[pianotech] ETD dust storm

[John Formsma]

I use a calculator because I became accustomed to it in college core
engineering courses. And it's faster, and more accurate ... *as long as I
hit the correct buttons*. <G> We are arguing about how the "buttons" match
with reality, right? If one doesn't know what aural perfection is, how can
one tell when you've hit the wrong "button"?

Similarly, if one has never learned to estimate, one will be totally
dependent on the calculator's answer ... and never know for sure if it's
even close to displaying the correct answer to the problem. Which is what
some have been saying in this discussion: One *must* be able to know where
the target is before he can proclaim he has hit said target.

The math I mostly do these days is adding up checks on a deposit slip. And
if I were to put the calculator away, I'd be faster with a paper and pencil.
And at least as accurate. Now, get into to larger numbers, I'd be using an
electronic calculation aid. <G>

Seriously, now, this brings up a thought. I think we tend to think wrongly
of aural tuning as this somehow vastly complex and irreducible problem ...
this really weird and far out stuff like quantum physics or something. It is
complex at first, and it is hard to learn. However, it is not nearly so
metaphysical as we think, despite what D. Andersen says <G>. The more we
chip away at it, the more we realize that it's just a puzzle. And the more
we look at a puzzle, the better we can piece it together.

My thinking is that folks just don't try long enough. They get a few of the
basics -- enough to do an adequate job. Then they find an ETD and never add
enough more of the right stuff to what they already knew. Then their ears
get dull.

It's like a schoolchild who can add a one or two single or double-digit
numbers. Then he is suddenly presented with adding streams of multiple digit
numbers. He freaks, because it's way beyond his ability. To him, it's a
vastly complex and irreducible problem. Then someone hands him a calculator
and says, "Here, kid ... let me show you how to use this --it will make it
easier." So he becomes accustomed to never learning how numbers work
together. And he remains in the sad position of thinking that it's
impossible to learn how to quickly add columns of numbers.

I see both sides of the argument. Really I do. I just remain firmly on my
side. <G>

--
JF

On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 7:35 PM, Bill Fritz <pianofritz50 at aol.com> wrote:

> John, so why your "continual use of a calculator"?  Perhaps because it's
> more accurate... all the time??
>
> I guess I should refrain from asking you what you do when your calculator's
> batteries die...   me, I either install new ones or grab the back-up unit
> and keep on calculating...  BFritz
>    From: John Formsma <formsma at gmail.com> To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re:
> [pianotech] ETD dust storm Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:48:06 -0600
>
> <SNIP>
>
> Same with adding and subtracting. When I was in school, I could add and
> subtract a lot better on paper (and in my head) than I can now. Years of
> continual use of a calculator eroded that ability.
>
>
>



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