SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Arithmancy Lesson 1: Mechanical Calculators, an Introduction

MadMadamMalfoy · 10-08-2019, 02:53 PM

Tina positively beamed, returning Professor Sissay's smile as she praised her work. Could they just do more of these equations for the rest of class? Please? Calculations were the kind of methodical work Tina excelled in; it was the more subjective element of analyzing what those calculations meant that always tripped her up!

Her heart sank slightly as she waited for the class to return to its usual vague questions and number analyses, but… that didn't happen. Instead, Professor Sissay asked about mechanical calculators. Tina's mood instantly brightened. She'd used a mechanical calculator for her arithmancy OWL a couple of terms ago, and she remembered reading about them before so she knew this. This made two sections of the lesson in a row that she felt confident about; it was a new record!

Tina considered the question carefully. Her first thoughts went to Blaise Pascal's version of the mechanical calculator - what else would she say? She was French, after all! National pride and all that - but somebody else mentioned that already. She bit her lip, lost in thought as she tried to remember other facts about the mechanical calculator. Then something came to her. Wasn't there another attempt at inventing a mechanical calculator before Pascal? Yes, but what was the inventor's name? Something with an S...

Ooh, now she remembered! Tina's hand shot up, and she said, "If I recall correctly, Wilhelm Schickhard tried to invent a mechanical calculator years before Blaise Pascal, but his version was flawed. It used a dial pedometer for addition and subtraction, but the dial could jam and the machine could be damaged by carrying numbers across multiple digits…" Her voice trailed off as she realized that answer was a lot more long winded than she planned. She was just going to… stop talking now.

10-08-2019, 02:53 PM	#37 (permalink)
MadMadamMalfoy Newbie Mod Honeydukes Mod Alley Proprietor Mackled Malaclaw Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Hazbin Hotel Posts: 11,135 Hogwarts RPG Name: Sydney M. L. Masters Slytherin Fourth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Maddox B. Buchanan Gryffindor Fifth Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Caledon Roth The Leaky Cauldron	Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll Tina positively beamed, returning Professor Sissay's smile as she praised her work. Could they just do more of these equations for the rest of class? Please? Calculations were the kind of methodical work Tina excelled in; it was the more subjective element of analyzing what those calculations meant that always tripped her up! Her heart sank slightly as she waited for the class to return to its usual vague questions and number analyses, but… that didn't happen. Instead, Professor Sissay asked about mechanical calculators. Tina's mood instantly brightened. She'd used a mechanical calculator for her arithmancy OWL a couple of terms ago, and she remembered reading about them before so she knew this. This made two sections of the lesson in a row that she felt confident about; it was a new record! Tina considered the question carefully. Her first thoughts went to Blaise Pascal's version of the mechanical calculator - what else would she say? She was French, after all! National pride and all that - but somebody else mentioned that already. She bit her lip, lost in thought as she tried to remember other facts about the mechanical calculator. Then something came to her. Wasn't there another attempt at inventing a mechanical calculator before Pascal? Yes, but what was the inventor's name? Something with an S... Ooh, now she remembered! Tina's hand shot up, and she said, "If I recall correctly, Wilhelm Schickhard tried to invent a mechanical calculator years before Blaise Pascal, but his version was flawed. It used a dial pedometer for addition and subtraction, but the dial could jam and the machine could be damaged by carrying numbers across multiple digits…" Her voice trailed off as she realized that answer was a lot more long winded than she planned. She was just going to… stop talking now. __________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...