Cover Image: January 2004 Scientific American Magazine See Inside

The Curious History of the First Pocket Calculator [Preview]

By Cliff Stoll















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Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton and Lord Kelvin all complained about the time they had to waste doing simple arithmetic. Foolscap covered with numbers obscured answers; elegant equations led to numerical drudgery.

Oh, for a pocket calculator that could add, subtract, multiply and divide! One with digital readouts and memory. A simple, finger-friendly interface.


This article was originally published with the title The Curious History of the First Pocket Calculator.



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