Curtsmas mailbag! Please send your Curtsmas wishes.
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2023
- Day 11 (December 23) is mailbag day! Please ask questions or otherwise give me stuff to talk about.
#keepcurtsincurtsmas
Jingle bells sound from www.freesoundslibrary.com, CC-BY-4.0
I’m looking forward to this series. My father used a Curta in his engineering occupation, he would let me push buttons on his Monroe calculator to my hearts content however the Curta was off limits. 😊
Would you ever do a review of an electronic calculator (that doesn’t have an abacus attached to it 😄)? I think the original Ti-30 is a really interesting machine, and they are quite affordable on eBay. The HP-35 is another interesting one, though not as affordable. I think it’s cool that the demand to do handheld calculations drove many of the technological advancements that brought us personal computers. I’m sure that your take on electronic calculators would be lots of fun as always! Of course, I wouldn’t mind if you prefer to stick to mechanical devices-it makes no difference to the monkey. Merry Curtsmas!
'Oldest and newest together' might be a fun idea. Like the oldest thing you own next to the most recently manufactured thing(serious thing, not the monkey toy), or the thing you've had in your collection the longest and your most recent acquisitions.
Who thought making the calculator look like a pepper mill was a good idea? That could lead to a bad day in the kitchen.
Or a bad day at the drawing board...
@@enriquekahn9405 Or in the Accounting department.
Could you go over some of the differences between the curta models? It would be handy to know which models did what, what models were rare, etc.
Why is there no slide rule content on this channel? In my opinion they are far and away the most useful mechanical calculating devices. Once you get used to them, they are even faster than calculators for most simple physics/engineering problems. Multiplication, division, trig, logarithms and so much more, all in a single slide. There are even ones designed for imaginary numbers!
Also I would love to see more nomogram stuff beyond just parallel scales.
Happy Holidays :)
I'm glad to see you have a kurta. - Magically you're transported back in time with your entire mechanical calculator collection. You managed to get a job as mathematician, which mechanical calculator would you use the most for your work?
Curtmas Time is here, happiness and cheers 🎉
With all the nerd interest in recent years, do you think anyone will ever make an affordable remake? Even an off-brand? Or do we all have to keep saving our pennies? Also, I was born in 1980, could you please use the Curta to calculate my age? Thank you, and Merry Curtsmas!
Do you ever wish your could pull up on your crank and subtract a mistake from life Curta style?
Of all the devices on this channel, which do you use most often? What do you like most about it? What would you change if you could?
I have frothy spittle in the corners of my mouth I'm so excited!
Happy Festivus!!! 🙂
Adam Savage has a giant one that was 3d printed. Have you ever wanted one of your other calculators to be 3 times bigger?
I'd love to see some of the more complicated computations the curta can do.
Hello Chris!
I am a big fan of your content and also a mathematics enthusiast.
Since i was young i've always been fascinated by the computations some people were able to do from the top of their heads.
That's why i've spent the last 2 years of my life trying to improve my mental calculations skills, doing most of it by just trying to study as much math as i can and getting in touch with the most basic and advanced elements.
And that's what led me to actually getting to know about the soroban, and altough i am still horrible at it, i've been improving and doing my best to incorporate that to my studying methods and day-to-day math.
Next month i will be finishing the Kumon Math course, and wanted to know what an actual mathematician had to say about mental calculations and how to improve them.
Hugs from Brazil and happy curtismas!
🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
Curta question, they last forever, but I'm terrified of breaking it. Any tips on getting to the point where you might be able to do maintenance or repair on a Curta? I know there are only maybe three people who claim to be able to repair them, but surely if people have clockmaking as a hobby then I can develop the skills to maintain a Curta, right? In general I want this beauty to last a lifetime.
@ChrisStaecker I'd be really interested in a deep dive of how the Curta mechanism differs from other mechanical calculators, like the pinwheel tiger calculator I have. What bits are truly innovative and unique to the Curta?
You ever think about Leibniz? Just been reading (iirc) Monadology, and man loves a mathematical metaphor, some of which are quite good (polynomials as a way of expressing the difference between what's really going on and the small number of datapoints you experience). He also tried (apparently unsuccessfully) to make calculators (the engineering wasn't really there), and had this whole idea about eventually developing a system with which you could calculate the outcomes to all sorts of discussions, which could then be mechanized, and so on.
How do you store all your calculators? As a professional academic do you have thoughts of starting some museum-esque collection with all of them?
Yes, great question, surely there would be at lest mediocre intrest
I have a friend in New Zealand whose dream it is to open a Calculator Museum for all the mechanical calculators she has collected
HI CHRIS! I remember having that classic *Mind blown* moment in calculus when I learned why e^(i pi) = -1 and it completely changed my perception of mathematics from being boring busywork to being a tool for understanding. Have you experienced and similar mind-shifts over your maths career?
Merry Curtsmas! Any tips or tricks on how to take a Curta on a plane without getting apprehended by TSA?
Maybe @jaapsch2 has some advice for this?
Love the Curta! And all the various devices on the channel. Question - do you like ska?
Merry Curtsmas! Would you be getting into complex operations that can be done on a Curta? Tips and tricks?
I want to know your history with counting devices. how did you become interested in all this stuff?
What is your favorite tiling shape? I like hexagons.
What do you think the calculator of the future will be like? I mean, some day somebody will be reviewing the quaint apps and such of today like Chris Staecker reviews adding machines, and I want to know how those people will be doing day-to-day math.
I love math and I hope to be an architect. Currently, I'm a private tutor. I tutor everything from counting to Calculus. I have 2 abaci (one of them has a lever that resets the beads. Very nifty) and one of my students gave me a slide rule, too. My sister even made me a wood burned Unit Circle. I love all the math gizmos, so your channel is awesome to me. I have to say though, my TI-36x Pro has been my go-to since college. I love it and carry it with me in my briefcase always. Do you carry the Curta with you or something else? Thanks for the nifty videos : )
Can't wait!
Medically, can you use the Curta to calculate the water deficit of someone with hypernatremia and a sodium of 158 assuming ideal sodium concentration is 140?
And could you do it by next week Tuesday? His family are getting impatient.
No body mass given? Are you trying to reduce their anion gap? I can hear a nephrologist weeping.
How do you envision the future/final form of the channel? Do you have any dream projects you’d love to take part in/do?
Hey Chris,
Really really love your videos, although my interest in old calculating devices is actually somewhat limited (although is there to be sure). For me the start (the opening tune!) and the 'twist' at the end are the highlights. So two questions;
- whats up with the hyperactive opening tune?
- Do you think there is something special about the type of object that 'calculators' are that make your videos possible? By that I mean the possibility to get to something deeper seemingly effortlessly at the end of the video.
Last question. If you will be doing shout-outs at any point during the christmas series, you could say hello to my girlfriend Mala who I force to watch all your videos with me as soon as they come out and enjoyed your lectures on beauty a lot.
Greetings from the Netherlands, Max
Why do you think the Curta is so much more popular among collectors now than other portable mechanical calculator?
Probably size, the amount of precision machining and engineering to make everything work in such a compact design is pretty cool. It's like a fancy watch except it can do something useful.
Whats your feelings about quantum computing and AI.
I'm not the greatest mathematician, but I certainly do love the patterns of math. Stuff like the Curta calculator are absolutely fascinating. Napiers bones? Amazing! Unfortunately I don't have$1000 for a gorgeous curta. Napier's bones are cheap, but lack the mechanical wonder.
A question: What kind of a person likes your channel?
I want to know how does a mechanichal gas pump does multiplication of gallon and price per gallon to get the total.
This would be an absolutely classic Staecker vid
I got 1 toenail removed 12 years ago and that’s my favorite toe! Zero maintenance! I got 7 others removed and 3 years ago, leaving only the big ones. Unfortunately all 7 came back. Should I go back to that doctor and ask for them to finish what they started? Or peruse a new physician?
Thanks,
Mitch B
Minneapolis Minnesota
CHRIS: Hooray for Curtsmas! My wish: I would love to know how to research and buy this magical device. Specifically, if spouse wants to surprise a wonderful partner with something they've been dreaming about for decades, do you have any tips or suggestions for buying a Curta calculator online?
P.S. Said partner and I LOVE your videos. Please post more. They make us happy.
I would say ebay is the natural choice. Though I've never bought something so expensive there. At least the curta is easy to ship well, and they're always available. Thanks for the well-wishes!
Good morning and Merry Curtmas. Are you interested in "really really big" numbers? I went down an entire rabbit hole recently, gave me headaches. Things such as Graham's Number, Ackermann, Tree(3), and Rayo's number are only the beginning of the nonsense. I had to go outside and look at some grass when they started talking about "different types of infinity". Do you have a favourite "Really Big Number"? Hope you have a wonderful holiday, get lots of presents in their *ORIGINAL PACKAGING* and don't end up spending too many *BONES*.
I'm familiar with the big numbers, but I don't really know much about them. I'm a lot more interested in the big infinities! Very cool stuff. Though in my own research, I really only use the 2 smallest. Sometimes the third. (I am assuming the continuum hypothesis of course)
I have a group of 24 elements but 14 of them have order four, but there are only three subgroups of order four!!! It doesnt fit!
Anyway, are there any cool calculators that remind you of group actions?
Sorry to leave you hanging, but there seems to be only one group of 24 elements in which 14 elements have order 4, and that is G=ℤ_3⋊ℤ_4. I don't really do finite group theory, but I have an old book called "Group Tables" which just consists of complete multiplication tables, plus lists of element and subgroup orders, for all groups of order 32 or less. Maybe the subject of a future episode!
And I don't think I've ever seen a calculator that reminds me of group actions...
I considered requesting you show us some numerical methods, such as how to approximate some square roots, using bits and pieces in your collection (e.g. Napier's bones, the Curta), but after seeing how tedious some of these procedures are, I realised it wouldn't be humane.
What's a favoured non-mathematical interest of yours?
Bona fide Curta hater here. It seems so inefficient! Why go through all the trouble to make such an intricate machine just for basic arithmetic? Just use pen and paper! If you *really* needed to do some complicated computations, we could already use an abacus!
Jokes aside, mechanical calculators really do seem like a culmination of the techniques of precise mechanical/"analog" devices just as the dawn rose on the digital age. Are there other, perhaps non-mathematical-adjacent machines or instruments, which you haven't had the chance to talk about in a video? Or perhaps devices you've learned about while researching for other videos, but never had enough to make its own video? Love your videos!
Curta?
Can someone make a company that sells a reproduction of the curta, or has its patent expired? Did it have a patent?
If I am struck with an adding machine, is that battery or assault?
Depends on if it has batteries in it or not...
Is anyone manufacturing knock-off Curtas? Or have they been manufactured in the past? If not, why not? I imagine patents have something to do with it, but not everybody respects those, and knock-offs of most things make their way onto the market.
There's a project to manufacturer replicas that you can find searching for Curta Project. No idea if it's still active.
Part of it is that they are just so dang hard to actually manufacture. *Hundreds* of parts, *very* high precision, specific materials and lubrication types needed to function well, and a niche market (you'd be targeting people who want a very expensive fidget toy yet somehow are fine not saving up for the real thing). Make it too cheap and it just won't work and nobody will want it. Make it too expensive and you might as well buy a real one.
I suddenly got this thought in my head: you are probably the first and only 'calculator critic' in the world. I mean your videos are not really 'Review/How To' and share a lot of formal characteristics with art/literature criticism.
Can you make a fake numberphile video?
I watched the one where Graham talked about Graham's Number for half an hour. For WEEKS afterwards I had "three-to-the-three-to-the-three-to-the-three..." stuck in my head.
"Curta stories??"
I've had people comment with planimeter stories, Gerber Derivimeter stories, Numberaid stories, K&E graph sheets stories, so I'm sure there's Curta stories out there.
I'm probably the Curta hater, in the sense that I don't see the point of it in a world where slide rules exist. Cool in a "fancy watch with way too many complications" way tho.
Anyway, ever thought about doing videos about alternate/historical systems of notation?
It makes no difference to the Curta. 🙊
The slide rule was wonderfully fast, simple and rugged but it could give you about 3 significant digits, maybe a guess at the fourth. Sometimes you needed more precision, and digital calculators were for that. Most people who needed them did fine with desktop ones, though--the incredible low-tolerance miniaturization of the Curta did make it hard to service.
@@MattMcIrvin A very good argument for the electronic calculator but not really relevant for the Curta IMO
Please help! I spent all year bragging to my family about knowing what a helm is. They finally got sick of it, so I agreed to explain it in front of them all on Christmas day. Please explain it to me so I can explain it to them. Otherwise they're going to burn my presents in the fireplace.
Hard to explain, but I know it when I see it
A man with his hands behind his back approaches you and says:
"I have a Curta in one hand, and a hand grenade with the pin pulled in the other. You may pick one, but whatever it is you pick I'm going to toss it at your feet."
What do you do?
Either is a win in my book so...
i dont know what that thing is but it looks stupid