As part of my first calculus class we were told that we’d need a pocket calculator.
Wait – can’t my phone do that?
There’s something endearing nostalgic about the universities’ insistence on a calculator, and they are in good company with my kids’ school.
My last calculator was an HP 16C, I used it during the first years of my professional life to do bit shift operations, and Hex/Octal calculations; I still have it, alas, it does not have basic calculus functions, such as log(). Time for a new one!
The HP16C uses RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) which makes for super fast and efficient calculations. HP seems to not make any RPN devices anymore, most likely because it’s not taught in school anymore and the customer base is aging out.
Amazon to the rescue! A number of shops had the HP 35s (Model year 2015) in new and original condition for a very reasonable price, and one of them is now mine:
Monday we’ll have calculus again, can’t wait!
Chris