analog adventures

Analog Computing

ERIC P. NICHOLS

When I was attending El Camino College, all the engineering majors were required to take a one-semester class in slide rule. The spring semester of 1972 was the first year they allowed calculators in math classes, and our slide rule instructor, whose name I regretfully have forgotten, was not particularly amused. He said “a calculator is a machine that will give you the wrong answer to fifteen decimal places.” That was a pretty insightful statement, and one that I’ve never forgotten. My dad made me learn how to use a slide rule at the tender age of nine, when he had me figuring out all the gas mileages for our two gas guzzlers. It was cruel and unusual punishment, but I somehow managed to survive the ordeal, and it certainly…

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CQ Amateur Radio (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2023

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