I remember giant wall hung instructional slide rules:-) The leather cased device was a badge of honor in some circles. The circles that ate by themselves and never got a date.
My parents both had and used slide rules regularly. They were mathematicians, and those were the days before computers. Although my mother was a human computer.
My mother, who as I said, was a human computer, learned scientific programming on the job at The Rand Corporation, starting my freshman year in college. As I recall, she had stacks of cards that ran through a central computer. She did not have a desk top computer. That would have been in the spring of 1963.
I have one also! As I downsize, I wonder what I should do with it? Antique store where we have a booth? Or my nephew, with his University Degree in Computer Science?
My algebra teacher was also the football coach. I remember nothing about algebraic equations but know quite a bit about football as we would spend Friday's class going over the game plan and Monday doing post-game review. It traumatized my already weak math skills!
Have you seen the trump family attempt math? Google ‘trump multiply 17’ and watch the Mother Jones video of their appearance on Howard Stern. It explains … a lot!
Susan, I can't guess who made the distinction in my youth, but it stuck in my head. On the other hand, arithmetic was slow to penetrate it. Long division was devilment as were most other things. I took plane geometry in HS soph year and that was the end -- I'd met the minimum requirement and ran. My father always helped, though. He'd liked math and was good. It struck me that, at his funeral, I saw one of his first cousins who I hadn't seen in decades. It had been so long and the contact was never frequent earlier that he'd forgotten that my father had a daughter. (He didn't say as much, but I could see his eyes widen.) He shared something that made me happy: My father, 6 or 8 years older than he, would show him arithmetic and math problems when cousin was a kid. He went on and, at retirement, held the rank of professor emeritus from Columbia. He credited my father for being the spark. (As Mr. Twain wrote, had I more time, this would have been shorter. Something like that.)
Neat story, L.R. I wish my parents had helped me with math. Their attitude always was that if they knew it, their kids should automatically know it, too. (Apparently they did not know that the LaMarckian theory of inheritance, does not work on humans, only on Planaria flatworms). I think they didn't want to get that involved with helping us directly. I think the reason I went as far as trig was because I was expected to, and not given a choice. I have mathematical aptitude. When I was in the 8th grade they gave a test, and the best scorers got to have a whole year of algebra in the second semester. I think that, plus lack of help, is what made math difficult for me.
Now that you mention algebra, I had one semester -- which would have fulfilled the requirement for a diploma -- after the year of plane geometry. Or was it the other way around? I can dig out my report cards (it wasn't until my adulthood that I found my father had kept all of them from 1st grade) and check. Do I care that much? It's 'almost' interesting that these things come back, don't you think?
Um… I never shouted trigonometry, except perhaps to shout about how much I hated it. (I ended up with a C average, but my second quarter I had a D average). I think they respected everything above the four basic functions of arithmetic.
I watched that! And these people supposedly graduated from UPenn? Clearly, they have no standards for matriculation or for graduation. But then, I do remember hearing somewhere that Daddy bought the Convicted Felon's diploma and the Felon bought his children's.
By the way, I did the math in my head in about 2 seconds, with time left over to get a drink of water. Got the right answer, too: 102.
I have to think of all the immigrants working two menial jobs trying to get ahead … who could solve this as quickly and easily as did you and I - with time left over to get a drink of water. Trumps: explain this concept of ‘meritocracy’ to us again, please!
The next step is banning the foundation of K-6 education by adding READING" and "WRITING" to "RITHMETIC" on the bad list. And here's their justification:
1) April 2025 Pennsylvania news article: Two people arrested in READING drug bust.
2) Writers should not warn about autocracies: ALDOUS HUXLEY, the Author of "Brave New World", took large amounts of mescaline and came up with works of pure WRITING brilliance. He was even introduced to LSD and mushrooms.
Taught math when I subbed at a local Jr High. They were astounded that I could do simple math without a calculator. I was an English major who hadn’t seen the inside of a math class in more than 50 years and I could do better without one than they could do with one. 🙄
“C’mon, Dad! I’m the only kid in my class who has to take Linear A lessons. What’s the use of learning it when in 3,000 years there won’t be anybody who can read it? Lemme go play with my friends. Please!”
I remember showing a student how to find a square root without a calculator. He looked at me like I was speaking some language not known in this galaxy.
I'm a retired Latin and French teacher and I say exactly the same thing!! Bring on those immigrants and their math!! The more, the merrier!!
It was, after all, immigrants (Arabs) who brought their numeration system to Europe which spelled the end of using Roman numerals. Roman numerals have no zero, which made multiplication and division impossible. The Arabic numerals do have a zero, which made them infinitely more useful. And they brought that bogeyman of middle-schoolers everywhere, namely algebra.
I was given a rolling ruler a while back. As I have not yet taken time to wonder what the hell it's for or how to use it, will it be of use in the current project?
Thanks, Christine. The one time I handled it brought to mind a car being driven by a drunk, veering in all directions. I'll give it a try and see what I can make of it. It could come in handy.
It's only a matter of time until we get telescreens. In fact, phones are almost there, picking up personal information and preferences from your apps and such. It's already a two-way street.
Glenn, your work stuns and makes grins. It is a joy that you're here. I went again, as I did the other day, to read Dylan's lyrics. They got me teary, yet I've heard that, in deference to you, he's reverting to "Zimmerman" and moving to Duluth. He has taste.
On a different topic, as I had absurdly, but presciently suggested here recently, that Trump was going to throw his hat into the ring for the next Pope. His qualifications? He wants another important title, he pimps bibles, and he once actually held a bible in a promotional photo.
Lindsay Graham told the Cardinals to keep an open mind. 🙄
While it is for life, Trump did miss the fact that it requires vows of celibacy and poverty, is required to write lengthy researched documents, not to mention wear something besides a blue suit and red tie.
An interesting sidelight -- anyone else notice the great similarities in the photos of Leavitt and Bondi that adorn today's Borowitz Report front page? I think they're the same person, cloned by those annoying space lasers.
They really do look scarily alike, but my guess is it's by design, because Trump is addicted to blonds who remind him of Ivanka (whom years ago he said he'd date, if she weren't his daughter.) Everything around him reflects his whims (including the now hideously tacky Oval Office) He really is a very sick man.
Sorry for going off on a tagent. You opened the floodgates!
It's the plastic surgery and dermatology laser treatments that make Bondi look like a space alien. If she were an ordinary alien and thus capable of doing math, she'd have at least one redeeming quality. Alas, she is just a zero.
The next epidemic immigrants will bring will be spelling. They ALL know how to spell COFFEE. They laugh at covefefe. So do citizens, but who’s counting? that would require numbers!
Nope. Never did it - never will. I got hooked on diff-e-q’s for 16 weeks back in 85. Had to go cold turkey to get it out of my system during week 17. Toughest days of my life. And it’s a complete blur.
Any word on whether they're bringing in the abacus? Or is that tool too DEI?
It's from China! It's EVIL!
Probably created in a lab.
Slide rule is bad enough.
I remember giant wall hung instructional slide rules:-) The leather cased device was a badge of honor in some circles. The circles that ate by themselves and never got a date.
My parents both had and used slide rules regularly. They were mathematicians, and those were the days before computers. Although my mother was a human computer.
My first computer at work was a desk top Wang with neon digits that was tied to a central computer.
My mother, who as I said, was a human computer, learned scientific programming on the job at The Rand Corporation, starting my freshman year in college. As I recall, she had stacks of cards that ran through a central computer. She did not have a desk top computer. That would have been in the spring of 1963.
I remember the cards. The 2000 election with the hanging chads brought them back:-)
Ah, yes, the Wang "word processor". A fine piece of prehistoric text editing equipment.
My dad is very proud to say a slide rule took him all the way through a Master's in engineering!
I still have mine. It's tucked away in a drawer in my (home) office.
That was you!!
I have one also! As I downsize, I wonder what I should do with it? Antique store where we have a booth? Or my nephew, with his University Degree in Computer Science?
Wait till the tariff business settles down. They may make a comeback ala the Costner movie The Postman.
A garden stake? Used in a flowerpot?
I remember slide rules ... never became proficient, but I usually had plenty of company at lunch!
Yeah, you probably sat there licking your eyebrows.
Couldn't quite reach my eyebrows. You?
I wouldn't have been sitting with a bunch of nerdy guys if I could.
No. But I'm sure they're going to warn is about that terrorist, Al-Gebra.
Believe me, I felt terrorized by algebra!
My algebra teacher was also the football coach. I remember nothing about algebraic equations but know quite a bit about football as we would spend Friday's class going over the game plan and Monday doing post-game review. It traumatized my already weak math skills!
It’s too DEI. Goodness!!!! lol
Too complicated for the press secretary to comprehend. Any number not using her fingers baffles her.
I'm surprised Leavitt knows there is such a thing as math.
Apparently Caroline’s math is not adding up!
Math can do it to a brain.
They are trying to suppress our population with the logarhythm method
lol 😺
Clym, or as Robin Williams used to say, "dropping a log" when upset. 💩
Q.E.D, they should be proposing IUD's.
They are trying to turn our children into math-heads.
They'd regret it. The next generation would become too smart to fall
for idiots like Trump and his Coup Clucks Clan!
Priceless, John!.🤗👌
Ooh, that is some dad joke quality right there.
Even a grand-dad joke!
Only if one has a brain!
That assumes she has one...
Have you seen the trump family attempt math? Google ‘trump multiply 17’ and watch the Mother Jones video of their appearance on Howard Stern. It explains … a lot!
Let's pinpoint the ludicrousness by pointing out that it's mere arithmetic, not great, big, scary math? (I'm correct, aren't I?)
I’m stunned that trump keeps insisting his answer is right even after it’s been proven wrong. As always. Here, have a glass of bleach …
--mixed with garlic; crucifixes attached to side of drinking vessel.
Thank you for the distinction. My mathematician parents spent a lot of time correcting me when I referred to arithmetic as math.
Susan, I can't guess who made the distinction in my youth, but it stuck in my head. On the other hand, arithmetic was slow to penetrate it. Long division was devilment as were most other things. I took plane geometry in HS soph year and that was the end -- I'd met the minimum requirement and ran. My father always helped, though. He'd liked math and was good. It struck me that, at his funeral, I saw one of his first cousins who I hadn't seen in decades. It had been so long and the contact was never frequent earlier that he'd forgotten that my father had a daughter. (He didn't say as much, but I could see his eyes widen.) He shared something that made me happy: My father, 6 or 8 years older than he, would show him arithmetic and math problems when cousin was a kid. He went on and, at retirement, held the rank of professor emeritus from Columbia. He credited my father for being the spark. (As Mr. Twain wrote, had I more time, this would have been shorter. Something like that.)
Neat story, L.R. I wish my parents had helped me with math. Their attitude always was that if they knew it, their kids should automatically know it, too. (Apparently they did not know that the LaMarckian theory of inheritance, does not work on humans, only on Planaria flatworms). I think they didn't want to get that involved with helping us directly. I think the reason I went as far as trig was because I was expected to, and not given a choice. I have mathematical aptitude. When I was in the 8th grade they gave a test, and the best scorers got to have a whole year of algebra in the second semester. I think that, plus lack of help, is what made math difficult for me.
LaMarck? Planaria? Yes, the path your heart took.
Now that you mention algebra, I had one semester -- which would have fulfilled the requirement for a diploma -- after the year of plane geometry. Or was it the other way around? I can dig out my report cards (it wasn't until my adulthood that I found my father had kept all of them from 1st grade) and check. Do I care that much? It's 'almost' interesting that these things come back, don't you think?
How did they handle it when you shouted “trigonometry?”
Um… I never shouted trigonometry, except perhaps to shout about how much I hated it. (I ended up with a C average, but my second quarter I had a D average). I think they respected everything above the four basic functions of arithmetic.
Susan, you did not need to like trig. I am sure there were other subjects that you excelled at. Proof being that you read TBR.
I sit corrected :)
Good fellow.
Yeah, and Yam Tits said that Abrego Garcia’s knuckles were not photoshopped and argued for several minutes.
Trump is a moron, and I don't mean to insult the morons.
Pleased to see that you have noted the difference. Trumpf is clearly in a class of his own.
Let us say "category". Trump has no class!
My immediate thought, John!.
NO CLASS AT ALL!
Good point. We could also say "Dumpster". Glad you pointed out the linguistic slip-up. I cant think what I could have been thinking. :-)
Dummy has no clue
I watched that! And these people supposedly graduated from UPenn? Clearly, they have no standards for matriculation or for graduation. But then, I do remember hearing somewhere that Daddy bought the Convicted Felon's diploma and the Felon bought his children's.
By the way, I did the math in my head in about 2 seconds, with time left over to get a drink of water. Got the right answer, too: 102.
I have to think of all the immigrants working two menial jobs trying to get ahead … who could solve this as quickly and easily as did you and I - with time left over to get a drink of water. Trumps: explain this concept of ‘meritocracy’ to us again, please!
Don't rely on any of their explanations!
Wharton School of Business Grads …”I’m like, really smart” 🎓🏆
I am expecting Wharton to withdraw tRUMP's diploma. Currently, he is VERY BAD advertising for the Biz School.
Ivanka: What are the little people for if not this?
To multiply and then revolt!
Is anyone else finding that video is totally garbled? I would so love to see these twits hard at work on 3rd grade math.
Just watched it on two different devices with no problem. Hmmm …
Oh that one where they were counting on their fingers 😃
Kenneth,
The next step is banning the foundation of K-6 education by adding READING" and "WRITING" to "RITHMETIC" on the bad list. And here's their justification:
1) April 2025 Pennsylvania news article: Two people arrested in READING drug bust.
2) Writers should not warn about autocracies: ALDOUS HUXLEY, the Author of "Brave New World", took large amounts of mescaline and came up with works of pure WRITING brilliance. He was even introduced to LSD and mushrooms.
All this while laying down the foundation for E=mc(squared).
Patti, that's not physics or math. It's simply pushing another button when one doesn't get their way. 🤔
And I am not ashamed to admit I don’t know the difference! Point well taken.
I’m sure some MAGA citizen’s group will demand that READING change its name to something less WOKE.
They may change READING to EMOJI, PA --to send a "Signal" to their followers 🤔
Nothing about her adds up. It only divides.
As long as it doesn’t multiply, John.
As a retired math teacher I’m saying “if this is true we need all the migrants we can get.”
Taught math when I subbed at a local Jr High. They were astounded that I could do simple math without a calculator. I was an English major who hadn’t seen the inside of a math class in more than 50 years and I could do better without one than they could do with one. 🙄
One cheeburger, one cheeburger, one cheeburger!
No fries - cheeps! No Coke - Pepsi!
Which, taken together, is 3 or perhaps 4 cheebuger. How did I do?
Did you mean cheatburgers....flies onna side?
No 1 knows.
It’s going the way of Linear A
As Yoda would say, an educated man you are!
“C’mon, Dad! I’m the only kid in my class who has to take Linear A lessons. What’s the use of learning it when in 3,000 years there won’t be anybody who can read it? Lemme go play with my friends. Please!”
Better do better in your Linear B lessons then
“It’s all Greek to me, Dad. And I don’t even know what ‘Greek’ means!”
I remember showing a student how to find a square root without a calculator. He looked at me like I was speaking some language not known in this galaxy.
I would have been happy to have them do addition and subtraction.
Don’t get me started!
I'm a retired Latin and French teacher and I say exactly the same thing!! Bring on those immigrants and their math!! The more, the merrier!!
It was, after all, immigrants (Arabs) who brought their numeration system to Europe which spelled the end of using Roman numerals. Roman numerals have no zero, which made multiplication and division impossible. The Arabic numerals do have a zero, which made them infinitely more useful. And they brought that bogeyman of middle-schoolers everywhere, namely algebra.
🤞👍👍👍
Hurry, DOD. Bring on the weapons of math destruction.
Dethtruction?
That will be talked about in the next signal confab!
You win the internet for the day!
I was given a rolling ruler a while back. As I have not yet taken time to wonder what the hell it's for or how to use it, will it be of use in the current project?
I use mine often. Draw parallel lines with it
Thanks, Christine. The one time I handled it brought to mind a car being driven by a drunk, veering in all directions. I'll give it a try and see what I can make of it. It could come in handy.
😂😂😂 Math destruction.
😄
Already have, Patricia. They're called Pam Bondi.
40 lbs of Fentanyl saved 75% of our population.
They already have. It's the spawn of Linda McMahon and Tim Homan.
Ouch!! I love it.
BRAVA!!😃👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
If we find ourselves mired in conflict once more,
Donald Trump will explain how it’s Joe Biden’s war.
And the algebra learning that migrants are hidin’
Comes in Hunter’s cursed laptop! Again, blame a Biden.
Did Macron and the French mock Dear Leader from Paris?
Magic Eight Ball 🎱 and Trump both blame Kamala Harris.
Here’s a fact: ever-innocent Vladimir Putin
Did not launch the troops and the tanks, or start shootin’.
Indeed, the first volleys were fired from Ukraine:
Biden helping Zelenskyy expand his domain.
There are now ranks of Mounties, prepared to go forth
On a cross-border blitzkrieg from out of the North.
They are there under orders, Pete Hesgeth will show
From that devilish demon we call Sleepy Joe.
Brilly! As usual. Thanks, Glenn
Clym,
Back atcha. Let’s start a mutual admiration society. We’ll both feel double plus good AND be in step with the “Administration”. Glenn
Double plus good, yup. Even Orwell could not have predicted all this. Of course, there was no social media to factor in...
Only the giant television screens one could not turn off in your rooms.
It's only a matter of time until we get telescreens. In fact, phones are almost there, picking up personal information and preferences from your apps and such. It's already a two-way street.
Oi! Everything Tickety-boo Clym?
How very Britty of you. I'm going to borrow it, but judiciously, of course.
Is that British? I learned it from a beer advert
lol
Dunno if it's Brit, but it has that ring to my ear. Maybe it should be Breer or Breery. Was the advert for a British beer?
Amazing! Love your poems!
😂 You're a poet laureate
Did you know that?
I LOVE this!
Glenn, your work stuns and makes grins. It is a joy that you're here. I went again, as I did the other day, to read Dylan's lyrics. They got me teary, yet I've heard that, in deference to you, he's reverting to "Zimmerman" and moving to Duluth. He has taste.
While Trump is delivered
another reality-blow!
Harlem/Harvard, meth/math. Perhaps I’ll write something in terza rima.
Andy’s current work makes more sense than the alternate reality of what’s coming out of the WH.
As always. That's why we LOVE Andy!
Let's call the hole thing off.
LOL
On a different topic, as I had absurdly, but presciently suggested here recently, that Trump was going to throw his hat into the ring for the next Pope. His qualifications? He wants another important title, he pimps bibles, and he once actually held a bible in a promotional photo.
And the Vatican is an independent state! He'd have another country to rule, and the Cardinals are already used to kissing the ring.
And think of all the gold ornamentation! I swear he's trying to turn the Oval Office into the Vatican. Just look at recent pics of it.
https://vatican.com/The-Vaticans-government/
It's about the pope-mobile. Really cool on a golf course.
Oh! Of course!
Francis bar the door!
Thereby cementing the white Christian doctrine of church in state!
---or church of hate!
Nah. It’s just a re-creation of his Nana’s living room.
even if it was upside-down
That Bible turned itself upside-down as a sign of distress!
The two Corinthians fell out.
And don't forget the Thessalonians.
One can never have enough Thessalonians
Thessa sacrilege!
lol
😂😂😂
Lindsay Graham told the Cardinals to keep an open mind. 🙄
While it is for life, Trump did miss the fact that it requires vows of celibacy and poverty, is required to write lengthy researched documents, not to mention wear something besides a blue suit and red tie.
Just as the law does not apply to him, neither do the Vatican rules.
Please. That’s Miss Lindsey…..
I'm dying to see a meme of Saint Trump in the Pope hat.....
😂 "Gold, precious gold. I'll be pope and Vatican City will be mine. All mine. If we see black smoke twice a day that means the selection is rigged."
At least the Dominion company will be relieved to be out of the process.
Great call.
Say Trump would declare himself pope to amass as many titles as his ego allows. And that’s a lot.
Okay, Heaven, anytime you want to throw that thunderbolt.....
I've given this some serious thought and recommend that, should he be chosen to be the next Pope, DJT selects his name to be "Pope Avarice the First".
Upside down
An interesting sidelight -- anyone else notice the great similarities in the photos of Leavitt and Bondi that adorn today's Borowitz Report front page? I think they're the same person, cloned by those annoying space lasers.
They really do look scarily alike, but my guess is it's by design, because Trump is addicted to blonds who remind him of Ivanka (whom years ago he said he'd date, if she weren't his daughter.) Everything around him reflects his whims (including the now hideously tacky Oval Office) He really is a very sick man.
Sorry for going off on a tagent. You opened the floodgates!
Tangent -- another meth term? Uh oh... Be careful Lynn, be very careful!
A sine of the times.
OK You get the groaner trophy today.
Old men rule!
Some old men just don't add up.
lol 😺
Yes, ma'am! 😅
Except that Bondi is 59 and Leavitt is 27. Nice try, Pam.
Damn cloning by lasers. There's always a glitch.
Actually a star trek transfer portal glitch
😂😂😂 Excellent.
It's the plastic surgery and dermatology laser treatments that make Bondi look like a space alien. If she were an ordinary alien and thus capable of doing math, she'd have at least one redeeming quality. Alas, she is just a zero.
Isn't Bondi 35 goung on 80?.
Another lie. Levitt and Bondi are the same age. Levitt drank the substance. Math is everywhere. So are numbers.
I think the worst destruction in the quest for the Mar-a-Lago face was Lara Trump.
And she’s married to the dummy Eric so she’s a double loser
yeah but I think Leavitt's hubby is Pam's age
t-Rump does like his blonds
Both look like Ivanka. Guess who picked them.
Trump's Barbies...
But he sure ain't Ken.
--or Dr. Frankenstein has upped his game!
Yes, they are straight out of casting for TV. Perhaps they are stand-ins for Invanka and Tiffany?
and in other breaking news, donOLD's G.D.P has been shrinking during the past 100 days.
"I looked into this an his shrinkage, it is less then George Costanza's shrinkage" Karoline Leavitt reported....
Trump will say it’s shrinking next winter because it’s cold.
I prefer her other Seinfeld quote: “They're real and they're spectacular”
😂 Caroline claims he was in the pool.
Wonder when they will harvest the mushrooms?
Math. We're on it!
Shh! If you say that, you will summon the demon Noem, clad in camouflage and stuffed with collagen! Begone, foul creature! We abjure you!
As a brunette, Noem is ineligible from this week's thread. So, BBB, fear not!
What’s next, Ethics?
Ethic cleansing
Seems to be the Zeitgeist!
🏆
It’s already happened. Started during first admin.
--using that orange citrus cleaning fluid found at Home Depot.
In summation, the addition of migrants results in math multiplying exponentially, causing division among Trump's null set.
You deserve a Fields Medal for that
You broke my brain with that one, Bob. Nice!
A jewel, as usual, Andy! The Fascists truly do fear education, knowledge, experience, and expertise.
I still have my slide rule from HS Physics (graduated in 1972).
We had to use one in college math, class of 67. Good old days?? At least we could do calculations if the batteries died.
I'd have to find my glasses to position and read it, now.
Man there's lots of you old fogies here! (sez me, Class of 1967)
Well, thank you! HS class of 1966, BA 1970, MA 1971. Yup, I'm really old.
Hey Nancy, the 70's are the ones 50’s I keep telling myself
I thought logarithms was a band…..
Only if you use string theory for the guitars.
Remember the tables of them in the back of math textbooks?
I’d love to hang one of those classroom sized six footers somewhere in my home.
Next to the neon sign that points the way to the bathroom down the hall:-)
I hear Vance is close to six feet. He's suitable for hanging somewhere
I loved learning how to work that thing in high school (class of 1968). I sure hope someone somewhere still has a need to use one.
The next epidemic immigrants will bring will be spelling. They ALL know how to spell COFFEE. They laugh at covefefe. So do citizens, but who’s counting? that would require numbers!
☕
As with drugs, math leads to harder maths such as algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and the dreaded hard core differential equations.
Street name:
diff-e-q’s.
If we can save just one kid from being hooked on differential equations, it is well worth stopping it at our borders!
Horrible!
Diverse differential equal equations including invasion are a threat.
Nope. Never did it - never will. I got hooked on diff-e-q’s for 16 weeks back in 85. Had to go cold turkey to get it out of my system during week 17. Toughest days of my life. And it’s a complete blur.
Hilarious 😺
This doesn't add up.