Modern Electronics (was Re: List charter mods & headcount... ;

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Wed Jun 23 22:47:09 2004

> Well, in a modern context I wish some testing at degree level was done
> without the ability to use a calculator. Mental arithmetic is another
> one of those basic skills which does come in handy from time to time,
> plus it helps keep the brain sharp.

Another very useful skill is being able to make sensible estimates and
approximations (e.g. \pi^2 ~= g ~= `10. All too often I've had students
give ridiculous errors (I remember one idiot who tried to convince me
that Planck's constant, based on his experimental results was something
around 10^9Js (!)) and not realise that they are _way_ out (in the above
case, the student had dropped many powers of ten in his calculations).

-tony
Received on Wed Jun 23 2004 - 22:47:09 BST