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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?

#91

Post by f_allwein »

rdiddly wrote: post #84
gcr wrote: post #51

I designed and 3D-printed my own slide rule to help me play Balatro! Balatro is a roguelike survival game where you need to multiply "chips" and "mult" together to meet a requirement each round. You get three chances to draft enough resources to survive. I designed my own slide rule to help with the mental multiplication - most of the fun of the game comes from the mechanics being slightly obscured from the player. S…

You almost have to do this, or buy a used one at a markup, as nobody seems to make them anymore (except circular ones).

Still available in Germany („Rechenschieber“), eg https://www.wissenladen.de/products/der-rechenschieber

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

#92

Post by gcr »

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…

echoing others' suggestions to take it out and play with it a little !!

slide rules are happiest when they're used and worn out. they need exercise and sunlight

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

#93

Post by philipwhiuk »

ColinWright wrote: post #78

Funny you ask ... I lieterally just now pulled out one of my slide rules to keep track of the required run rate for a cricket T20 game. Fastest and best feedback for whether the batting team is ahead of the rate.

Does it implement Duckworth-Lewis-Stern ;)

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

#96

Post by marai2 »

JohnFen wrote: post #15
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 have not the foggiest clue how it is used - but I cherish it. It's easier and more straightforward than you might expect. I encourage you to learn to use his slide rule, in large part because you might find it fun, but also to honor your grandfather's legacy.

I agree. In fact you should make a (YouTube?) video showing the slide rule and how to use it and your grandfather’s history to preserve this bit of history for your family and family’s future descendants.

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

#97

Post by realo »

etrautmann wrote: post #19
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…

A key idea is that addition for logs is equivalent to multiplication. To multiply two numbers you line them up on a log scale and then read out the sum, which is equivalent to the product. There is much more they can do but that was one aha moment when my dad showed me his.

Exactly. Using a slide rule shows how some complex operations in one domain can be made much easier in another.

One you understand slide rules and logarithms, it is easier to understand convolutions in the FFT (frequency) domain...

Almost like programming in APL, where you can solve a problem by expanding it in extra dimensions and getting the answer by re-compacting the complex object using a different view.

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

#99

Post by [deleted] »

gcr wrote: post #51

I designed and 3D-printed my own slide rule to help me play Balatro! Balatro is a roguelike survival game where you need to multiply "chips" and "mult" together to meet a requirement each round. You get three chances to draft enough resources to survive. I designed my own slide rule to help with the mental multiplication - most of the fun of the game comes from the mechanics being slightly obscured from the player. S…

[deleted]

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

#100

Post by shellback3 »

I was issued one at King's Point Merchant Marine Academy in 1957 and used it constantly. A side benefit was the learned ability to estimate an answer and decimal point a skill which I still use. As I recall I mostly used multiplication, division, logs, and trig. I think I quit using it when I purchased a HP scientific calculator years later.
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