Phil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Phil Scovell) (08/12/90)
Index Number: 9783
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Hey Stew,
Does anyone still teach the abacus? In the mid 1960's when I began
going to the school for the blind, they tried a few of us out on the
Japanese abacus but it never went over too well. I loved it however.
I became so attached to it that I still use it for many calculations to
this day. When I first moved to Denver, I went through the vending
stand program and got a snackbar downtown. During the three months of
training I was told I wouldn't be able to add fast enough to keep up
with the lunch lines. I did though! I use a talking calculator
now, of course, but there's not a day goes by that I don't use the
abacus for something. In fact, as I write this message, I used my
abacus to add up the files a couple of people requested to see how many
K all five files would take. I could have used my talking calculator
but for some reason I automatically reach for my abacus. Wonder if
anyone else on blinktalk uses the abacus or is this an out dated device
I wonder? It doesn't need batteries you know.
P.S. Doesn't that word, abacus, send your synthesizer for a loop?
--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!810!Phil.Scovell
Internet: Phil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.orgPhil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Phil Scovell) (08/14/90)
Index Number: 9820
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Hi Donna,
I think that's an excellent usage of the abacus. I use my to set phone
numbers people give me over the phone till I can write them down later.
It's a lot quicker.
Phil.
--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!104!810!Phil.Scovell
Internet: Phil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.orgJohn.Sanfilippo@f608.n107.z1.fidonet.org (John Sanfilippo) (08/15/90)
Index Number: 9842
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Fill,
You were wondering if anyone on blinktalk uses an Japanese
abacus.
Well, when I was in high school, I too fell in love with the
thing. This was before the age of talking things, and in fact
it was also just before calculators--At least I hadn't seen any
before 1970. I don't know if what I used was a Japanese abacus:
the one I had had 13 columns, a single bead and 4 beads in each
column, if you get my meaning. I basically used it for
remembering numbers and some simple calculations, but it never
really got off the ground for me.
Nice chatting with you.
jjcs
--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!107!608!John.Sanfilippo
Internet: John.Sanfilippo@f608.n107.z1.fidonet.orgcampbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell) (08/17/90)
Index Number: 9858 Phil.Scovell@f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Phil Scovell) writes: >anyone else on blinktalk uses the abacus or is this an out dated device >I wonder? It doesn't need batteries you know. I learned it too, and it made the difference between hating math and liking (or at least wanting to learn it)-- well, the abacus and wanting to learn electronics theory. (the alternative for arithmetic was the brailler!) I started to learn it, and soon after that my teacher kind of got busy and didn't emphasize it any more, and I think some of the other kids who wanted to learn it didn't get to. When I saw that, I crammed as fast as I could, not practicing like I should have. I haven't used it in the past few years much since I bought a Sharp EL620, but my 620 is on the frits right now, so I'm using it again-- pretty slow now, though. I have a friend who is trying to break into the tuning business who uses it-- one of those classmates who almost didn't get the chance to learn it, or had to later, I don't remember-- and he points out to me often that it is inexpensive and is accessible to those who can't aford a talking calculator. >P.S. Doesn't that word, abacus, send your synthesizer for a loop? My VP synthesizer (driven by JAWS) does pretty well with it. -- Gary Campbell Internet: campbell%hpdmd48.boi.HP.COM@hplabs.HP.COM
dgl292@athenanet.com (Doug Lee) (08/28/90)
Index Number: 9986 Yes, I've certainly found some unusual uses for an abacus. Certainly there are the simpler things, like storing phone numbers, dates, etc. Then there's the weird stuff, like trying to do base 16 calculations! I started doing this somewhere around 1984 or 1985, when I plunged straight into 6502 machine code (I didn't have an assembler!). It requires a rather "stiff" abacus (my definition of "stiff" is having beads which hold there places firmly). For those unfamiliar with hex (base 16): In addition to the digits 0 through nine, there are digits A through F. Thus, 10 (base 10) becomes A (base 16). To represent the digits above 9, I just set them halfway up. Needless to say, this technique wasn't meant to be fast--just faster than my head. Also, if you really want to do many calculations this way, you would have to memorize a whole new set of carry rules and such. As it is, I usually just store hex numbers, with the occasional addition where required. BTW, does anyone know if it's true that the abacus is officially permitted as an aid during standardized tests like the ACT or SAT/PSAT? I was told this and allowed to use it when I took the ACT. It's sure faster than paper! (Now, let's see what they say if I try to use it while taking the GRE--if I do.) Doug Lee (dgl292@athenanet.com or uunet!pallas!dgl292)
Ann.Parsons@f204.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Ann Parsons) (08/28/90)
Index Number: 10018 Hi Gary, >>anyone else on blinktalk uses the abacus or is this an out dated device >>I wonder? It doesn't need batteries you know. There's a science fiction story by Arthur C. Clarke, can't remember its name, but the story goes that there's a space ship that's gotten off course. It's going to be drawn into the sun unless they can get their computer to work. The computer fails! All is lost until one of the crew, a Chinese American remembers the abacus in his duffle bag. He and the crew start making abacii and they manage to do all the necessary calculations to put the ship back on course. So don't throw the abacus out. you may need it sometime. <grin> See you on-line. Ann P. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!204!Ann.Parsons Internet: Ann.Parsons@f204.n260.z1.fidonet.org
mn5y@krebs.acc.Virginia.EDU (Mukund Nori) (09/03/90)
Index Number: 10023
The Arthur C. Clarke book you refer to is "Rendezvous with Rama".
******************************************************************
___Raistlin___ Mukund Nori
Raistlin@Virginia.EDU mn5y@krebs.acc.Virginia.EDU
"VIOLENCE IS THE LAST RESORT OF THE INCOMPETENT" Asimov campbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell) (09/04/90)
Index Number: 10041 dgl292@athenanet.com (Doug Lee) writes: >dates, etc. Then there's the weird stuff, like trying to do base >16 calculations! I started doing this somewhere around 1984 or I havben't tried it, but I have thought of doing hex calculations on a Chinese abacus which has two beads above the bar and five below.