This is the most fantastically-composed, visually interesting, juxtapositiony-ist photograph I have laid eyes on in a long, long time! Now that's how a man shows off his hobby.

Just... wow. Bloody brilliant sir! I can't look at this and not smile!

I should probably mention that my roomate took this photo and edited it. She is a graphics design major and is awesome at all of that stuff.

I gave a presentation on the topic last weekend and needed promotional material to get people to show up, so I enlisted her expertise. =Þ

sharp

Why thank you.

I had to learn slide rule in High School... I could manage 2+2 = 5.5 or something like that....

V.

Haha, such skill. I wish I'd had the chance to do so in high school. There are so many concepts that lose their meaning when used blindly with a calculator. I hope to grow my collection to the point that I can take it in to the local high school while they are learning logarithms and give the students a fun change of pace, and hands on learning experience.

-M

There is much to be said for hands on. For years and years the story was that the Japanese Zero was a copy of an American aircraft. This was not true - the man who designed it was actually a genius. They said he totally rewrote many engineering data tables. The Japanese, at the outset, knew they did not have the metallurgy to produce an engine beyond what they had - so they told the aircraft designers to come up with a design with a certain performance using only this engine. And there you go... history is so very cool.

My fear is that we have dumbed down our children to the point that they cannot think without the help of a machine. (which can be argued that it is only a tool that speeds up the thinking process) BUT... the fellow who came up with the slide rule was an absolute genius.

V.

Instead of Sephiroth, it's the final exam.
The same music would match the mood though.

I have often wanted to pull out a slide rule on an exam that said "no calculators," just to mess with the professor.

Of course, I also have threatened to make a mobius strip out of my note sheet when told it could only be single-sided.

Eheheheh, very awesome :D

perhaps the scariest observation in all of this is the fact that almost everyone who sees this picture, now and for the years to come, will simply assume along the path of least resistance, but the slide rule was Photo-shopped into place. At best, you could probably tell people that it was a background prop for an episode of "Mr. Ed."

I'm not quite sure what you are saying.

Are you stating that it is photo-shopped, or that people will think it was photo-shopped?

The slide rule is really that big. The only things that were 'shopped were the colors and contrast.

Cheers,

-M

I dont know whether to be happy that there is something that seems simpler then a Calculator, or afraid, due to the fact that thing looks like it can kill you in your sleep.....

Most of them are smaller and more manageable. At the worst they can math at you angrily from across the room, or try to trip you when you get up in the morning. =P

I actually carry around my Post 1460 Versalog. I do a lot of work in my Colleges Physics Lab and the X-Rays and strong magnetic fields destroy Calculators over time. I'm starting to find Slide Rules easier than calculators. Nice Telegraph icon image, I like how it clicks out CQ, I'm a Ham Radio operator KF5DIR.

For some functions it provides a touch of intuition that a calculator just doesn't provide. That's neat that you still use one. Do you get many strange looks/comments for carrying it around?

73,
KE7EQO

Actually a lot of the professors at my college are older and a few actually still use theirs, I do get a few strange looks sometimes when a student asks for help on a problem and I pull out my slide rule. I've been stopped once by a security guard who thought the clip on belt leather case was actually for a knife. A lot of fuzzy eared engineers will stop me and ask if what I'm carrying is slide rule, I've heard a lot of interesting stories about them from people. I like them, makes the calculation feel more real. If you get used to them you can solve just about as fast as a calculator, lot of neat little tricks for fast solving.

Oh gosh i love this picture so much!!
it needs to be faved!

Thank you.