Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 02/13/2026 5:21:44 PM PST by DoodleBob
An old newspaper page from 1986 has resurfaced on social media, showing math teachers protesting against the use of calculators in the classroom, until upper grades. Back then, the concerns were not only about students' academic dependency, but many feared that it would replace human skills and take away jobs that depended on manual calculation.
Years later, the history appears to repeat itself. This time, the conversation has shifted from calculators to Artificial Intelligence, as an AI tool can take on tasks like -- writing, designing, teaching, and problem-solving, eventually weakening critical thinking, creativity and overall learning process.
Just like calculators, AI can easily outperform humans in speed and specific tasks. AI works continuously and cuts costs, which makes the fear of becoming irrelevant and replaceable quicker.
History suggests something important
Skills and jobs rarely disappear overnight. Instead, they transform the old skills into new ones. The calculator era showed the adoption for those who decided to endure the struggle. Even prominent leaders agree.
Infosys founder Narayana Murthy does not see AI as a threat, but as a tool that enhances human abilities, calling it the next big frontier in technology. Highlighting its potential, Murthy said AI can help solve complex problems and described the human mind as the “most flexible instrument.”
The 1986 protest reminds us that fear often comes before adaptation. What once appeared like a threat later became a job evolution.
The post on X, by @JonErlichman, quickly went viral, triggering widespread discussion across social media platforms.
One user humorously wrote, “Wait until these teachers hear about ChatGPT. They’re going to need bigger signs.’’
Another user commented, “Seems like the protests worked? I didn't use a calculator until I got to algebra 2.’’
A third user said, “Nothing will ever change? No one will ask this simple question. Why?”
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
... honestly....
“Almost Intelligent”
My mom bought one to keep the books for an old-fashioned drive-in the family owned.
Just the basics with big keys. Probably paid hundreds for it.
About 1975.
No way that was allowed in school. All pupils had to show their work.
I still use my HP-15C almost every day. Once you go RPN, you never go back.
I have had an HP 12c since 1988. All I have ever done is replace the batteries. A quality product.
This is why AI is so popular.
I still have my 11c and occasionally use it.
When we homeschooled, I wouldn’t let my kids use calculators until algebra.
When the equations got long enough that it was impractical to work them all out by hand, then they could use them. But by that time, I knew they had the proficiency to do most math in their heads.
My daughter, in a college class, was told *No calculators for the tests*.
She came in with a slide rule and asked if she could use that. The TA was shocked that she knew how but said, well, it’s not a calculator and there’s no rule about slide rules, so go ahead.
Many decades ago I taught a general math course in a public school. I taught things like estimation and percentages. And also doing basic calculations in your head.
I wish I was like this guy.
“Did you know I built a bridge once?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Mc-38C88g
Same experience here. Both 12C and 15C running strong. Amazing machines.
At the end of my senior year in high school, the amazing math teacher Mr Bubb was going to retire. Mr Bubb was one of those teachers who loved teaching. And, he taught beginning math, as well as the very advanced levels. The year was 1973. There were 4-500 in our graduating senior class. We all contributed a dollar to purchase the latest and greatest HP calculator as the retirement gift.
When Mr Bubb opened the gift, he didn’t start crying, but you could tell how much it meant to him. A moment later, he returned to himself, and began explaining how he would use the gift while “retired.” He would continue exploring the world of mathematics.
I was never a mathematics major, but Mr Bubb’s ability and example of how to make the complex simple, and the inculcation that it could be explained in a regular way, always stuck with me. Off and on I taught GED in English and Spanish. Every time the math section came up, I thanked Mr Bubb. I even taught Middle School math for a few years. One day, as I was using one of the methods Mr Bubb used, a student asked “why don’t the other teachers use this (method)?” I used such times for what El Rush-Bo called the “teachable moments.” I explained that none of us, teachers or students, can control what others do. You can only control what you yourself do.
People like Mr. Bubb do indeed echo through eternity.
Once Isaac Asimov was asked about problems with revising so many books including astronomy topic and physics ones if needed (40 novels, 383 short stories, 280+ non-fiction books, and about 147 edited works, with some estimates reaching 506 to over 540 total works).
He mentioned his book on the slide rule which had now become useless and obsolete except as a museum style artifact.
Used to fit into those plastic pocket protectors of the guys who never had a date.
Here’s an obscure humor book by “Dr.A” (Asimov):
The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (1971).
Example. He said an old man sitting on a park bench watching braless young girls in T shirts and tight sweaters go past had better not fixate on nipples. The quick movements that were closely followed by the eyes and the inability to take them off the subjects can lead to “nipple shock”-—a possibly serious medical condition.
That actually dates the book for the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Even earlier, i.e., 1972-73
HP 35 and HP 45
students are promoted out of 3rd/4th grade without mastering multiplication - students are promoted out of 5th/6th grade without mastering integer arithmetic and operations with fractions.
The curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep
as an added bonus... It's laughable to see calculations entered into a calculator in a College Algebra class
Just as well Math is racist. One definite answer at math is a white racist conclusion. Feelings about near miss answers matter more.
These instructors were so yesterday in 1986!
My instructors at Lowry Tech Tng Ctr, Lowry AFB, Co, in 1977 were telling us that if we brought our calculator, to bring spare batts, too. My electronic slide rule was a blue led, 3as battery model, NOT HP.
Yours has multiplication. Must’ve cost extra.
I work in a scientific profession that would require trig functions, etc. My mentor back in the day told me to get the 12c so I did. I couldn’t use it to find the arcsin of anything but I could amitorize all of their loans in the office.
I got the 12c in my MBA program in 1979 or 1980. I was an energy engineer and had the 15c for that work.
Then along came VisiCalc on my trusty Apple ][ and that was that.
But I still use my 15c emulator on my iPhone almost daily! It is superb. And I still remember RPN. After using an early Commodore calculator with prefix notation, it took a while to Grok infix notation, but I came to love it and the very sensible stack.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.