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Comment Understanding Inverse with Calculator Use (Score 1) 687

Im a senior in high school finishing up my third and final year. For alot of the math classes that I took last year, the teachers would tell us to take problems such as the quadratic formula and use our calculators to solve it. What it came down to eventually is that people wrote simple programs to automate this seemingly mindless task of sticking numbers in. I, unfortunately, (or so I thought at the time) had my calculator break due to a software bug, and had to wait close to 5 months for a replacement. During that time, I got very good at doing even more advanced calculation in my head, and remembering formulas since I actually had to write them out all the time. When the time came for midterms, the teachers wiped the calculators (surprise surprise) and a large portion of my class got much lower marks because they werent familiar with the formulas and/or the topics.

Now, even with my calculator back, I refrain from using it even for the more advanced calculations whenever I can help it. I can honestly say that it has had a profound positive effect on my gpa, and on my understanding of the math/physics topics that were taught to us. Ive gone on to the Physics and Math finals and scored in the top 10 rankings in my province and top 50 in Canada. Interestingly enough, the 3 other students in my school that also are up in the rankings do not use calculators for most problems like myself.

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