• SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I’m old enough that when I was in school, teachers were telling us that we’d never have calculators in our pockets wherever we’d go.

    • TheOneWithTheHair@lemmy.worldOP
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      11 months ago

      I’m that old, too. Can you imagine a student back then saying, “I’ll have a calculator, flashlight, camera, video recorder, music collection, and games to pass the times I have to wait on others.”

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Wikipedia was started in 2001, and Google in 1998. Who was saying this to you when you were 2?

        • Micromot@feddit.de
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          11 months ago

          The platforms existing doesn’t mean they have been as wide spread as they are today

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            They said “no Google and no Wikipedia,” not “Google and Wikipedia were not as widespread as they are today”

            • PwnTra1n@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              I feel like you misread. I think they meant Wikipedia and google not allowed for sources.

                • PwnTra1n@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  The subject became “stupid shit teachers say that is not applicable in the real world” and in that context the subject never changed. They were probably told “you won’t have a calculator in your pocket all the time” as well as “don’t using the internet(google and Wikipedia) as sources” which was very common to be told around the time when they would have been in school. I’m not attacking you I just think you misunderstood as everyone is possible of doing.

                  • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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                    11 months ago

                    Perhaps you should entertain the idea that you misunderstood. I suppose it’s also possible that OC is just not very good at expressing themselves.

    • tooclose104@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      This wasn’t all that long ago though. I’m only in my 30’s and was told this in elementary school in the 90’s and early 2000’s. The iPhone was first released only 16 years ago.

    • Punkie@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I was told this, too, but when I got to Functions and Analytical Geometry, they started suggesting calculators. Now kids have laptops, gees.

    • Steve@startrek.website
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      11 months ago

      Thats a stupid statement in any year after the “pocket calculator” was available in the 70s

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Not really. The first ones were quite expensive, and it was uncommon to have one on your person at all times like we now do with smartphones.

        • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Yes really, if your job requires lots of calculations you’d be stupid not to have one, even back when they were expensive.

          Every machinist I know, even the crusty old ones, carry a calculator in their pocket. It’s indispensable. Why wouldn’t you carry one if you need it all the time?

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Pretty sure the teacher wasn’t assuming that every single child in class was going to be a machinist.

            In fact, most people aren’t machinists.

            • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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              11 months ago

              And yet my point stands: if you need to do a lot of calculations at your job, you’d be stupid not to have a calculator in your pocket. And if you don’t, then the time it takes to find a calculator will be negligible.

                • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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                  11 months ago

                  Uh what, that’s literally the point lol. The “you won’t have a calculator” has been complete and utter bullshit for literally over half a century.

                  • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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                    11 months ago

                    Bro, smartphones haven’t even existed for 20 years

                    You’re talking as if everybody was carrying around pocket calculators the day they were invented