5 ms·

Why would they care about a calculator?

Jtsummers 7y ago
Rules in prisons and other high-security places are often extreme. They start with a simple kernel, which may or may not make sense: No personal computing devices (under the assumption that computing devices can be used for un-controlled communication, this may not have been articulated). Someone asks about people using calculators for their GED or whatever, so they permit them. Someone else realizes calculators can be computers (not in just the basic sense of performing computation, but general computers). They extend the rules but keep the carved out exception for non-programmable calculators.
esrauch 7y ago
They presumably didn't want people using a TI-83/85 effectively as a gameboy.
- onemoresoop 7y ago
  http://tiwizard.com/downloads/ http://tiwizard.com/downloads/
  - esrauch 7y ago
    Right: I meant the prison presumably doesn't want prisoners playing games (as is easy to do on these calculators). I'm actually a little confused that was a controversial thought.
clamprecht 7y ago
Non-programmable calculators were fine - computers were not. A programmable calculator is basically a computer. In a computer you could store data that they couldn't access (encryption, even if it's very basic). Could be a list of gambling debts, escape plans, or other horrors. Most prison rules are "written in blood", so to speak.
- make3 7y ago
  I mean you could store some dumbly ciphered information on a sheet too, but I guess it's not as convenient
  - morpheuskafka 7y ago
    A microcontroller with a decent CPU (a Zilog Z80 in this case) could, given enough time, run some serious AES-256 encryption. The storage is minimal but it could be good enough. Of course, you could always use a paper one-time pad, and if you can get the pad distributed without interception, there's no way they can ever break that.
    - rajibsingh 7y ago
      once you've gotten to this level, you're pretty much guaranteed an A regardless
      - travisjungroth 7y ago
        Not sure if you caught the convo swapped to prison lol
- CobrastanJorji 7y ago
  Some prison rules are written in blood. Most prison rules are written in bureaucracy and profit motive. No prison escape movie ever ended with the guard preventing future escapes by instituting a new "no sleeveless shirts when visiting an inmate" rule.
  - brokenmachine 7y ago
    Forgive my ignorance, but how do sleeveless shirts help facilitate an escape?
    - pg_is_a_butt 7y ago
justinator 7y ago
Found the guy who doesn't keep good accounting of his drug dealings while in prison.
- wallace_f 7y ago
  I remember watching the Troy Kell documentary and how they mentioned him OD'ing while in solitary. His only contact was with the guards. That must be the problem with how he got the drugs while in solitary -- the guards are allowed to have graphing calculators.

Rules in prisons and other high-security places are often extreme. They start with a simple kernel, which may or may not make sense: No personal computing devices (under the assumption that computing devices can be used for un-controlled communication, this may not have been articulated). Someone asks about people using calculators for their GED or whatever, so they permit them. Someone else realizes calculators can be computers (not in just the basic sense of performing computation, but general computers). They extend the rules but keep the carved out exception for non-programmable calculators.

esrauch 7y ago

They presumably didn't want people using a TI-83/85 effectively as a gameboy.

onemoresoop 7y ago
http://tiwizard.com/downloads/ http://tiwizard.com/downloads/
- esrauch 7y ago
  Right: I meant the prison presumably doesn't want prisoners playing games (as is easy to do on these calculators). I'm actually a little confused that was a controversial thought.

clamprecht 7y ago

Non-programmable calculators were fine - computers were not. A programmable calculator is basically a computer. In a computer you could store data that they couldn't access (encryption, even if it's very basic). Could be a list of gambling debts, escape plans, or other horrors. Most prison rules are "written in blood", so to speak.

make3 7y ago
I mean you could store some dumbly ciphered information on a sheet too, but I guess it's not as convenient
- morpheuskafka 7y ago
  A microcontroller with a decent CPU (a Zilog Z80 in this case) could, given enough time, run some serious AES-256 encryption. The storage is minimal but it could be good enough. Of course, you could always use a paper one-time pad, and if you can get the pad distributed without interception, there's no way they can ever break that.
  - rajibsingh 7y ago
    once you've gotten to this level, you're pretty much guaranteed an A regardless
    - travisjungroth 7y ago
      Not sure if you caught the convo swapped to prison lol
CobrastanJorji 7y ago
Some prison rules are written in blood. Most prison rules are written in bureaucracy and profit motive. No prison escape movie ever ended with the guard preventing future escapes by instituting a new "no sleeveless shirts when visiting an inmate" rule.
- brokenmachine 7y ago
  Forgive my ignorance, but how do sleeveless shirts help facilitate an escape?
  - pg_is_a_butt 7y ago

justinator 7y ago

Found the guy who doesn't keep good accounting of his drug dealings while in prison.

wallace_f 7y ago
I remember watching the Troy Kell documentary and how they mentioned him OD'ing while in solitary. His only contact was with the guards. That must be the problem with how he got the drugs while in solitary -- the guards are allowed to have graphing calculators.