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Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

#23

Post by ericpauley »

a4isms wrote: post #9

I did a little nostalgia threat on Mastodon recently. The sixth picture is of the slide rule I took to High School in 1973. https://social.bau-ha.us/@raganwald/115979168665997624 Although slide rules are a "dead skill," Aviators typically learn to use something called an E6B Flight Computer, which works on the same principle as a round slide rule. https://pilotinstitute.com/e6b-made-easy/ I have one in my flight bag…

I splurged on the metal E6B for my private training: https://asa2fly.com/metal-e6b-flight-computer/

A beautiful device... though I have to admit after getting the certificate I exclusively use Foreflight.

Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

#25

Post by dcminter »

jihadjihad wrote: post #20
gwbas1c wrote: post #17

When I was in high school, (early 1990s,) there was a giant one mounted above the blackboard. It was clearly used for instruction in the past, but it looked so cool that no one wanted to remove it. Every once in awhile a teacher would spend about 10-15 minutes showing how to use it. Everyone would "oooh" and "awww" and then we would all laugh about how we didn't need to use them now that we all had calculators in our…

> we all had calculators in our pocket that were more powerful than the computers that put people on the moon. Pencils and slide rules are what got us to the moon, and back to Earth. Pencils and slide rules.

Yes, but also very early microchips!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer

Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

#27

Post by Sheeple1 »

betaporter wrote: post #8

I do not use, and have never used, a slide rule. My grandfather was an aeronautical engineering / materials scientist for McDonnell Aircraft, and did a lot of foundational work on heat shields for early space flight (or so I am told). He was eventually named a McDonnell Douglas Fellow, back when there were fewer than 15 Fellows - the company, at the time, took out a full-page ad in Aerospace Magazine announcing it. I…

I had a similar experience! My grandfather worked at a paper company for years and years as a chemical engineer. He was a hot head, but lightened up as I got older. We started to connect well later in life because I was the only other "engineering type" in my family.

He gave me his slide rule probably a year or so before he passed away. I've got it sitting on my desk and always makes me think of him. Like you, I've got no idea how to use it (even though he tried to explain it to me), so maybe the other comments here can fill in the gaps for me :)

Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

#28

Post by zeitgeistcowboy »

I used them in high school in the late 1990s... just to get an extra challenge. I had my dad's and grandfather's and I picked up a couple at garage sales. I still have a collection, but haven't really used them in years. I'll probably break them out again when my kids get in middle school / high school math for fun. They are great for learning the rules of logs.

Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

#29

Post by glkindlmann »

A big 6-foot K&E sliderule hung at the front of my high-school chemistry classroom, but was never used. At graduation ('91) I asked the teacher if I could have the slide rule and she said "sure".

I keep it now in my office, and once a year I bring to the data visualization class I teach at UChicago, to show how it works, and to show it as an example of a visual device in aid of computational thinking (nomographs being another great example).

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