re: #816 buzzsawmonkey

I may be going a little too apocalyptic here, but I figure that if the country really falls apart under a combined series of terror attacks, knowing how to use a slide rule will be, perhaps not as necessary in the short run as knowing how to use a gun, but necessary for rebuilding society without having to rely on batteries.

David Gelernter, Comp Sci prof at Yale (uni-bomber victim) stresses first principals, and doesn’t like the early introduction of calculators and computer to students. He thinks, (and I agree) we need to understand whats going on inside the box, before we should use the box. Essentially it’s a critical thinking argument, you have to be able to know the box is giving you a reasonable answer. That box is tool to make life easier, not replacing thinking about what’s happening.