As the parent of teenagers, I find myself needing examples to explain concepts such as logarithms. Visual aids help, and a slide rule was the perfect tool for showing that multiplication of two numbers can be accomplished by adding the logarithms of the numbers. Like so many other concepts, the implementation details were problematic. It took longer to find a slide rule than explain the concept! Finally, I found my father's slide rule (it said it was patented in 08) in a box and explained how to use the cursor on the slide rule to find the answer.
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About John Paul Cook
SQL Server MVP based in Houston, Texas. Contributing author to
SQL Server MVP Deep Dives and
SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Volume 2. John is currently on sabbatical from database consulting and is very busy as a full-time nursing student.