From Slide Rules to Calculators: Analogizing the AI Transition
fortnow · x · 2026-08-27
Lance Fortnow reflects on the historical transition from slide rules to calculators, drawing parallels to the current AI era. He recounts how engineers once prided themselves on slide rule precision, only for scientific calculators to become ubiquitous within a few years. Sharing a personal anecdote of failing an exam by sticking to a slide rule—due to low accuracy and time constraints—he illustrates how technological shifts render old skills obsolete. He notes that children today may not know long division, just as slide rule skills died out with his generation, suggesting AI will bring about a similar generational shift in skills.
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