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I usually just use a calculator. Sorry, that's gonna sound rude, but the comments got me thinking. In all seriousness, are we ever that far from a calculator?
by 8ig8 16y ago
I usually just use a calculator.
Sorry, that's gonna sound rude, but the comments got me thinking.
In all seriousness, are we ever that far from a calculator? I'm sure just about every cell phone has one built in. I understand the importance of a fundamental understanding of mathematics, but at some point do we shift the approach?
Novelty vs. practicality.
- astine 16y agoEven sitting at a computer, if I can do a calculation in my head, it's usually faster than attempting to do it with a calculator and it usually allows me to keep the mental flow of whatever it is that I'm doing at the moment.
- 8ig8 16y agoAgreed. I placed my comment after reading waterhouse's comment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1852464 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1852464) which on first read seemed like a lot of effort.
- xyzzyz 16y agoThis method is useful and calculator is completely useless when you solve a problem in number theory -- for instance, you may want to prove that for every natural number, some P(n) implies some Q(n), and it may be easier to prove that P(n) implies divisibility by 7, which in turns implies Q(n). You cannot enter n into a calculator, you know.
- 8ig8 16y agoGood point. I keyed into the method ("For example, start with 432. Split into 43 and 2. Subtract 4 from...") more so than the theory of the original article. It reminded me of these wacky (ingenious?) shortcuts for doing basic math that I recall reading about. Sorry no reference on those. As far as I remember, they involved some form of shifting numbers around, transposing digits, drawing grids, etc. These were before calculators (er, phones) were in every pocket. I think calculators were just starting to show up on snazzy watches at the time I was learning these math shortcuts.
- 8ig8 16y agoThe counter argument (to my snide calculator comment) is that we become overly dependent on helpers. There's a story about a young person standing next to their locked car in a shopping center parking lot. The battery in their key fob had gone dead. Seemingly locked out, the young car owner called dad for help. Dad sighed and said to use the damn key.
- phpnode 16y agoThis wouldn't work with a lot of cars. It's often the case that if you lock with a fob, you must open with a fob, but if you lock with your key you can open with either the fob or the key.