The Best Calculators for Students and Professionals (Old tech remains relevant)

Popular Mechanics ^ | July 26, 2022 | ALEX RENNIE AND STEPHEN SLAYBAUGH

[DoodleBob]

Regardless if I have Excel nearby, I'm a massive fan of the HP 12c.

[dsrtsage]

Democrats calculating inflation

[EEGator]

Everyone I know used the TI-89 in Engineering school.

[NWFree]

I’ve more calculators than I know what to do with

Mostly TI

[21twelve]

I was cleaning out the basement and just tossed a 4-inch thick 3-ring binder of paper instructions on how to program the HP-41 (I think?). Scientific stuff so you could run the calculations on the calculator. Pretty sure they were written before PC’s were around. It was nice to have the programs out in the field to do some rough checks of the data, even once we were able to have computer software that did it.

All sorts of various programs written by various different people that were experts in their fields at the time.

I did keep a few of the papers as keepsakes.

[DoodleBob]

I'm calling BS, FRiend... clearly that's fake news.

Dems can't operate an abacus.

[mylife]

TI Scientific rules

[Leaning Right]

These electronic calculator gizmos are just a passing fad. I’m sticking with my trusty slide rule. It’s precise to three significant digits (I never needed any more). And batteries are not required!

[NWFree]

One of my TI calculators is 45 years old but doesn’t really look dated

[Dutch Boy]

I still use my HP-11c occasionally.

[InvisibleChurch]

No Gakulator?

[Karliner]

My old TI 83 is fine. First time around in college was a TI something in 1977. It’s still working. They never let us use calculators on tests back then

[Larry Lucido]

Bought a TI financial calculator for a corporate finance class 20 some years ago. Used it one semester and never looked at it again.

[DoodleBob]

In my profession, you have immediate street cred if you show up to a meeting with a physical calculator.

The youngsters actually marvel. And when you show them the goods and they feel what it's like to press PHYSICAL BUTTONS, it's like going back in time.

The HP 12c's reverse Polish notation takes some time to figure out, but you can't go back once mastered.

[rigelkentaurus]

Most engineers I went to school with used HP RPN based calculators. I still do. Have an HP-50g for graphing, 12c for financial. I have emulators on my phone for an HP-21, HP-41c, HP-12c. RPN is so much easier.

[Think free or die]

I still have my workhorse HP 12C from ~1980. Few people ever borrow an HP calculator, since the RPN input is very confusing to the casual user.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[fishtank]

HP has no equal!!!

[DoodleBob]

Excel and phone calculators have essentially destroyed the hand held calculator market for many sectors.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, that’s how we got to the Moon...