Betty by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen for November 10, 2022

As with most things, you just need to know what you are doing.

About a year after I learned to use a slide ruler, I got a Texas Instrument calculator.

One slide to rule them all.

My older brother used a slide rule in college. Years later I used the same slide rule when I went to college. I returned it to him some years ago.

I sTill have mine from physics in college 50+ years ago. A Post “Versalog.” never used it after college though.

Never ever figured out how to use one. Fortunately calculators were invented about the same time I was struggling with a slide rule..

My younger brother was a wiz with a slide rule. I used it as a fly swatter

My first job out of college, I was given by the company a mechanical calculator. It could multiply and divide two numbers. It worked by repeated addition or subtraction. I used it to check the results of our IBM 360/65…

The instrument which helped build the U.S. Bridges and skyscrapers. People into space. You name it. If it was done before the advent of computers, the calculations were done using a slide rule. My father used his for very complex calculations until he retired in 1987.

My, isn’t this a stroll down memory lane. I’m just going to say that the kid now has a chance to explore the world of logarithms. Fascinating stuff.

And Junior, the really cool part is you can hang it from your belt and impress your schoolmates!

I began pursuing my BS in electrical engineering in 1971 – mine was the last freshman class to be taught how to use slide rules. The HP35 happened and that was that.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”…..Clarke’s third law