Posts: 22
Threads: 3
Joined: Jul 2007
Dear Laurie,
It's nice that someone is actually interested in helping Academically Gifted students. There usually aren't many resources left over for them.
Your student should take a look at the history of logarithms and the work of a mathematician named Briggs. Without him, there probably would not have been slide rules.
Your student should also look at the Curta calculator. www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/7227/curta.html It is a facinating piece of work.....
Posts: 56
Threads: 9
Joined: Jan 2007
Where's the museum? You're soaking in it.
I think if primary school students spent a year or two working with slide rules at the same time they're learning about ratios, scientific notation, and logarithms (etc), they'd be a LOT better off down the road. You get an intuitive feel for the principals behind basic math from using a slide rule that you aren't likely to pick up any other way.
Anyway you've probably found it by now (but just in case) the definitive slide rule resource is at http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/sruniverse.html
