anyone want to comment on this BAT discussion? Options

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-pors...omment-11252547

[Steve]

I had a TI-66 in college in the mid 80’s.
http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Galaxy/TI-66.htm
It was worth every penny. I was allowed to use it during tests. I programmed in a very complex formula in it and past the test. Some students did it long hand on paper and flunked the test.

[vitamin914]

I had a TI-66 in college in the mid 80’s.
http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Galaxy/TI-66.htm
It was worth every penny. I was allowed to use it during tests. I programmed in a very complex formula in it and past the test. Some students did it long hand on paper and flunked the test.

These were evil. Miss one and you were hunting for the missing bracket in a single line that you had to scroll through... miss two complete ones and you would have a horrific answer. One of the reasons RPN made it less error prone than algebraic entry.

Don't get me wrong TI had good machines but I just could not stand using the parentheses (bracket).

You did bring back an PTSD memory... had my then HP41C (the CX I got later) stuffed with formulas for first year electricity exam. To this day I still consider it retarded to have to memorize complicated equations - you always look them up the avoid the IIRC trap... Anyway, the exam announcement... open your exam and begin... Not a minute later I had three exam Procters surrounding my desk... asking about my calculator. Me ready to crap bricks being caught with what was in the machine... thankfully there is a three button start up that wipes the memory and displays "MEMORY LOST". Evidence gone. Still passed, thankfully, but it did rattle my nerves.

After that I wrote a program to simulate the memory lost display - never used it.
Remember if you are not cheating, you're not trying hard enough...

[wonkipop]

I had a TI-66 in college in the mid 80’s.
http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Galaxy/TI-66.htm
It was worth every penny. I was allowed to use it during tests. I programmed in a very complex formula in it and past the test. Some students did it long hand on paper and flunked the test.

These were evil. Miss one and you were hunting for the missing bracket in a single line that you had to scroll through... miss two complete ones and you would have a horrific answer. One of the reasons RPN made it less error prone than algebraic entry.

Don't get me wrong TI had good machines but I just could not stand using the parentheses (bracket).

You did bring back an PTSD memory... had my then HP41C (the CX I got later) stuffed with formulas for first year electricity exam. To this day I still consider it retarded to have to memorize complicated equations - you always look them up the avoid the IIRC trap... Anyway, the exam announcement... open your exam and begin... Not a minute later I had three exam Procters surrounding my desk... asking about my calculator. Me ready to crap bricks being caught with what was in the machine... thankfully there is a three button start up that wipes the memory and displays "MEMORY LOST". Evidence gone. Still passed, thankfully, but it did rattle my nerves.

After that I wrote a program to simulate the memory lost display - never used it.
Remember if you are not cheating, you're not trying hard enough...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

over here they just plain gave up on trying to police calculators in the university exams.
they figured you are smart enough to program one your smart enough to get the degree.
when i did my high school certificate the year before in 77 calcs were banned.
even the dumbo accountants type ones with equal signs.
you had to lay out your equations long hand line by line in the exam anyway.
i guess it was good. i can still do a lot of maths in my head which confounds young people when i got into big offices every now and then on red adair missions to fix up juvenile mistakes that could get my old mates with big offices in court.

the youngens can't believe i can do maths in my head.
or if start writing down equations they just get eyeballs that get very wide.
i often have answers before they finish pulling their iphones out and scrolling to find the caculator simulation. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

one other thing from high school i fluked was learning to touch type.
they experimented on us in an early exercise in gender equality manipulation.
we had to do exchange with the girls who normally did typing (and cookery) they got to do woodwork and metal work. got taught to touch type perfectly. for one term.
can smash away at the keyboard on the auto cad program without taking my eyes off the screen. there were some bonuses to life as a teenager in the 70s. of course its all gotten right out of hand these days. the experiment has failed? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)