Dominate As An Alpha Nerd

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/i-slide-rule/

Greetings,

One is going to share with you a Secret.

One is complained about - bitterly in some cases - because One doesn't share. Mostly because my particular fancies are irrelevant to Evil, but it builds this impression that One is hiding things.

Yes, One is hiding things, of course. Everyone does. It's what people DO.

But One likes to explore, to find things out, to learn new things. One is sure people do, and Villains more than any, but to one the search for Truth and Beauty are universal constants, ever to be striven for, even by the Evil. Most especially by Villains. There are these artifacts that can be found if looked for, that are, for their moment and for lack of a better word, "perfect".

So it is with these understandings that One shares a secret treasure. It is The Slide Rule.

From Wikipedia;
"William Oughtred and others developed the slide rule in the 17th century based on the emerging work on logarithms by John Napier. Before the advent of the pocket calculator, it was the most commonly used calculation tool in science and engineering. The use of slide rules continued to grow through the 1950s and 1960s even as digital computing devices were being gradually introduced; but around 1974 the electronic scientific calculator made it largely obsolete^[2][3][4][5] and most suppliers left the business."

They are a skill to use, and not the most efficient or useful, but can give you a sublime feeling of wonder and curiosity, and hearken to a time when calculations were made and Science was serious and the Lab Coat was ubiquitous.

Purchase a fine functional recreation at Think Geek for under $10.00

Read and or download a Seminar on How to Use the Slide Rule (PDF format)

Join the Oughtred Society, "Dedicated to the Preservation and History of Slide Rules and other Calculating Instruments". $35 - One doesn't belong either, but the website is a treasure trove of valuable and interesting information. The Links section will make you aware of how important these devices have been throughout their history.

Bid on Sweet Slide Rule Swag

Ebay these sweet beauties

The Slide Rule Universe

International Slide Rule Museum

The International Slide Rule Group (Yahoo group)

Picket Teaching Guide for Slide Rule Instruction




So when an upstart in your Nerd Horde decides to try and climb on top of the Nerd Mound and challenge you for Nerd Dominance, pull out the Slide Rule. Challenge the upstarts to Nerd Thunderdome, and remember;

"Two Nerds Enter. One Nerd Leaves."

or; Slide Rules are Cool.

-Lord Malignance