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How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

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Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#61

Post by Sharlin »

wyclif wrote: post #4

He links to the whiteboard post, which is interesting because it shows the toothpaste technique for cleaning them. The best buy ever for me was this large, glass whiteboard which is so much easier to erase and clean than a normal whiteboard: https://www.glasswhiteboard.com/

It's always somehow funny to think about toothpaste and how it is actually an abrasive, a colloid of tiny solid particles, rather than a surfactant like most other everyday cleaning agents. Which is why it can be used to polish headlights, clean whiteboards, etc.

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#62

Post by [deleted] »

snowe2010 wrote: post #24
l33t233372 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hagoromo does feel pretty nice to write with. It’s thicker and it writes smoother than standard chalk. It also has some sort of coating on the sides so it doesn’t get everywhere. It doesn’t break easily when dropped. It’s good but not hilariously better than decent chalk. I find that because of the coating you have to pick a side that you’re going to write with, and this small amount of mental energy is a small roadb…

I think I watched a video on it a long time ago and seem to recall that professors immediately break the chalk in half before using it. I don’t remember why.

[deleted]

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#63

Post by mik1998 »

snowe2010 wrote: post #24
l33t233372 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hagoromo does feel pretty nice to write with. It’s thicker and it writes smoother than standard chalk. It also has some sort of coating on the sides so it doesn’t get everywhere. It doesn’t break easily when dropped. It’s good but not hilariously better than decent chalk. I find that because of the coating you have to pick a side that you’re going to write with, and this small amount of mental energy is a small roadb…

I think I watched a video on it a long time ago and seem to recall that professors immediately break the chalk in half before using it. I don’t remember why.

I don't know anything about japanese chalk but in general you should break chalk in half because that makes the chalk not scratch with a high pitched sound when used.

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#64

Post by nickdothutton »

VSpike wrote: post #55

I was at school in the 80s and 90s in the UK and this brings back very fond memories of a highly eccentric Latin teacher I had, who mastered this technique and used it frequently. The other memorable thing about him was how he'd tell us he was going to do some photocopying and head off with no paperwork, only to return 5 minutes later still with no paperwork but smelling of pipe smoke. Some more modern classrooms had…

I considered one of those rollerboards from Wilson and Garden, Ltd, in Glasgow, UK, for my home office. Somehow working with ipad+pencil is just not the same.

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#65

Post by kpaoneios »

khazhoux wrote: post #11

I still find blackboard + chalk to be a heinous combination. Is this just because my grade school used cheap low-grade chalk? I do have a weird physiological reaction to 'fffffffff' friction sounds. A hard cheap pencil against cheap paper, making a similar raspy sound as chalk-on-blackboard, with cause me to reflexively (and uncontrollably) suck my lips in tight, as if protecting my teeth from the vibrations. Back in…

I thought I was alone in this. Something about the scratch of pencil on paper always bothered me; I had to use the softest graphite possible to not go crazy.

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#68

Post by elzbardico »

geocar wrote: post #27
choeger wrote: post #6

I have to ask. Why is it "white"-board vs. "chalk"-board? Back in elementary school, I learned to call the former "black"-board.

In português it's "quadro branco" (a white board/rectangle/frame on the wall or on a stand) and "lousa" (which refers to the material and/or its colour and texture). I think "chalkboards" and "lousa" can be black, grey, blue, brown, purple, red, or green, but maybe "blackboard" can only be black.

"Lousa" is more of a PT_pt thing. In PT_br, "quadro negro" was more usual, but most of them were painted dark green, go figure!

Re: How to draw dotted lines on chalkboards, MIT style (2021)

#70

Post by maliker »

I went to a talk by a grad student historian who studied how mathematical ideas evolved in Europe roughly 1600-1900. He started his talk by quickly drawing a damn near photorealistic map of Europe on the chalk board. Very impressive way to start a talk and make it memorable. It really impressed on me how lecturing can be developed like a performing art.

I never leveled up my chalkboard skills, but there were definitely times when I distracted myself from proofs that wouldn’t work by learning how to make beautiful diagrams in latex + tikz. Beyond improving the presentation it’s a nice way to get a break from the words and symbols part of the work and blow off some steam.

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