do engineers use those expensive calculators we had to buy in high school?

[bigalt]

I know I spent a long time screwing around with my TI back in high school. It seemed like most math classes were geared towards teaching me how to use it-- if we had just focused on the math concepts instead of walking us through how to program in the Euler method calc could have been 2 semesters instead of 3.

Anyway, i'm in bioengineering grad school now (granted a pretty soft sect of engineering) and i'm wondering if other engineers ever use theirs. I for one haven't picked mine up since basic physics courses in college. If I need to do any math I usually fire up excel or matlab.

is it really worth it to make kids buy these things and teach them how to use them?

 

[sharkeeper]

Real engineers can use the slide rule!

 

[bigalt]

yeah, real OLD engineers!

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: bigalt
yeah, real OLD engineers!

OHHHHhhhh SNAP! Teh BVRNZ0RZ!

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: bigalt
is it really worth it to make kids buy these things and teach them how to use them?

To the calculator manufacturers? Yes. To those required to purchase such? No.

 

[jmcoreymv]

I use my TI89 in pretty much every EE course I have. Although I generally only use it for specific things like finding complex roots, or solving matrix equations, or doing derivatives. Stuff that I could do on my own, but teachers expect us to use them in order to spend more time on the engineering subject rather than the tedious math.

There would be virtually no way to finish the midterms and finals I have to take within the allowed time without a graphing calc.

 

[OS]

I use matlab instead of graph calcs.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: OS
I use matlab instead of graph calcs.

QFT

 

[rahvin]

Real Engineers use HP RPN calculators.

 

[eigen]

Originally posted by: rahvin
Real Engineers use HP RPN calculators.

Knowing how to use RPN is the lamest geek badge of Honor in the world.having said that I do understand the utility of RPN.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I use my TI89 in pretty much every EE course I have. Although I generally only use it for specific things like finding complex roots, or solving matrix equations, or doing derivatives. Stuff that I could do on my own, but teachers expect us to use them in order to spend more time on the engineering subject rather than the tedious math.

There would be virtually no way to finish the midterms and finals I have to take within the allowed time without a graphing calc.

:thumbsup:

I've used my TI-89 just about every day for the last six years. Probably the best investment I ever made. Even if it's not required, I highly recommend it. If you learn how to use it before you start calculus, you'll get easy A's in Calc I and Calc II at least.

 

[J0hnny]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I use my TI89 in pretty much every EE course I have. Although I generally only use it for specific things like finding complex roots, or solving matrix equations, or doing derivatives. Stuff that I could do on my own, but teachers expect us to use them in order to spend more time on the engineering subject rather than the tedious math.

There would be virtually no way to finish the midterms and finals I have to take within the allowed time without a graphing calc.

:thumbsup:

I've used my TI-89 just about every day for the last six years. Probably the best investment I ever made. Even if it's not required, I highly recommend it. If you learn how to use it before you start calculus, you'll get easy A's in Calc I and Calc II at least.

I'm a practicing mechanical engineer and I use the TI-83 daily. However, I see no possible need for anything more, except for conversions. Everything else is listed on a table somewhere!

 

[RedPickle]

EXCEL

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

We are not allowed to use those types of calculators in our Engineering program. Actually none of our math courses allowed the use of calculators in University, and only a few EE courses allowed only a certain few calculators, none of which are programmable.

And in high school, we only used those programmable calculator for one class, but there was no real focus to it.

 

[EngenZerO]

i use a ti-89 ti

 

[pmoa]

nope....we use long hand on a whiteboard

 

[Tiamat]

Im a Junior in Chemical Engineering. Use the TI-86 for rudimentary stuff, and Maple for the tougher stuff.

 

[Armitage]

As a practicing Aerospace engineer, I don't think I even own a working handheld calculator.
Spreadsheet, calc program on PC, if it gets really hairy, mathematica or a custom program. About as portable as I get is a laptop, although I had some custom astro software on my palm pilot for one project.