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

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- Term 53: September - December 2019 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-53-september-december-2019/)

- - Arithmancy Lesson 1: Mechanical Calculators, an Introduction (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-53-september-december-2019/arithmancy-lesson-1-mechanical-calculators-an-introduction-113399/)

Math already?

Cecelia had been hoping for a little more chatting before they got down to the numbers, but she tried not to look TOO disappointed as she scribbled down the equations on her parchment. She really wished she was a little more like Tavie right now, who looked completely content doing her work. Numbers had never made much sense to Cece.

SPOILER!!: Cecelia's Work

Text Cut: Individual Replies

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising (Post 12429726)

The one thing that Carsyn was STILL resentful about was the lack of quidditch. Like, how could the Headmistress just go and CANCEL QUIDDITCH. You don't do that. Sure it would have been challenging to schedule matches with two schools, but it was workable. They could have played together. Or against each other. Learned strategies from each other. Especially with the brisk air; the mountainous backdrop would have been LOVELY to fly against - even challenging for her seeker's eye.

Something else that was challenging? Arithmancy.

Carsyn was never one to hide her displeasure with something, which was why at Professor Sissay's initial remarks of starting off with some arithmetic exercises, the fourth year audibly groaned. Why was she in this class again? Oh right, cause certain family members insisted it would be beneficial or something. Sure it was probably moreso than other subjects *coughdivinationcough* but honestly, how beneficial could it be to know how to multiply?

Unsure if she should be calling out the answers or not, Carsyn distracted herself by copying the equations down in on her parchment instead.

Done. How'd she do? Who knew, but hopefully her answers were CLOSE and if not ... well it was just a warmup, wasn't it???

Ayana's first stop was the Gryffindor who had the gall to groan out loud at her lesson. Not a first time it had happened, but Ayana found she disliked it more every time it happened. "Hmm." Ayana raised her brow at Carsyn's parchment, but moved on without saying a word.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 (Post 12429731)

On a normal day, Claudine would have brought out her sketchpad to pass the time between now and when the lesson began. Today though? She was too distracted by the cold to bother. Her book bag was on the table and her arms were still crossed over her chest, her fingers tucked under her armpits. She wasn’t paying attention to anything in particular, just the students coming in. Her one and only girl that she had chosen to be her friend came in. Claudine was pleased to see her, she really was but her face might have told a different story. “You alright?’’ she asked. She was used to seeing Bernie being upbeat and this quiet, in check Bernie slightly threw her off.

Seeing that Ayana was going to close, Claudine removed her hands from under her pits to bet her materials out of her bag. She was prepared for horrible misunderstandings on her part to occur during the lessons. She just felt dizzy (figuratively speaking) when more numbers appeared on the board. SO MANY NUMBERS. She threw Bernie a helpless look before taking her quill and getting to work:

“Divisions are the worst of me,’’ the Snakette whispered to her friend. “I guessed some of these…” Just… no one tell the professor.

As luck would have it, Ayana happened to be directly behind Claudine when she whispered to her friend and she had to purse her lips together to keep from chuckling. "As long as they were educated guesses, Miss Blaze," Ayana couldn't help herself, and continued to meander around the classroom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatInTheHat (Post 12429732)

Octavia didn’t dislike the cold, it had many perks and a few charms could keep you warm were that to be the major complaint, but she didn’t like the cold here in this castle. Storms kept people inside and it was so crowded already inside of the castle with two student bodies populating it, nothing like the warm spacious home she was used to. This did nothing but make her miss home more, wishing she were still being homeschooled with all of her friends. Things were much easier then.

Presently, however, she had no complaints. That was solely because she was in her most favorite class. Math spoke to Tavie in ways she couldn’t explain or even understand herself. She only knew that she loved it. So it was difficult to tell that the bundled up first year had ever been thinking about home as she sat beside Cece, hazel-green eyes lighting up at the sight of the board and hearing their instructions.

Getting out her quill and parchment, she copied the equations in the same order before going behind and answering them all without working out the math on her parchment. If this was how the rest of her day would go, she’d be a happy ravenclaw.

SPOILER!!: Tavie’s Parchment

Ayana was always exceptionally proud of first years when they really put in the effort, but this one seemed to enjoying herself as well which was all Ayana could ask for at the end of the day. "Excellent, Octavia." Very well done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom (Post 12429739)

Nettie was not a fan of this cold, it made it hard to concentrate when all she was trying to do was keeping her small body warm. She had slipped in to her seat quietly, taking note of the crate that Sissay seemed to be fussing over before pulling out all her notes and doing some quick review. Arithmancy was one of the OWLs she was a bit nervous for. That's why when it was announced that they were doing a little warm up - she was grateful for it. Any type of practice was a good thing for her this term!

She scribbled down all the problems and then quickly worked through them. Long division took so long...but she managed to knock them all out in the allotted time.

Ayana tried to pay more careful attention to all her OWL and NEWT students, for she knew that the subject she taught was considered frightening. In any case, she did note with a satisfied nod that Trinetta was doing very well. She was sure she'd like the rest of the lesson, if only to ease her nerves. "Very well done, Trinetta."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart (Post 12429744)

Avalon found her mind wandering to various subjects as she waited for the rest of the class to file in. Thoughts of baking Christmas cookies, her latest Transfiguration assignment, and Quidditch swirled in her head. The young Ravenclaw had a lot to get done before the holidays, including going Christmas shopping. What in the world would she get her family this year? Personally, she was really hoping to get a new broom. But with the Quidditch hiatus, she didn't know if she had much of a chance.

She tried to push the stray thoughts out of her mind as Professor Sissay started the lesson. So they were to practice some basic arithmetic first. Avalon had learned basic math at St. Woboldo's Primary School, so the first few questions were pretty easy. But it seemed like it had been ages since she practiced her long division. She definitely needed to work a few of those division problems out manually on the margins of her parchment paper.

Placing her quill back down, she eyed over her work, double checking all of the answers. The only one she had a lot of trouble with was number 11, since the multiplication tables she memorized back in third grade didn't go up that far. Thank goodness she remembered, although shakily, how to work out tricky division problems.

"Well done Avalon," Ayana peeked at the second year's work, very pleased to see the young Ravenclaw had completed the entire exercise. Good, very good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GD2204 (Post 12429747)

Ewan couldn’t help but cling his robes a little close as he entered the classroom today, the winter winds somehow taking hold deep inside his bones today. He really did love this time of year, even if he did miss the open fields of home and the animals lived there. Was he late to the lesson? Maybe. Did he care? Slightly. He was not afterall, one of those intentional rule breakers yet he often found himself stepping over the line these days.

Giving a curt nod to his fellow students and a quiet “Hello Professor” to Professor Sissay, he sat down in one of the chairs that faced the board and took his quill, his eyes instantly drawn towards the calculations in front of him now. Anything remotely muggle always interested him. Not because he in anyway wanted a career in muggle relations but because he simply missed doing muggle things from time to time. Quietly, he jotted down the questions and answers on the parchment in front of him, his mind using the old muggle methods he was one taught in a muggle school to work them out.

What was this?

Ayana looked up with a frown as a student - one of her students, mind you - opened the classroom door and strolled in as if nothing was the matter. He even greeted her. "Mister Jones!" Ayana did not raise her voice with her students, but her tone was an unfamiliar icy steel as she regarded Ewan. "That will be five points from Ravenclaw for showing up late to class, and I would like a three inch essay describing in great detail how you will work towards not being late in the future on my desk by Monday morning."

He did not even show the slightest bit of remorse for defying a clear rule of her classroom. That would not do. Without looking at his work, Ayana moved on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone (Post 12429751)

Arithmetic exercises?

Lucas wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He didn’t mind, and the bit of maths that Sissay put up on the board didn’t look too difficult - he hoped. But his mind was starting to wander and he couldn’t help but think what kind of lesson they were going to have if it was starting off with this. Was this a good sign? He wasn’t sure.

Picking up his quill, he copied down the calculations they had to solve on a piece of parchment before grabbing another one to do any calculations. Some didn’t need any calculating, it came to him very easily. In fact, looking down, most of it came very easily. He almost wondered if he didn’t need the spare parchment at all but........

.......... yeah. There were three.

His eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed the other piece of parchment and started scribbling away. His method? Separating the numbers. It made it easier, you know? One was in the 400s and he knew he didn’t know that off the top of his head. It was better to break that big piece down into smaller, easier pieces. Ones he could work with. And then there were some muggle maths methods scribbled on the sheet as well. Because, well, this was maths.

Some scribbling, and maybe even a few crossings out, later, and he had some answers. Were they right? Lucas was very confident for the first eight. The last three........... yeah. Maybe. He didn’t know.

Text Cut: parchment

Still quite bothered by the late arrival, Ayana passed Lucas' table and only briefly noted his hard work. "Good, Mister Dakest."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir (Post 12429753)

The sound of the closing door meant that Kaiser could no longer get away with being half asleep on his desk. Blinking his eyes hard, he sat up straight and gave his head a little shake. Sure, he could tell himself that once classes were over he could go have a nap in the broom closet, but Kaiser knew better than to think that that would turn out as planned. As soon as he got within fifty feet of a bed or couch, all signs of sleep vanished. It was... frustrating.

Anyway, Arithmancy. And... arithmetic... exercises.

... Maths. Actual, proper maths. Kaiser ran a hand over his face and heaved a great sigh.

He hated maths. Loathed and despised it. Hadn't properly learned it until he was a teenager, and then never got the hang of it. He couldn't imagine he'd be any better at it now.

All the same, Kaiser copied down the unfinished calculations... huh, was number 6 supposed to be missing?... then looked over them and realised he had written several numbers and two symbols wrong. Great start. He scribbled them out, rewrote, and then got to work.

SPOILER!!: there are numbers in here

... And then he was stuck. Kaiser hadn't needed to write any workings out for the first few questions (though he was unaware he had the second and fourth answers wrong), but he could be observed counting on his fingers to help him out. Then he hit multiplication, and it was basically game over. After trying to do the first one in his head, he resorted to working things out as best he could on his parchment. But trying to add six twelves together did his head in, and as he gave up on that question and moved to the next one, he found it only got more ridiculous.

Eventually Kaiser's parchment was covered with attempted workings out for the last five questions, but he was no nearer to writing down any more actual answers. Giving up on the last one, he went back up to the second multiplication question and tried that one again, but Kaiser had been working so slowly that by now he barely had any time left.

Kaiser's parchment surprised her so much that she stopped her strolling to look a little closer. The effort was there, but... not much else. Hmm. Regardless of today's lesson topic, all students needed to be able to complete this exercise at some point. Perhaps a review of the basics was needed? She had just the book for him. "Please see me after class Kaiser," Ayana leaned over so her voice wouldn't carry. Her voice had lost its previous edge, and wasn't meant to alarm the boy in any way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy (Post 12429757)

Tina was still looking at the numbers on the board when class began, and soon more numbers appeared. She thought there was going to be some long, complicated method of calculating the equations or some hidden meaning behind them, but to her surprise, they turned out to be a simple arithmetic exercise. Well, this was a refreshing change of pace! No vague, opinion-based questions, no guesswork, just plain, certain mathematics.

Tina showed no sign of hesitation or displeasure at the news. She was perfectly fine with this exercise. In fact, this was probably the only time she felt confident about anything arithmancy-related. She was something of a math whiz back in non magique school, so she had this! She took out a piece of parchment and copied down the equations on the board, calculating the results of each one as she went.

SPOILER!!: Tina's answers

Tina finished with a couple of minutes to spare and used the extra time to check her answers. She put her quill down, satisfied that her answers were correct, unless… She wasn't supposed to reduce the double and triple digit numbers, the way one does when calculating a birth or name number, before solving the equations, was she? That would yield some very different results!

Ayana was sure she'd never seen Tina so happy in Arithmancy. She smiled as she crossed her desk and saw the perfect parchment in front of the girl. "Quite excellent Tina," Ayana smiled at the Ravenclaw.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi (Post 12429759)

Dorian placed his quill neatly next to his notebook and looked up when the Professor started the lesson. He crossed his feet under the table as he listened, trying to keep his concentration on what she was saying instead of wandering off. It was probably a good thing that he had started to appreciate Arithmancy over the years like his father had when he had been at school.

The movement of the door opening up caught his attention and the Head Boy glared dissapointingly as one of the Ravenclaws (Ewan) entered the classroom late. His gaze followed the fifth year until he sat down before he turned his own attention back to the blackboard. He hoped that the Professor was in a better mood than he was right now.

As the exercises appeared on the blackboard, Dorian let out a soft sigh. It wasn't a sigh because it was difficult but because it was too easy. He opened up his notebook and dipped his quill in the ink before he began.

He did have to think a bit about the last two questions but it defintely did not take him the full ten minutes they had been given. When he was done, the Ravenclaw turned the page so that no one could copy his answers and stared at the crate at the front. Were they done yet?

"Very, very good Dorian," Ayana nodded as she passed another pitch perfect parchment, very unsurprised and quite pleased. She had also noticed his look at Ewan, and hoped Dorian might take it upon himself to speak with the tardy Ravenclaw.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SneakySeverusSnape (Post 12429763)

Analiese swiveled around as the door shut loudly. Her eyes followed Professor Sissay. Arithmetic? She had learned a bit about that in Muggle school. She picked up her quill and began to copy down the unfinished questions. She drew her robe a bit closer to her. It was still quite cold here.

Even though she did do some of this in Muggle school, it was not one of her strongest subjects. She had just passed her maths test. She furrowed her eyebrow and began to work.

SPOILER!!: Answers

She looked back down at her work after she had finished. She had guessed most of them.

Unlike with some of her older students, Ayana felt no worry as she saw Analiese's work. There was plenty of time still to hone her arithmetic skills. "Very good efforts Analiese," Ayana said kindly, and smiled at the young Ravenclaw encouragingly. The important thing was that she tried.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch (Post 12429764)

Sadly the Beauxbatons palace was as drafty and cold in winter as Hogwarts usually was. Cole sat in his seat next to his cousin Carys and stared dismally out the windows at the wailing blizzard. At least he wasn't out on the grounds on his way to the greenhouses or creature pen. What he did miss though like a burning ache was the non-existent quidditch practices. They didn't even have flying lessons to practice broom care and handling.

Sitting up straighter in his seat Cole tried his best to perk up as professor Sissay got the lesson started with a warm up exercise with arithmetic calculations. Oh please no, he wasn't good at those. Feeling his pulse rise along with his mood dropping like an inflated balloon Cole took a long breath as he sneaked a look over at Carys parchment. They didn't have to show their calculations to anyone, but professor Sissay. So no pressure right?

Fingers going slightly numb Cole gripped his quill and started to copy down the calculations on his parchment. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead as he started to count.

SPOILER!!: Calculations

Putting his quill down to wipe away some sweat Cole looked sideways at Carys and whispered "I hope we don't need to do anymore calculations. I really dislike calculations..........."

The effort was visible on young Cole's face. Ayana appreciated that almost as much as she would appreciate any right answers. "Very good, Cole." Very good indeed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty (Post 12429766)

It was a good thing that these weren't counting towards their grades because long division and her went together like oil and water. Which is to say, they didn't. And she was definitely going to have to do long division with this, thanks to this being the wizarding world with its lack of calculators. Needless to say, those were the ones she started on, hoping to get the hardest ones out of the way first.

Ugh. Hopefully, there would be no more long division. And what was with all the sevens?

"Superb work there Dahlia," Ayana nodded as she passed the Hufflepuff, not noticing the displeasure radiating from the young girl. If she had, she might have been amused given what the lesson was truly about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow (Post 12429797)

Ayana could have laughed at the palpable disappointment on the young Gryffindor's face. Why was it always Gryffindors? "Some excellent efforts, Cecilia." Truly.

"Great work everyone!" Ayana raised her hands as their ten minutes were up, and returned to the front. "Practice makes perfect, never forget!" Ayana addressed the class as a whole, though she did single a few out by holding their gazes. They knew who they were.

Well, time to move on. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Now, let's move on. Those calculations, especially for the older students, should be relatively standard. Some could be done purely in our heads, others with the help of a little calculation done on the side of our parchments. In an exam setting, you would not have ten minutes to dedicate to these calculations, perhaps not even five," Ayana spoke fairly quickly as she walked from side to side, not feeling the need to give anyone time to take notes. So far, it should all be pretty straight forward.

"Calculating arithmetic by hand, while very good practice, is not time efficient. In a real life setting, and especially with large numbers, it's impractical and downright tedious." Her lips twitched upwards, and she looked knowingly around. It always seemed to be against her best interest to admit calculations by hand are tedious, for the purpose of today's lesson it was necessary. "Often enough, and despite our best efforts, we might get results that are wildly inaccurate for any number of reasons. Perhaps we're tired, stressed, we're agitated from an exam setting. For all my OWL and NEWT students, this is doubly important for you as there will be no time to do calculations by hand in your examinations."

Ayana glanced around to make sure they were all with her still. "Today we will learn about mechanical calculators." Yes, calculators. "The kind we can use without fear of muggle electric circuits going haywire. Today we will learn how to use them and how they work."

She wrote the words 'mechanical calculators' in big letters on the blackboard, and turned back to her students. "Can anyone tell me anything about mechanical calculators and how they came to be?"

OOC: Theory time! You'll have just under 48 hours to reply to this part before we move on.

Oops.

She had been overheard. Claudine looked up at her Professor and nodded. They had been educated guesses as she had not willy-nilly applied figures to her parchment. And she wondered how well Bernie had done with hers. When Sissay addressed the class, the Snakette found that hers and the woman’s holding for a short moment. Obviously the first year was one of those that needed to improve.

She was a little scared and panicked when it was related that they would not have much time to do calculations in an exam. Surely she would improve by the time exams came around? But then… if they were not going to manually do these calculations…?

Oh.

Calculators. That made sense.

What did Claudine know about those?

Absolutely nothing.

All she got was a hmm?? Carsyn glanced down at her parchment momentarily to look over her work again but frowned upon not seeing anything remotely wrong. Or maybe it was okay to have wrong answers? Did this exercise not matter for correctness?

Oh. She'd heard of this one!!!

Popping her hand into the air, the fourth year said confidently enough, "calculators can calculate the arithmetics for you so you don't need to use your head." Took a lot of the stress off of one who wasn't that good in mathematics. Wait. But they weren't going to be allowed mechanical calculators on exams, were they?? As far as how it originated, she had no idea and yet also... "Wasn't there something called an abiscus that was used in ancient civilizations?" Abiscus? Wait, was that the right word? That didn't sound right.

SPOILER!!: bit o'catchup

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 (Post 12429731)

Bernie knew better than to talk once the lesson had started, particularly a lesson in which she needed to pay close attention. But once the maths was handed out and they were left to hurry through their calculations, Bernie felt like she could let out her breath a little.

"'M alright," she muttered to Claudine, hurrying to start her calculations because she knew she was slow at multiplication and she liked to double-check her work before handing it in. This part of the class she liked, because it reminded her of Muggle school, and Bernie had been pretty good at Muggle school.

1. 1 + 6 = 7
2. 7 + 17 = 24
3. 25 - 7 = 18
4. 156 - 82 = 74
5. 4 * 7 = 28
7. 6 * 12 = 72
8. 13 * 15 = ? .... 195
9. 135 ÷ 9 = 15
10. 144 ÷ 12 = ?
11. 471 ÷ 3 = ?

She nodded at her friend's admission about division just as the professor announced time was up. "I didn't even finish mine!" Dangit!

So um, mechanical calculators... how did they come to be???

"They came to be because... people needed to do large sums? It probably had something to do with trade, and markets, and people needing to calculate the cost and amount of items they were selling...?" Right? What did wizards sell at ancient markets? Magic carpets? Bernie cracked a small grin to herself at these thoughts.

NUMBERS. MATHEMATICS. ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS.

Well, basic ones at least, but everything about that had already caught Drewett's attention. His enthusiasm showed with how he was eyeing the professor and the board. The rest of his day would (probably) go well for him if he had to simply solve mathematical problems like these. With Professor Sissay's go signal, the sixth year delved into mentally solving them with no hesitation. Drewett had finished them in only half the time given to them, along with checking to see if his answers were right.

There was even a little smile playing on his lips as he placed his quill down. His answers were final. This was one of those rare moments when Drewett was actually confident. Wild, huh?

Text Cut: Drewett's parchment

But for the first question in today's discussion, Drewett would have to admit that he didn't know a lot about mechanical calculators. Nor had he ever used one. Muggles nowadays were into the electronic one, which was definitely more portable and multifunctional. "They're used t-to solve problems using the basic arithmetic operations," the Ravenclaw shared, after raising his hand. "And...uhm... th-the first one was called the Pascaline, named after Blaise Pascal." Who was also the brilliant mind behind Pascal's triangle, and the foundation for the probability theory, and even the SI derived unit for pressure was named after him? Truly brilliant.

Patrick still wasn't 100% certain why he kept taking Arithmancy but he was always back here trying as hard as he possibly could. Yet it felt worse here than it had at Hogwarts. Maybe it was because everything looked so nice and calming and then BAM you were hit with numbers. He had greeted the professor before sitting down and joining his classmates.

A pop quiz? You could say it wasn't a pop quiz all you wanted, he knew it was 100% a pop quiz. He dutifully wrote down the answers that he got, fairly quickly which was much a surprise to him because he had struggled so much last term with calculations.

"Like Carsyn said, an abacus was used. I know it isn't the real reason but I like to think they started using that because they ran out of fingers and toes." He chuckled to himself but knew that wasn't the answer. "It was so they could keep track of the numbers they were using. Right?" He wasn't so sure that the keeping track of numbers part was correct... but he sure hoped so.

Sorry for his attitude hehe

Ewan couldn’t help but look up, one eyebrow slightly raised as the professor took 5 points from him for being late. Was it his fault he was late? Maybe but he’d never been late before so could she not have cut him the slightest bit of lenience? With the biggest sigh he could muster, he made a note of the three-inch essay on a spare bit of parchment and tucked it away for later, his eyes following the professor now as she walked away from him.

Watching carefully now, Ewan listened, not really wanting to lose more points but not really caring about this stupid class either. He knew all there was to know about mechanical calculators having already used one many times before. Leaning back in his chair, he listened to the other answers given, or lack of answers from some and smiled a little, amusement on his face. Usually his hand would have shot up and the answer would have been out through his lips straight away but today… nope. Not today. Putting his hands down on the table in front of him, he quietly leaned forward, not wanting to draw attention to himself and waited.

The first year smiled when the older woman complimented her efforts. Well, at least that was something. She MAYBE wasn't the best, but she'd stick it out and try, and apparently that was enough for the professor, which was good news indeed.

The mention of calculators was something she could get excited about 'cause those made math easier, they did. Hand up, she wiggled a bit in her seat, waiting to answer. "They're super helpful 'cause they make doing math faster and easier for people like me, who find it hard to calculate things sometimes."

Not too surprised about the request to see Sissay later, Kaiser simply nodded and replied with a clearly unconcerned, "Yes, okay."

He wasn't anything close to alarmed; it wasn't like he could get into trouble for being bad at maths, or giving wrong answers. Even that one Creatures lesson earlier in the term, when de Nostredame took points for particular answers, it had been more because they were offensive rather than because they were wrong. Kaiser's arithmetic couldn't be offensive (unless you were really, really into maths), it was just just numbers.

Anyway. Calculators. Mechanical calculators. What did Kaiser know about them?

Nothing. Not a thing. This, right now, was the first he'd ever heard of one. Naturally, he opted not to answer, instead scribbling a little doodle in the bottom corner of his parchment; a tiny, crude drawing of a thestral.

The way Professor Sissay was talking, Dalia started getting all excited. Until the professor had to go and pour cold water all over her excitement by specifying mechanical calculators. Which, they hadn't left those behind back in Ancient Greece? And also..."Aren't there spells that can make electronics work in magic saturated areas...?" she commented, hand up. She wasn't jazzed about mechanical calculators. Not since the time in grade school when the teacher made them try abacuses as a part of their study of the ancient world. Honestly, it had taken longer than pencil and paper.

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.

Wait, she wouldn't get ANY time to do calculations on her OWL exam!?

Nettie's face fell a little as she started to mentally panic over this. Especially since she knew literally nothing about mechanical calculators. Muggles all used their fancy phones these days to calculate things, right? It had literally never occurred to her that there had been something pre-dating that. It made sense though, because it wasn't like people just started to do math as soon as phones came around.

She raised her hand, taking a wild shot in the dark - but it was a logical one. "They came about because people didn't have time to do all those calculations by hand, like you said. They needed something faster, but just as accurate, so they could do more calculations in half the time," she said. Was she blindly guessing on this one? Absolutely, but it made sense right?

Sissay seemed a little distracted, did she know? Or something seemed........ off. It wasn’t just the short greeting, which caused him to give her a small smile in return, it was the rushed way she was speaking as well. Lucas blinked a couple of times, a quill just sitting in one of his hands. Was he supposed to be making a note of all of this? How could he, Sissay was talking so quickly!

But something he did note was the topic of today’s lesson: mechanical calculators. Okay. But he was concentrating on something else the Arithmancy Professor had said. Something about not having enough time to do proper calculations in the exams. He wasn’t an OWL student yet - well, not really - but all these mentions of OWLs and exams and exam techniques were making him feel a bit uncomfortable.

As for an answer, the fourth year decided to stay quiet. Nothing from him. He was going to sit here, trying to keep up with these notes and ignore that uncomfortable feeling.

It was a huge relief to hear when he got praise for his calculations from Professor Sissay, it made Cole relax just a little and his pulse slowed down too. If they had to do some more calculations later though he just knew that he'd start sweating again and get anxious. Leaning back in his chair next to Carsyn as the lesson moved onward to mechanical calculators that he wrote down on his parchment in neat letters as he listened to Professor Sissay’s lecture.

Raking his brain he tried to remember something useful to answer that nobody else had already mentioned and Cole eventually said tentatively with a look over at Professor Sissay for confirmation. "Weren't the first mechanical calculator created many decades ago because people couldn't count super large numbers in their heads without the high risk of getting it incorrect so it'd be more accurate? Also I've heard of something called a Thomas arithmometer, that was the first calculator reliable enough to be used daily in offices? I remember this because my late great grandpa on my daddy's side of the family was called Thomas."