How the pocket calculator paved the way for the digital age
The evolution of the calculator offers a new perspective on the history of computing
WHEN WAS the last time you used a calculator? Having enjoyed a brief heyday in the 1970s, these once miraculous-seeming gizmos now mostly languish in desk drawers. Keith Houston’s sprightly history aims to give the calculator the recognition it deserves as a stepping stone to the digital era. Calculators, he argues, “helped usher in the world of ubiquitous computing”.
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Coolly calculating”
Culture September 2nd 2023
From the September 2nd 2023 edition
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