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> Slide rule are good for only a couple of digits of precision. That's why shopkeepers used abacuses not slide rules. Shopkeepers did integer math, not decimal
by SAI_Peregrinus 1y ago
> Slide rule are good for only a couple of digits of precision. That's why shopkeepers used abacuses not slide rules.
Shopkeepers did integer math, not decimal. They had no need for a slide rule, an abacus is faster at integer math, a slide rule is used for dealing with real numbers.
- eesmith 1y agoYes ... Isn't that my point? I meant it as an example of how neither "basic mental maths and ... sanity checks" nor is a calculator with a 0.5% error rate are appropriate.
- SAI_Peregrinus 1y agoI mean that it's not a difference of accuracy, it's a difference of domain. A calculator & a slide rule have the same domain, an abacus and Mayan Quipu have the same domain. The calculator & abacus are faster than the slide rule & Quipu. Similarly a typewriter has the same accuracy as handwriting a document (worse if a pencil is used since typewriter's can't easily correct mistakes), but typing took over book writing because it was faster, not because it was more accurate.
- eesmith 1y agoI lead with the example of my accountant using a calculator to show it has a different domain than a slide rule, or simple mental techniques.