All this discussion of Friden calculators reminded me of my undergraduate days using them and being misled by the sound. I do not usually anthropomorphize, but we had a Friden calculator that would get tired. After you used it for a while, it would continue to make sound that indicated it was working, but the numbers on the display would not change. If you unplugged the machine and left it alone for about 15 minutes, it would work again when you turned it on. It was very hard to get it fixed because the machine would always work when the reapir man came. Ah, the "good" old days.
Jeff Nagelbush Ferris State University >From: "Micheal Bergmire" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: you're a geezer if you remember >Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 22:30:52 -0600 > >A message for the non-geezers. If you want to get an idea of what is being >talked about. Go to Blockbuster (or your local video rental store) and >search through the classic films for a copy of the movie, The Apartment, >which starred Jack Lemon. There is a rather amusing segment in that film >where he watches and LISTENS to the sounds of a Friden calculator grinding >out a calculation. > >For the geezers who remember Friden calculators, I think a psychophysics >measure that should have been researched was the number of milliseconds >between a person hearing the calculator jamming and reaching over the top >of >the machine in order to disconnect the power card. But atleast we weren't >using Comptometer machines, which were totally manual. Yes, that's right, >no form of energy other than finger power. > >The Friden calculators I used in 1958 were not able to compute a square >root >directly. The method that was offered in the machine manual instructed you >to repeatedly subtract consecutive odd numbers. The calculator kept track >of the number of subtractions that were made. A simple example. 9 - 1 = >8, >8 - 3 = 5 and 5 - 5 = 0. Three odd numbers have been subtracted (the >square >root of 9). Obviously, we didn't use that method, we just looked up the >square root in our CRC Table Book. That name was included on the old >geezer >test list. But that would have been too biased in favor of the techie >slide >rule crowd. > >How many geezers also memorized that the square root of 3 was 1.732 and the >square root of 2 was 1.414? Oh, those trig classes. > >Well this old RETIRED geezer and TIPS lurker, who is now adjunct, still >enjoys reading the TIPS information. OK guys back to lurking. > >Michael Bergmire >Adjunct >Jefferson College >1000 Viking Drive >Hillsboro, MO 63050 > > > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Harry Avis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Monday, November 26, 2001 5:08 PM >Subject: Re: you're a geezer if you remember > > > > They were Marchant, I wrote this note hastily before going to class with >one > > eye on the clock. I can't remember whether the Friden calculators were > > completely electronic or operated like an electrified adding machine. >Either > > way my guess (counting the chunk-achunk-achunk) that seems indelibly >wrote > > in my auditory memory, each "chunka" was a half second, so the answer >would > > depend on the number of places needed. > > > > Harry Avis PhD > > Sierra College > > Rocklin, CA 95677 > > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius > > There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so >- > > Shakespeare > > > > > > > > >From: Paul Brandon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >Reply-To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" > > ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >CC: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >Subject: Re: you're a geezer if you remember > > >Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 15:38:12 -0600 > > > > > >At 12:53 PM -0800 11/26/01, Don Allen wrote: > > > >Harry- > > > > > > > >I thought that they were Marchant claculators not Merchant. Does >this > > >mean > > > >that I have dyslexia as well, or is this just another example of >geezer > > > >memory? > > > > > >For extra credit: > > >How long did it take a Friden calculator to grind out a square root? > > > > > >* PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] * > > >* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University, Mankato * > > >* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 * > > >* http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html * > > > > > > > > > > > >--- > > >You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >To unsubscribe send a blank email to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at >http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > >--- >You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
