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Yes. It was a big deal, at least to me, to learn how to use a slide rule in high school science class. The first kid in high school to buy a calculator was in 1974. It cost him $100, and could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I bought my first calculator in the fall of 1975. It cost $100, but could also do trig, etc. You had to keep a close eye on your calculator, even in the religious college I attended. I doubt that many calculators are stolen anymore.
Along with my slide rule, which is packed away in a box, I still have my 52nd edition CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, which I purchased for high school chemistry class. It even came with a piece of gold leaf, used to write your name on the cover. Not sure why I have it on a bookshelf, instead of packed away in a box. There is very little information of interest to me in it, and all the trig functions can be done on a calculator now. It's not nearly as interesting as the 7th edition American Machinists' Handbook (1940) that my grandfather gave me. He also gave me a Scientific American Handy Book of Facts and Formulae (1918).
My dad was a machinist and he had one at home when I was growing up. He was also an operating engineer, but I never asked him which job he needed the slide rule for, or if he just had it "because".
I don't remember when I got my first slide rule, but I used it for many years. On campus, it identified the science people, sort of like a secret handshake.
Now, I love love love my HP-12C.
Still the best calculator around. Been using it since it came out in the early 1980's.
Yes. It was a big deal, at least to me, to learn how to use a slide rule in high school science class. The first kid in high school to buy a calculator was in 1974. It cost him $100, and could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I bought my first calculator in the fall of 1975. It cost $100, but could also do trig, etc. You had to keep a close eye on your calculator, even in the religious college I attended. I doubt that many calculators are stolen anymore.
Along with my slide rule, which is packed away in a box, I still have my 52nd edition CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, which I purchased for high school chemistry class. It even came with a piece of gold leaf, used to write your name on the cover. Not sure why I have it on a bookshelf, instead of packed away in a box. There is very little information of interest to me in it, and all the trig functions can be done on a calculator now. It's not nearly as interesting as the 7th edition American Machinists' Handbook (1940) that my grandfather gave me. He also gave me a Scientific American Handy Book of Facts and Formulae (1918).
I have the 60th CRC Handbook and 25th CRC Math Tables still in a place of honor on my bookshelf. So many students' grades lived and died by the CRC when I was in college. It was the one reference we were allowed on many tests.
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