Thursday, January 29, 2009

The adding machine




can i say wow, this is hilarious its not even called a calculator yet its called an adding machine

http://www.vintage-technology.info/pages/domestic/bissetex.htm

13 comments:

  1. wow, thats pretty funny. imagine if we still used those 'adding machines' today.

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  2. Wow that is funny, the adding machine! I have never seen anything like that before. Does it do anything besides add?! That would be so weird if we used still used this for math. Actually it wouldnt be that weird because we never would have known what a claculator was!!

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  3. Imagine trying to cheat on a test with that thing. Trying to hide that big klunky thing in your jacket making clicking noises. The teacher would catch on quick. Now there are cell phones which help, but teachers are catching on quick to that as well.

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  4. An adding machine, how much fun that looks! Very complicated looking, our TI-89’s are looking really good compared to that. Can you imagine people from back then trying to use our calculators that we use now, they pretty much do everything but add now.

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  5. That adding machine is so very dated. To think how far the adding machine has come. We have them every where now. Even our cell phones have an adding machine on it.

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  6. That adding machine is greatness. Imagine lugging that thing around today. What do you think people back then would say knowing we have this technology available to us in the size of a wrist watch?

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  7. I don't even know if I would be able to figure something like that out. It wouldn't even be worth my time...I would rather just take a pen and piece of paper and do it manually. What's funny too is that thing probably weighs 10 pounds. How convenient is that?

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  8. The prequel to the all too essential calculator. Before this, people had a stronger need to know their math. With the scientific and graphing calculators out, all one needs to know is how to input it and interpret it. The math itself is de-emphasized. The first calculator was the Chinese abacus which was capable of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. There were no electronics, they used what were called counting beads to do their math. In short, it does almost as much as any cheap dollar calculator today.

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  9. It's strange looking, if you ask me. I doubt it would even be semi-sufficient in today's society. I mean, it's not a "scientific" adding machine, right?

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  10. Imagine taking this out and using it for a math test. Was adding the only type of function that this calculator could do? To think, now we have TI-83's with hundreds of functions, it's almost like a miniature computer.

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  11. Our transition from mechanical to electronic has definitely improved mathematics. No longer must time be wasted on rudimentary things like adding, but we can focus on higher learning. But, most technology has its ramifications. As a math tutor, I see so many people that have trouble adding and subtracting in their head because they have grown too dependent on their calculators.

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  12. I think this would be an example of technology actually being COUNTER-productive.
    I can't even guess how much resources and time it took to develop the precision mechanisms within that machine which then in turn assists the user in doing BASIC ARITHMETIC.

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  13. I like to use the good old fashioned fingers to count. I just get screwed when they use big numbers

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