- #1
medwatt
- 123
- 0
Hello,
I lost my HP50g calculator a week ago and have ever since been contemplating whether buying another graphing calculator makes sense. Given that most of these graphing calculators are not allowed anywhere near exam halls, I have long since stationed my calculator home. Having started using Mathematica/Matlab, I haven't really found much to do with my calculator simply because with a computer:
1. Its way faster using a computer
2. Easily write/edit programs
3. Plot, analyse, manipulate . . . at ease
4. Aesthetically pleasing
5. You just can't compare a computer to a calculator
Computers have come a long way since the 70s and so it's baffling why calculator technology didn't follow suit and instead seems to be going at a very unhurried pace. Calculators made in the 70s don't look much different to those made presently.
So, I wonder what others are using graphing calculators for nowadays ? Is it because:
1. Portability: Granted, calculators are portable but you can just get any android tablet and run one of the many available mathematical software.
2. Price: Mathematica and Matlab are expensive but there are myriad alternatives. If price is of concern, Octave is just as good.
I'd really be happy to read if anyone believes that graphing calculators still have a place in our present day. Graphing calculators are synonymous to some of our great ancestors, the great apes, who apparently refused to leave the wilderness to evolve and as such seem utterly hopeless when compared to their super-evolved litter brothers, the computer.
Thanks.
I lost my HP50g calculator a week ago and have ever since been contemplating whether buying another graphing calculator makes sense. Given that most of these graphing calculators are not allowed anywhere near exam halls, I have long since stationed my calculator home. Having started using Mathematica/Matlab, I haven't really found much to do with my calculator simply because with a computer:
1. Its way faster using a computer
2. Easily write/edit programs
3. Plot, analyse, manipulate . . . at ease
4. Aesthetically pleasing
5. You just can't compare a computer to a calculator
Computers have come a long way since the 70s and so it's baffling why calculator technology didn't follow suit and instead seems to be going at a very unhurried pace. Calculators made in the 70s don't look much different to those made presently.
So, I wonder what others are using graphing calculators for nowadays ? Is it because:
1. Portability: Granted, calculators are portable but you can just get any android tablet and run one of the many available mathematical software.
2. Price: Mathematica and Matlab are expensive but there are myriad alternatives. If price is of concern, Octave is just as good.
I'd really be happy to read if anyone believes that graphing calculators still have a place in our present day. Graphing calculators are synonymous to some of our great ancestors, the great apes, who apparently refused to leave the wilderness to evolve and as such seem utterly hopeless when compared to their super-evolved litter brothers, the computer.
Thanks.