Does a good graphing calculator exist?

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

My college recommends a Ti-84.

So does my brother's.

I'm not sure if we're the weird ones or you are.

 

And, another 'for the record', Ti-36X Pro. It's $20 and is the best calculator I've ever owned.

And I've owned a Ti Nspire CX CAS. I'd rather use the 36X when I'm not being arbitrarily required to use specific functions unique to the graphing calculator.

You guys are weird.

How will you calculate fxy of f(x,y)=xe^-2y with a calculator??

[straight_stewie]

4 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

Matlab's been mentioned a couple times, I should check that out...

I wouldn't bother until you need it. It's just as expensive as a graphing calculator (with student discount included) and if you're not in some field that requires constant matrix math it's pretty pointless. 

[Canada EH]

Buy used!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[straight_stewie]

3 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

I took AP stats m8, here in the US you're going to need one no matter where you are if you're taking a college Stats class (took it in two different states). Just how schools are.

Oh I forgot to mention AP in my little spiel there

Just kidding. But statistics is the only worthwhile university level math class that requires a calculator of any type

[Canada EH]

Cussing is alright in my books.

But Linus might take a different approach.

I tell newcomers to Assimulate!!!!!!

 

1 minute ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

I said it because it's a standardized national curriculum, it's not specific to any one school. Chill the duck out, m8. 

Edit: when autocorrect corrects duck to you-know-what, you have a bit of a cussing issue

 

[Shakaza]

2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

You guys are weird.

How will you calculate fxy of f(x,y)=xe^-2y with a calculator??

I generally operate under the principle of only using a calculator if it will significantly reduce the amount of time needed for a tedious calculation, but write down the general process of how I got to the answer if needed.

[straight_stewie]

2 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

I said it because it's a standardized national curriculum, it's not specific to any one school. Chill the duck out, m8. 

Edit: when autocorrect corrects duck to you-know-what, you have a bit of a cussing issue

Read my post man. You didn't read the whole thing...

[Dash Lambda]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

You guys are weird.

How will you calculate fxy of f(x,y)=xe^-2y with a calculator??

You wouldn't. I can't remember the last time I did a derivative on a calculator.

I'm talking about the tedious trivial stuff, not the calc.

[Zodiark1593]

I never really understood any practical reason why a TI graphing calculator costs $100 while a $20 smartphone with some software can do the same job, while possessing vastly superior silicone, and in most cases, the display to boot as well. While the cheating part is understandable, there is no reason for a calculator to be so pricy.

[Dash Lambda]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

I never really understood any practical reason why a TI graphing calculator costs $100 while a $20 smartphone with some software can do the same job, while possessing vastly superior silicone, and in most cases, the display to boot as well. While the cheating part is understandable, there is no reason for a calculator to be so pricy.

Exactly! It's astounding to me!

[straight_stewie]

3 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

I read it before you added the rest, it was the whole thing at the time. #tryhard

But yes, you make a good point.

What's the point of trying if you don't #TryHard #AndProud

[Enderman]

5 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

You wouldn't. I can't remember the last time I did a derivative on a calculator.

I'm talking about the tedious trivial stuff, not the calc.

Well if you honestly need a calculator to do stuff like sin(pi/2) then use one if your school allows it.

But a university that allows calculators in math class must be a pretty mediocre university...

[Dash Lambda]

Just now, Enderman said:

Well if you honestly need a calculator to do stuff like sin(pi/2) then use one if your school allows it.

But a university that allows calculators in math class must be a pretty mediocre university...

ಠ_ಠ

 

sin(pi/2) is trivial, but not tedious.

 

And, while I won't say my college is amazing, since it's a community college that I'm doing most of my real ('real' meaning math/science) classes in while enrolled in high school (I found that I can make the high school pay for some college, soooooo...........), I think that disallowing calculators in a math class is a bit pointlessly paranoid. In really low level classes where arithmetic is important, sure... But a calculator won't get you through anything advanced if you don't know what you're doing in the first place.

[Enderman]

5 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

ಠ_ಠ

 

sin(pi/2) is trivial, but not tedious.

 

And, while I won't say my college is amazing, since it's a community college that I'm doing most of my real ('real' meaning math/science) classes in while enrolled in high school (I found that I can make the high school pay for some college, soooooo...........), I think that disallowing calculators in a math class is a bit pointlessly paranoid. In really low level classes where arithmetic is important, sure... But a calculator won't get you through anything advanced if you don't know what you're doing in the first place.

90% of the time we don't even work with numbers so a calculator would be pretty useless, unless it's programmable in which case that is considered cheating.

[straight_stewie]

7 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

And, while I won't say my college is amazing, since it's a community college that I'm doing most of my real ('real' meaning math/science) classes in while enrolled in high school (I found that I can make the high school pay for some college, soooooo...........), I think that disallowing calculators in a math class is a bit pointlessly paranoid. In really low level classes where arithmetic is important, sure... But a calculator won't get you through anything advanced if you don't know what you're doing in the first place.

Just remember, we did this:




With this:

[Dash Lambda]

15 minutes ago, Enderman said:

90% of the time we don't even work with numbers so a calculator would be pretty useless, unless it's programmable in which case that is considered cheating.

Unless you're instructed to write a given program onto your course-required Ti-84 graphing calculator and use it for part of a chapter. Hence why I was looking at graphing calculators.

 

I just used a Java IDE with a console output on my laptop, but something tells me that won't be considered reasonable to use on a test.

 

EDIT: (I forgot to write this in...)

11 minutes ago, straight_stewie said:

Just remember, we did this:
-image-
With this:
-image-

Yeah, and it was tedious.

I like puzzle-y math, not number-crunching-y math.

[straight_stewie]

7 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

Yeah, and it was tedious.

There's a difference between the fun puzzle-like parts of math and the tedious numbers parts of math.

That's true enough. Hence why computers exist in the first place.

Regardless, I'm an Aerospace Engineering major focusing on Astronautics (spaceflight) and I've had one class that allowed me to use a calculator, which was statistics for engineering. All of the others require Matlab or plain old handworking. You'd be surprised how easy the tedious parts of math become when you get to higher level arithmetic. Eventually, you'll find that your able to look at even moderately difficult differentiation problems and find the answer in your head.

[Dash Lambda]

1 minute ago, straight_stewie said:

That's true enough. Hence why computers exist in the first place.

Regardless, I'm an Aerospace Engineering major focusing on Astronautics (spaceflight) and I've had one class that allowed me to use a calculator, which was statistics for engineering. All of the others require Matlab or plain old handworking. You'd be surprised how easy the tedious parts of math become when you get to higher level arithmetic. Eventually, you'll find that your able to look at even moderately difficult differentiation problems and find the answer in your head.

Well, differentiation is almost always easy, integration is the one that can get really wonky (and sometimes impossible in elementary terms).

 

I'm not too familiar with Matlab, so I don't know what it does, but it seems like it does everything that's necessary.

 

I'm realizing that probably my only consistent use of a calculator is giving an approximate form of the result next to the exact, which I always do just for completeness' sake... I wonder what else I use it for...

 

[Zodiark1593]

2 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Apparently y'all have never had to take a Stats class, it renders most of your arguments moot, albiet in a very specific scenario (doing statistics). 

Calculators are good because they stop cheating. So you get a standardized machine with standardized software, and they get to charge you more for it. That pretty much sums it up.

While I pointed out the cheating argument, if that was the sole reason TI can charge $100 for a calculator (IE, I get absolutely nothing of value by getting a TI graphing calculator vs using an app for the phone), I would argue that there is something quite wrong, either anti-competitive practices, or with the education system itself.

[Zodiark1593]

Just now, wrathoftheturkey said:

Something wrong with the education system? Really? I though teen suicide rates were just going up because the iPhone 7 got rid of the headphone jack.

Apparently, they seem to be using their now-useless headphone wires to hang themselves. With every passing day, this world seems to find new and creative methods to kill a person.

[Clyne]

You can probably get a TI-83/84 for 30 minimum...but it's used.

[Canada EH]

Come on people, thats nothing to joke about.

[rashdanml]

4 hours ago, babadoctor said:

>ABSOLUTELY ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

are you serious right now

its a fugging calculator

there are free versions that run 200x faster on your phone (wabbimeitu)

Good luck trying to use your phone's calculator in an exam (should they allow graphing calculators for exams). 

[Canada EH]

I dont mind a good chuckle, but when a person comes on here and posts "I'm gunna end it" and it slides.

I just worry about the youngsters these days.

 

Anyways, will they force you to take off your watches and eyeglasses. Cuz we are there already people

[Dash Lambda]

1 minute ago, Canada EH said:

I dont mind a good chuckle, but when a person comes on here and posts "I'm gunna end it" and it slides.

I just worry about the youngsters these days.

 

Anyways, will they force you to take off your watches and eyeglasses. Cuz we are there already people

It's either laugh at it or be frustrated and depressed by it.

 

On a side note, I'd love to see a functionally robust noose made from Apple Earbuds.