The Curta Calculator (full documentary) Review / How To

[@xitheris1758]

"Pop the Doink" is my new favorite math term. 😆

[@ColtonRMagby]

I'd use that for calculating how many miles a long road trip was so I don't have to try to remember to look at the odometer the whole time.

[@ericsumma7654]

You want the Curta to be able to turn back if you over run a bit: because each decimal place is offset from the adjacent decimal place, a full rotation is required to keep all decimal placed on the same operational step. That includes the 10s bell (rollover carry) which is delayed after each decimal place addition. Since this mechanism only rolls-over from current decimal place to the next upper decimal place, a whole new mechanism would have to be crammed into the same size machine. Using the current design makes more sense to me, but I've never actually gotten to use one so ignore this if you wish. Thanks for the video all the same, being told it works and having operational examples we can follow helps.

[@LarsTheOctopus]

This ties all the videos so neatly together! Nice compendium of knowledge on the device, really one of the best works on the subject on this website!

[@txikitofandango]

Prof. Chris This was such a deep and touching story, more comprehensive and mathy and human than I could have imagined. Wishing you joy and success in 2024

[@DerMarkus1982]

I'm fascinated by the curta. Have seen a very extensive narrated 3D animation video of the "pepper grinder" 's Insides, here on YT. Don't remember on which channel though, But what I already like about THIS here video is your little cackle everytime you say "but we'll leave that for later". PLUS: "But who's the idiot *now* , huh?" 😁

[@SusanHogarth]

This was amazing; thank you. I just purchased a Curta (for which I absolutely blame William Gibson) and this was the best intro I’ve seen. Definitely subbed; which probably means more impulse purchases 🤣

[@AtelierDBurgoyne]

Your series is fun and full of good, sensible reflections. At 1:02:25 for the Curta during an expedition to Greenland, those not-so-smart marketing folks added an image of... a penguin from Antartica! There are no penguins in the Arctic. Doh!

[@Tommy_Poole]

This was truly excellent and I learned so much. Thanks Professor Chris.

[@BirdsOfAFeather702]

Amazing explanation and storytelling, what a ride.

[@ChrisStaecker]

Thanks a lot!

[@peirosmathsstuff1543]

I really loved this "documentary". I learned almost nothing since I read so much on Curta already. But I'll need to get this novel I discovered in your video. I'm also the lucky owner of a Type II one, and I'm still amazed by the mechanical engineering ideas that have been implemented in this tiny device. I spent hours to play with and understand why it has become such a searched objet for collectors.

[@andreasidam3133]

Amazing!!! That’s content that truly deserves attention. What a value.

[@MattH-wg7ou]

I NEED one of these things dude! I go into antique stores that sell all kinds of random old trinkets (and trash) and dream about coming across one of these for like $100 or something 😂 I wish. I dont know why, but I MUST have one.

[@Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

This was so amazing and well researched! I agree that this makes more sense to me than the ET hypothesis.

[@getjaketospace]

Curta

[@NonTwinBrothers]

Curta 👍

[@theastuteangler]

killin' it brother

[@foxygrandpa5064]

Nice. Happy new year to you.

[@erintyres3609]

1:06:57 An Odhner is much like the Curta. If you try one out, you will see many similarities.

[@theastuteangler]

Wait wait wait. Are your 12 videos about the Curta all combined into this one easily-digestable 76-minute video??

[@DerMarkus1982]

It is indeed. So YOU don't have to "pop a doink" looking for all the clips on the "interwebz"... 😁

[@giovannifontanetto9604]

If we did spreadsheets by hand, parallel calculation would cut the time in half.

[@jeremywallace5961]

Great job!

[@redoktopus3047]

-1 being 9 repeating means the curta is p-adic approved.

[@vinesthemonkey]

well 10 isn't exactly a prime number

[@rizzwan-42069]

I thought this was related to digital logic turning a negative number into a positive by finding its 2 compliments then adding the numbers

[@cosmomaker]

You bring people to curta world

[@pierQRzt180]

I was searching a video about the gerber graphanalogue but there is none. Did I miss it?

[@ChrisStaecker]

Not yet- someday!

[@D.S69]

it's all adding

[@numbr6]

Please compute 355/113 on the Curta, which is Pi accurate to 8*10**-8

[@pierQRzt180]

all twelve videos were 1h 16min ? A shame, too short! Hopefully there will be 12 more in 2024.

[@cosmomaker]

Curta 🇧🇷

[@detdet3871]

I thought WALTHER only made guns,interesting!

[@EyeOnTheTV]

you're like Mr. Plinket's nerdy nephew

[@BernardManansala]

Have you tried dividing by ZERO with it?

[@PointyTailofSatan]

A Curta should be gifted to the first aliens to visit Earth.

[@beautifulsmall]

HOURS , one S =3,

[@TheJefferson]

"this little boink: lmao

[@AtelierDBurgoyne]

Doink

[@simonuden8450]

It most definitely is not the greatest mechanical calculator ever made, there are many, many better mechanical calculators, but none as compact. Curtas have a huge cult following, which has pushed their market value way beyond what they are worth for the facilities. The biggest failing of the Curta is the lack of back-transfer facility, something that is necessary for chain calculations, and the lack of reset facility on input.

[@ChrisStaecker]

What's your pick for greatest? Top 5 maybe? I mentioned the lack of back-transfer is significant. Input reset doesn't seem like a big deal to me- but an underflow bell would also be nice. To me "greatest" isn't just about how useful it was at the time- I am judging it by my own modern standards, which naturally has very little to do with actually using it for important calculations.

[@simonuden8450]

@@ChrisStaecker Well you’re asking something there. The Hamaan Manus ‘R’ must rank very high for ability, but I also rate the Facit CM2-16 for usability. As a modern collectable the Curta is definitely a widely regarded device, if not for its abilities, for the sheer ingenuity of getting it into such a small package. That took real 3-dimensional thinking long before 3D CAD was a thing

[@rabbitvee321]

❤😂😂😂❤

[@rabbitvee321]

its verry beautiful video ❤

[@John.M.Gannon]

Why did the Germans not just kill anyone that arrived at a camp immediately, why did they keep moving them around from camp to camp ?

[@ChrisStaecker]

I'm not an expert, but many of these camps were labor camps, and the laborers were actually doing useful work for the Nazis. Especially skilled knowledgeable people like Curt.

[@DE-GEN-ART]

this is the stupidest most complicated way to do simple maths and algebra. i have a sinking feeling its this kind of mindset for engineering is why there was only enough lifeboats on the titanic to hold 1/2 of passengers on the Titanic, and because they didnt have these stupid over complicated shit on board is why they only rescued 1/4 of the people on board.

[@ChrisStaecker]

What other way would you suggest?

[@sebvgmailcom]

I haven't been so disappointed since I bought the latest *Teenage Navigator* album only to realize it was a compilation album with no new material. #knurlheads