[GreenKeys] slide rule???

[Bill Henry]

OK Guys, I think I am guilty for leading the discussion off the 
track.  Sorry about that.

I just can't avoid two more comments:

1.  "Order of Magnitude" is no longer taught and it is a sore loss to 
engineering.  99% of all graduates these days push keys on the keyboard 
or  calculator and don't have a clue if the answer is within a reasonable 
range.  Slide rule "calculators" forced us to "put a fence around it" - 
define the order of magnitude.  Fat fingers often enter completely wrong 
data but the "answer" is usually accepted without a thought about "does 
this make sense?".

2.  The worst thing that ever happened to engineering education is "partial 
credit".  A design is right - or it's not right.  The "Galloping Gerty" 
bridge is a good example of "partial credit".  The engineer "almost got it 
right".  Almost doesn't count.  The modern example is of course 
Microsoft.  None of their software has ever been close to 
"error-free".  But an entire generation of programmers has now been taught 
by example that "close" is good enough.  It's too bad.

Now - back to electromechanical machines and other stuff that was designed 
right (Model 33's excepted).

Bill Henry