years I can't remember any 
occasion I've ever needed to "show from first principles" again!

Les