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Back in Algebra 1 my teacher had a policy that you were allowed to use any program that you wrote yourself. More teachers should do that, though it'd get challe

Back in Algebra 1 my teacher had a policy that you were allowed to use any program that you wrote yourself. More teachers should do that, though it'd get challenging to enforce if it weren't just the one or two nerdy kids taking you up on it.

gnicholas 7y ago
I remember writing programs for my TI-85, and I learned those formulas better than if I'd just memorized them for the test. I don't think our teachers had any rules about this stuff, and they probably didn't even know it was possible. I think the bigger "loophole" is the ability to quickly solve simultaneous and and quadratic equations very easily using built-in functions on the calculators. This saves real time on tests like the SAT, because all you have to do is reorganize the equation to be in the right order, then tap in the coefficients to get the answer.
- wlesieutre 7y ago
  The TI-89 is definitely not fair in a calculus class because it can solve most of the problems for you
  - madengr 7y ago
    Back when I was in calc, you actually had to show your work, so a calculator was pointless.
    - wlesieutre 7y ago
      Still helpful to have a calculator verify your answers even if you have to solve the problems yourself
    - analognoise 7y ago
      You check your work with the calculator in the extra time after you're done with the test.
    - hombre_fatal 7y ago
      I was in HS in the early 2000s and graphing calculator programs were advanced enough to show you the work on the way to the answer. You'd just copy the steps onto paper. Especially useful for blitzing homework.
      - donatj 7y ago
        I found a program like this about 6 months into my 8 month B.C. Calc class. I blame the discovery on my mediocre B.C. exam score, as while I knew how to do everything I was pretty slow at remembering how with my assigned calculator.
      - mrguyorama 7y ago
        Those calculators were much more expensive than the already crazy expensive TI-84 that I had. When I got to college/calculus and actually started struggling with math a bit, I learned how to use the ability of calculators to check work or solve the end product to re-derive a method or otherwise help guide me. It didn't always work, but once or twice it was the key to helping me get an answer and process
    - dagw 7y ago
      It's much easier to reverse engineer the right steps once you know the correct answer.
billforsternz 7y ago
As a competitive chess player I have sometimes fantasised that there should be a rule allowing computer assistance providing you wrote the chess engine yourself. I've written a simple engine to complement my chess GUI but such a rule would definitely push me to massively improve it.
- thanatropism 7y ago
  It should be fairly easy to setup a parallel Lichess (or whatever it is you use) account and compare Elo ratings?
  - billforsternz 7y ago
    Sorry I don't understand this comment. In case it's not clear I was talking about classical, over the board chess.
    - croon 7y ago
      There would be no difference other than acting it out on a physical board (as well).
      - billforsternz 7y ago
        True, but I still don't get what grandparent was talking about. Comparing Elo ratings of what why?
        thanatropism 7y ago
        Of your account that plays with the aid of a chess engine and the one where you play unaided.
        billforsternz 7y ago
        Oh okay, right. Well yes hypothetically if there was such a rule, yes you could do that. But there never will be such a rule so I have never and will never play with computer assistance. On Lichess or over the board or anywhere else. And even hypothetically I am not sure what the point would be of proceeding as you suggest. Obviously I would be better with the computer assistance and have a higher Elo. But only once I got my engine up to be much stronger than me (otherwise there'd be no point in bothering).
tasogare 7y ago
I get away using a smartphone (without internet access) during a translation test because dictionary was allowed and I’d wrote the dictionary software myself.
sdenton4 7y ago
One of my grad school math classes in differential geometry had a week-long take-home test. I requested to turn in a set of python scripts (i think this was juuuust before notebooks became A Thing), which the prof was happy to accept. The test problems effectively became test cases. I learned a ton.

gnicholas 7y ago

I remember writing programs for my TI-85, and I learned those formulas better than if I'd just memorized them for the test. I don't think our teachers had any rules about this stuff, and they probably didn't even know it was possible. I think the bigger "loophole" is the ability to quickly solve simultaneous and and quadratic equations very easily using built-in functions on the calculators. This saves real time on tests like the SAT, because all you have to do is reorganize the equation to be in the right order, then tap in the coefficients to get the answer.

wlesieutre 7y ago
The TI-89 is definitely not fair in a calculus class because it can solve most of the problems for you
- madengr 7y ago
  Back when I was in calc, you actually had to show your work, so a calculator was pointless.
  - wlesieutre 7y ago
    Still helpful to have a calculator verify your answers even if you have to solve the problems yourself
  - analognoise 7y ago
    You check your work with the calculator in the extra time after you're done with the test.
  - hombre_fatal 7y ago
    I was in HS in the early 2000s and graphing calculator programs were advanced enough to show you the work on the way to the answer. You'd just copy the steps onto paper. Especially useful for blitzing homework.
    - donatj 7y ago
      I found a program like this about 6 months into my 8 month B.C. Calc class. I blame the discovery on my mediocre B.C. exam score, as while I knew how to do everything I was pretty slow at remembering how with my assigned calculator.
    - mrguyorama 7y ago
      Those calculators were much more expensive than the already crazy expensive TI-84 that I had. When I got to college/calculus and actually started struggling with math a bit, I learned how to use the ability of calculators to check work or solve the end product to re-derive a method or otherwise help guide me. It didn't always work, but once or twice it was the key to helping me get an answer and process
  - dagw 7y ago
    It's much easier to reverse engineer the right steps once you know the correct answer.

billforsternz 7y ago

As a competitive chess player I have sometimes fantasised that there should be a rule allowing computer assistance providing you wrote the chess engine yourself. I've written a simple engine to complement my chess GUI but such a rule would definitely push me to massively improve it.

thanatropism 7y ago
It should be fairly easy to setup a parallel Lichess (or whatever it is you use) account and compare Elo ratings?
- billforsternz 7y ago
  Sorry I don't understand this comment. In case it's not clear I was talking about classical, over the board chess.
  - croon 7y ago
    There would be no difference other than acting it out on a physical board (as well).
    - billforsternz 7y ago
      True, but I still don't get what grandparent was talking about. Comparing Elo ratings of what why?
      - thanatropism 7y ago
        Of your account that plays with the aid of a chess engine and the one where you play unaided.
        billforsternz 7y ago
        Oh okay, right. Well yes hypothetically if there was such a rule, yes you could do that. But there never will be such a rule so I have never and will never play with computer assistance. On Lichess or over the board or anywhere else. And even hypothetically I am not sure what the point would be of proceeding as you suggest. Obviously I would be better with the computer assistance and have a higher Elo. But only once I got my engine up to be much stronger than me (otherwise there'd be no point in bothering).

tasogare 7y ago

I get away using a smartphone (without internet access) during a translation test because dictionary was allowed and I’d wrote the dictionary software myself.

sdenton4 7y ago

One of my grad school math classes in differential geometry had a week-long take-home test. I requested to turn in a set of python scripts (i think this was juuuust before notebooks became A Thing), which the prof was happy to accept. The test problems effectively became test cases. I learned a ton.