Before calculators?

Question

Don't tell me we did the old fasion way, like ²ing #'s, radicals, and graphing.


DID WE REALLY WENT OLD SCHOOL?
Do you think school's are going to easy, and we should throw out the calculators, because we rely on them too much, for us to even calculate like we did in the old ways? (WHich is more effective?)

What if we dont have calculators, and it was never invented?

Answer 1

When I was in high school, we only started using calculators when we were 15 years old (whatever the equivalent grade that is). So I believe that using it too early is what makes it a crutch.

Having said that, we are able to do faster and much more powerful computations because of technology.

Answer 2

There are a few sides to your question.

Calculators do a lot of arithmetic faster than most people. Does this mean arithmetic is a dead skill? I don't think so. For one thing: if you have solid arithmetic habits, you will automatically solve a problem while someone else tries to decide whether the problem is worth getting out a calculator. For another: if you think deeply about arithmetic (not just memorizing and executing algorithms, but thinking about how to improve it) you will naturally begin to discover algebra. Besides, so many people (in the U.S.A., at least) know so little about arithmetic that you can astound people with just a little knowledge.

So there's my argument for not leaning on calculators too heavily. However, it's also not a good idea to keep students from learning how to use a good calculator. Technology allows us to quickly solve certain problems that are extremely challenging, if not outright impossible, to solve by hand. Proper calculator use is not automatic; it requires training and practice. Students who don't learn how to use technology will be at a disadvantage when approaching certain problems. If we have an amazing tool at our disposal, why not learn to use it to best effect?

Answer 3

I think alot of technology has hurt people. Can you read a round faced clock, or only digital. If there was a problem with your calculator and it gave you an extremely odd answer, would you be able to do the math on paper? Calculators, or any instrument, can help greatly, but only if you really know how to do the work yourself. If you had a report to write, and your computer suddenly blew up, what would you do? Would you still be able to write it using a dictionary, an encyclopedia, and a typewriter? Could you still spell without spellcheck? Technology is fine, if it helps you with what you already know, but not if it's your only tool. I can actually amaze my daughter and nieces by doing some math faster in my head, than they can use a calculator.

Answer 4

The worst thing about calculators is that I know so many kids and teens who don't know really basic stuff, like how to add or multiply two one-digit number. I mean they count on their fingers to add 7 + 8, and can't multiply 8 * 4 in their heads.

If you punch something wrong in your calculator and get the wrong answer, are you going to spot it? Well, if you are multiplying 326 x 215, and you don't rely on a calculator, you know the answer will be bigger than 60,000, and it will end in 0. If you accidentally type in 236 x 215 and get 50,740, you know you did something wrong.

I once made a bank deposit, and because I was really, really tired, I added wrong and got a totally impossible number. The teller didn't catch it, but I did before I left her station, because the number I got was so much lower than it should have been.

Answer 5

Before calculators we did it with paper and pencil and sometimes with slide rules. I think you should know how to do the arithmetic and math. Or you won't get how to do a problem on the calculator.
But...
I am fine with calculators. It's a modern tool. Just like a watch is a tool. You don't tell time by the sun or the stars. If you understand how to use a watch or a calculator or a computer why give it up?
I would hate to have lug around a book of trig and log tables when I can carry it all in my pocket.

Answer 6

This is a tough question. Here are the two opposing forces;

We are obligated to have an education to help the children get a job in the real world. If in aerospace or a related industry you don't know how to use a calculator you will be fired fast.

However, if you do not know the physical meaning behind the numbers, you are not going to do well either. The use of a calculator removes the physical understanding of the numbers.

I think the solution is to do pencil and paper up until high school. Any math class post algebra 1 should be o.k.

Note; they should be allowed to use it in algebra 2, geometry and calculus, but it wont help them.

Answer 7

A couple of years ago, I taught Calculus in a U. of Cal campus. The math department there didn't allow students to use any calculators in all calculus classes. Now, I am teaching AP Calculus in a private high school, in which students must know how to use calculators to get some results in AP Calculus test.

From my personal point of view, students going from without using calculators to using calculators feel much more comfortable, while the opposite is generally not that good.

One of the biggest disadvantages of using calculators all the way is that graduates trained this way lack mental math ability, an abiliity to judge the results obtained are good or not good.

Answer 8

Before electronic calculators, there were slide rules, abaci, and Napier's Bones . . . you would tend to use methods that made calculations simpler, such as tables of logarithms. For trig, there were usually tables of ratios provided at the back of the book.

Yes, we do rely on them too much actually. They should be banned (in schools anyway) until you really, really don't need them much . . . the main exception being when you are dealing with numbers that are too large to practically compute .

Answer 9

I was taught in elementary and jr. high school to do math in my head, without any paper. We would have a math drill everyday and get extra test points for correct answers. Even in college, we hardly ever used calculators. This was in 1985, which probably seems like the dark ages but folks from that time have a lot more snap.

Answer 10

Calculators are nice, because they make large books containing approximations to things like log(5) or sin(43), but when students don't understand how to solve a problem, it becomes a problem. All calculus classes I've seen require students to either not use a calculator or to only use a regular (not graphic) calculator.

It's not like you're expected to know log(4582) off the top of your head, and it's nice to be able to use a calculator to help you work out stuff like that, but it's important to know how to solve the problem, and frankly, it's amazing that students use calculators to do basic things like 5+8, throughout high school and even in college.