Message from the Fancy Footwork Ping List!
Message from the Fancy Footwork Ping List!
>A thin layer of sand would be spread evenly on the surface, and symbols would be drawn in the sand with a stick or ones finger.<
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That’s exactly what I notice whenever I press the “ENTER” key.
They still make those. They are called Etch a Sketch now.
ABBA
The venerable bead!
During the early 50’s we were actually taught to use the abacus in school. They were fairly easy to use and also could be quick.
I guess the electronic calculator ended both the abacus and slide rule as far as any real usefulness.
Soroban is Japanese.
I learned how to operate a soroban on Okinawa in 1969. It was interesting watching ta sale in a store. The customer would carry her purchases to the counter. Both the clerk and the customer would produce their sorobans and put them opposite each other on the counter. Each would add up the merchandise on the beads then present the result for approval to the other. If the two devices agreed the total was rung up on the cash register and the sale was completed. If they did not agree then they did it all over again, this time one item at a time while speaking the prices.
I remember seeing a bunch of elementary school age kids on TV doing complicated math problems extremely fast without any outside mechanical device. It was unbelievable.
It appeared they were taught to use the digits on their hands similarly to the abacus, ie different fingers for 100s, tens, and so forth.
Anyone else remember that or know the system?
I remember seeing a bunch of elementary school age kids on TV doing complicated math problems extremely fast without any outside mechanical device. It was unbelievable.
It appeared they were taught to use the digits on their hands similarly to the abacus, ie different fingers for 100s, tens, and so forth.
Anyone else remember that or know the system?
