tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post8956094205582874245..comments2024-03-06T07:06:38.928-08:00Comments on JSBlog - Journal of a Southern Bookreader: The Pinker CalculatorRay Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-30168449116081557082011-08-02T09:53:31.466-07:002011-08-02T09:53:31.466-07:00And a seriously crap pair of compasses that set co...And a seriously crap pair of compasses that set contains, too, regardless of colour!Felixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-16806882203489278922011-08-02T10:26:12.167-07:002011-08-02T10:26:12.167-07:00Yes: the graduated scale correlates rather poorly ...Yes: the graduated scale correlates rather poorly with the gap between point and pencil; and the can't-stab-yourself point is completely nesh! Did you ever do <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suA2Hy-0mxI" rel="nofollow">this</a> with compasses at school?Ray Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-36141100904461904452011-08-02T11:54:00.977-07:002011-08-02T11:54:00.977-07:00Ummm ... no, I never did that at school!!! :-)Near...Ummm ... no, I never did that at school!!! :-)<br><br>Nearest I got to it was a weak's class sickness covered by Sister Mary John Baptist, when I was ten ... we were seated wound a square; she wandered around behind us and, if she thought we were out of line, would poke us in the bum with a compass through the gap in the back of the school chair. Ah, the good old days [not]...Felixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-48747398091855743752011-08-02T16:32:25.648-07:002011-08-02T16:32:25.648-07:00But - returning to earlier topic - I do actually l...But - returning to earlier topic - I do actually like my pink Helix set. It's distinctive - which is good in a "Why did you take my ruler?" household. Clare and I both use these things for our graphics-y pursuits) - people commonly ask us, independently, if we can do posters. Clare is better artistically; I'm better graphics-computing-y. We collaborate.Ray Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-39384848340714890632011-08-02T19:22:57.746-07:002011-08-02T19:22:57.746-07:00At first I thought this would have something to do...At first I thought this would have something to do with Steven Pinker...<br><br>And here's another calculator: http://www.red5.co.uk/wrongulator.aspxEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03968539146840489973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-11990346811211052672011-08-03T00:17:24.443-07:002011-08-03T00:17:24.443-07:00Ray: yes, I too use paper and pencil design quite ...Ray: yes, I too use paper and pencil design quite often ... mostly for the hands on pleasure of it, recapturing the joys of O-level TD [grin].<br><br>My dislike of that compass (and the 150mm ruler) comes from seeing the kids of friends and neighbours struggling to do their homework accurately with it...<br><br>Back to your original point, however ... three big cheers to you for bucking the gender stereotyping trend :-)<br><br>Wouldn't it be nice if calculators were available in a full rainbow of saturated (and perhaps also pastel) colours? I really rather fance a bright red or blue one insead of the endless black.Felixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-49913090393085551692011-08-03T00:28:13.532-07:002011-08-03T00:28:13.532-07:00Emily: thanks for the Wrongulator, which was a rev...Emily: thanks for the Wrongulator, which was a revelation — though it probably shouldn't have been.<br><br>Sadly, one part of the blurb is likely true: "the chances are, without being told, they’ll probably never guess". It astonishes me the extent to which people trust their calculation results (even with a normal calculator, or on paper) when the briefest application of common sense would tell them they've gone wrong.<br><br>I once knew a systems manager who was considering a change to his pension plan. He ended up with a cost for the new plan which was on the order of <i>a hundred million times</i> greater than the existing one. He abandoned the idea without thinking that there simply <i>must</i> be something wrong with his result.Felixnoreply@blogger.com