Hey buddy, psst, over here...can I interest you in some analog computation?
 |
Use the menus at the right to navigate within the site.
This is a genuine exploratorium, for I'm finding that I've just scratched the surface myself on what's possible and want to share what I've encountered thus far. I expect the site to grow...
Join Me for Some Computational Fun
I'm fairly new to the slide rule world, despite my seniority. So certainly don't think I'm trying to come across as an expert. Instead, consider this site a salmagundi of what I've found so helpful. Feel free to join in the conversation by leaving a comment.
A word about the level: this isn't exactly a beginner's tutorial with step-by-step hand-holding, nor am I writing for experts. Instead, regard what's here a record of my own explorations as a novice just beginning to tap the less obvious mysteries of the slide rule.
Nonetheless, I've provided a number of links should you be starting completely from scratch. In particular, be sure to view the superior series of video tutorials from Professor Herning, which I'll detail a little later. They're incredibly well done and will get you up to speed in a trice.
"What about books?" I hear you ask. Well, after studying a number of tomes on the subject, I've concluded the great bulk simply reiterate tired drivel of the past, probably penned by morally upright slender chaps with education degrees who formerly had taught ninth grade boys' wood shop whilst wearing clip-on bow-ties. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking, "and that is how it's done," or worse, "that's all there is." Let me speak to the notion of status quo for a moment.
Take the Road Less Traveled
I still remember learning how to touch-type on an old mechanical Underwood typewriter. I used a textbook that was really little different from all the other typing textbooks in the world. Matriculates of that era all typed the same way and with roughly the same speed and accuracy. No one in my class was a Jesse Owen on the keyboard, just epsilon faster or epsilon more accurate than the others.
You see, as clever as a typewriter's construction might be, its operation offers no genuine opportunity for divergence of technique. Fingers to buttons, buttons to fingers, and that's it. Apart from slight improvements brought on by a change of posture, or how to fix the eyes on the page being transcribed, etc., it's all pretty linear.
The slide rule is not a typewriter.
It's a philosophic instrument, full of endless logarithmic and trigonometric beauty waiting to be uncovered, admired and maybe even used for something practical. The latter is not its sole justification, needless to say.
Computation as Art
The early 20th century mathematician G. H. Hardy laid great emphasis on the fact that a mathematician is a maker of patterns, and that the patterns must be beautiful. I'd like to suggest also that whatever the medium the mathematician works with, it must provide never-ending fodder.
Well, so far in my exploration, I'm continually amazed at the internal beauty within the slide rule. And I see no reason, so far, to suggest one can claim to have "see it all, done it all."
And that's why I've put this Web site together. In a way, I'm writing it as a journal, recording the delights I stumble upon daily.
So, again, welcome to this logarithmic craziness! We're going to have some real fun together...
Next installment: A Late Bloomer