Erfolg Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I rarely help any of my Grandchildren with their homework, other than a few days ago when discussing the Coefficient of restitution and newtons second law, as I know nothing (only rudimentary education BSc (Hons), whereas Taylor Swift is both really clever, contributing to society and so on (well she has made far more money than I could ever aspire to). She was obviously desperate to even ask me. This lead to a discussion from me on Log Books and how thinks have changed in everyday mathematics. She had never heard of Log tables, sine tables etc. and was completely baffled what a Slide Rule was and why you would want either. Explaining that adding big numbers or undertaking trig and many sinusoidal measurements, you really needed them, in the Stone Age (that was the era when I was young she believes). That calculators did not exist, other than primitive mechanical devices, of limited use, and convenience. That some early electronic calculators used something called "Reverse Polish Notation" and basic models cost a weeks wage. Which later had me thinking how many other people still hoard their Log Books and Slide Rules? I even have set squares and compasses, do others? Or are even modellers more at home in front of a VDU, with a key Board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I thought this was on a totally different subject! I’ve only ever heard them referred to as log tables. North/South divide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 4 minutes ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said: I thought this was on a totally different subject! I’ve only ever heard them referred to as log tables. North/South divide? More like Erfolg/rest of world divide methinks 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Still have lots of set squares, compasses, circle templates, ellipse templates, stereonets, log/log graph paper, log/linear graph paper - there's probably a set of log tables somewhere, but not immediately to hand. There's a slide rule somewhere, a planimeter, dividers and various other drawing instruments. It's not too long ago that they were part of the working day, pre-digital age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 We ain't thick up North, Taylor Swifts dating Travice Kelce he's plays for K.C Chiefs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I still use my 4 Figure Tables and occasionally my slide rule. I still use trig to work out motor offset on the fire wall to get the prop in the centre of the cowl. It's not, as they say, rocket science. Logs and indices are very elegant concepts and I never aspired to university (very few did in 1956) so all my post grammar school education was part-time (night school and day release). I've heard of Taylor Swift, but I have no idea what she looks like or any of her music. Most of the music I like was written in 19th century 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Lets call them Log Tables, if most want it that way. My stuff was all in a booklet which I have not seen for what seems like years, at least 20, when I retired. Like you Geoff most education was initially part time. Apparently it was the same with Dave Burton (Biggles elder Brother). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBG Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 While cleaning out my mother's house a few years ago after she died I found my old slide rule in a drawer, must have been there over 50 years. I still have it. I still have and use the drawing instruments I had when I was an apprentice again over 50 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Back in 1972, I was undertaking, what is now back in fashion, a 5 year degree apprenticeship with ICI. In their Soulth Wales fibres research department, in the lab next door, to where I was trying to improve the tensile strength of polyoxadiazole fibres, I found they had an electronic calculator. I used a lot of maths|number crunching to solve statistic equations wot would suggest likely mixes. Godsend. It sat on a bench, was the size of a couple of shoe boxes, did the work of a basic calculator, and cost, a couple of quid more, than a brand spanking new MGB GT Convertible. Still can’t spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 3 hours ago, Erfolg said: how many other people still hoard their Log Books and Slide Rules? Somewhat recently, my dad proudly gifted me his dad's drafting equipment. It was quite clearly a very nicely made set of dividers and compasses and parallel rules and so on. "Now. This is what a professional draftsman uses," he said. I hadn't the heart to tell him that hasn't been a career for forty years. (obviously, it's now family heirloom status) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Bowers Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Still have my slide rule, and used to use it in anger once upon a time. It was a gift from an Aunt, and I don't have the heart to part with it. Log tables long gone; still have both steam tables and statistical tables. First calculator was a Sinclair Cambridge, 4 function plus one memory as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cripps Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I've still got my slide rule from my schooldays and a circular one that my father used to use at work. I took my O and A levels around the time of the crossover from slide rules to calculators so I became adept at using both. My elder brother was 4 years ahead of me and didn't benefit. One really useful skill that the old methods taught was learning how to estimate the order of magnitude of the expected answer (you had to as there is no decimal point on a slide rule). I found it very frustrating at work in the later stages of my career in engineering, as the newer graduates often just believed the answer that the computer gave them, even when it was obvious there was an error of several decimal places! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Nick, you are so right. I remember being in a queue, my Building Society being taken over, to collect new passbooks, or whatever they were called. Nice young lady handed mine over, I noted interest, balance, rate of interest and before I turned away told her the balance was wrong. Not believed, patiently explained, I couldn’t estimate compound interest, but estimating not less than £x interest is simple, sort it out please, and handed it back. They paid out. No apology, naturally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Donks ago I had a special slide rule that did capacitance, inductance, resonance, series/parallel, etc - no idea what happened to it, might still be up in the loft 🙂 Re log tables, the name "Frank Castle" comes to mind, but I may well be wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stainforth Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 27 minutes ago, Nick Cripps said: I've still got my slide rule from my schooldays and a circular one that my father used to use at work. I took my O and A levels around the time of the crossover from slide rules to calculators so I became adept at using both. My elder brother was 4 years ahead of me and didn't benefit. One really useful skill that the old methods taught was learning how to estimate the order of magnitude of the expected answer (you had to as there is no decimal point on a slide rule). I found it very frustrating at work in the later stages of my career in engineering, as the newer graduates often just believed the answer that the computer gave them, even when it was obvious there was an error of several decimal places! It is worth remembering that before about 1955 every car, ship, plane and all science and engineering was done with slide rules and log tables. War bird airframes were accurate to 1/16th of an inch. The highest precision in engines was the hallowed thou. When I was at school in the sixties we did all our scientific calculations with logs and slide rules. Actually, my experience was much like yours: we were taught to do order of magnitude estimates first, to reduce the risk of screwing up with the slide rule, which came next. Then, finally, log tables. I still do order of magnitude calculations all the time in my scientific work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Parr book Log Tables... and Anti-logs. Slide rules. Compass, dividers, set square, protractor. Times tables. Equations. Log, cos, sin. Pi Square roots. Etc, etc.. I am suddenly 9 years old and back at prep school. 🥴 Thank you for this lovely stroll down Memory Lane. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Phil, "Castle" rings a bell with me. Many years ago one of the incidents that occurred on a North Sea Platform, was reported that a (structural) member was under size, that failed, with significant consequences. Apparently a (young) engineer believed the output from a computerised system. From memory no information was provided of how or why the situation came about. What was emphasised that there was no estimate as to the "ball park" value that was expected. I have used CAD system for drawing up building extensions for one of my daughters and myself. On domestic monitors the feeling for scale is less than on a drawing board. Still when designing large structures, getting a feeling for full scale, requires work and imagination, however it is done. One the drawing instruments I still frequently use are proportional dividers (mainly used for scaling up). Although I am no slave to the absolute scale some seek, i will live with it looks about correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 57 minutes ago, Phil Green said: Donks ago I had a special slide rule that did capacitance, inductance, resonance, series/parallel, etc - no idea what happened to it, might still be up in the loft 🙂 Re log tables, the name "Frank Castle" comes to mind, but I may well be wrong... That's right. My Frank Castle 'Logarithmic and other tables for schools' is about 2' from me as I type. I can see its spine. My slide rules are just as close in my desk drawer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedBaron Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 On Tuesday we had a major power cut lasting about 11 hours - still no explanation about causes? How glad I was to have handy my slide rule, log tables, etc and to continue working all by the light of candles. In fact it was a very restful day - no computer nagging one, no floods of mostly meaningless emails etc etc. I also kept my phobile mone switched off just for the full experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Cracknell Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Just an aside but didn't we all have a test of a nationwide alert system on our mobiles a while ago? With recent storms causing problems nationwide it would have been a good opportunity to use it. They could have given information regionally in one broadcast. Or is it just for impending nuclear war...!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.