Related (60 comments, How slide rules work)
Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
31–40 of 131 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#32I bought a vintage (pre-WW1) circular slide rule. But it's too much of an "artifact" to use - I'm afraid I'd damage it.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#33I 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…
Spock still uses one in the 23rd century.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#34We learned to use them in high school (in Canada) in the mid-late '70s. Electronic calculators were just becoming widespread, and not everyone had them.
I think I can do basic calculations with them, although I really haven't touched one in many years.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#35Yeah. Pickett N600-ES. Sometimes I will solve a problem with it just because I can. Keeps the mental model fresh. Mostly just use an HP 42s though.
I will note I didn't get it or use it until about 1998.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#36I 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…
Spock still uses one in the 23rd century. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1nKBrkPUeA&t=90s
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#37I have a little collection of slide rules. I love those things.
I'm not old enough to have used them to do calculations, but I find them extremely useful to explain logarithms and how multiplication can be represented by the sum of logarithms. I actually work with grad students who should know these things, but watching it in a slide rule on their hands really helps to build intuition.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#38I own my grandfather's slide rule, he was a master toolmaker for Rolls Royce (aerospace engines) in North London during WW2.
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#39I bought one a few months ago off of ebay after I realized how important logarithms are in many different domains (including machine learning & information theory)
Re: Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?
#40I 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…
Somewhere around here, I have a Proportion Calculator wheel which I used for determining the size/scaling of graphics --- I was the only person in the shop who could use it though, everyone else used calculators or once I showed them how, did math in the size field of the applications such as Freehand/MX which allowed math.