More Then and Now

Slide Rule c. 1963 - $15 (in '63 dollars)

TI Calculator (solar powered) -- $35 (in 2013 dollars

 

 

As we all remember, learning to efficiently use a slide rule took time and a lot of practice. Even so, the accuracy was never great beyond 2 (or 3, for virtuoso users) decimal places.

 

The electronic calculator shown has more computing power and functions than the largest and most expensive IBM mainframe had, even as late as 1983. It's accuracy is beyond who knows how many decimal places.