>they unequivocally make people worse at mental math. Now whether that's bad or not is debatable.
Not debatable because as long as calculators exist and are available, nothing is lost. You can put that mental energy towards whatever is relevant. There's nothing special about math that elevates doing it in your own mind more valuable than other tasks. Any of us that do software for a living understand that mental work is real work and you are limited in your capacity per day. If your boss wants to pay you to do longhand division instead of getting projects done, I'd call that man a liar.
The people that make these arguments that we "lose" something are usually academics or others that aren't actually in the trenches getting things done. They think we're getting weaker mentally or as a society. I'm physically tired at the end of the day, and I sit at a desk. I'll do math when the calculators are gone, I have a lot of tasks and responsibilities otherwise.
> Not debatable because as long as calculators exist and are available, nothing is lost.
This is a vacuous argument. Of course nothing is lost if we are never in the situation where the downsides of calculator reliance are apparent. Nobody said otherwise. The point is that people do find themselves in those situations, and then struggle to do math because they've never developed the skill.
Skills have to be maintained. You don't remember everything for life. I highly doubt anyone that uses a calculator on a regular basis was never taught how to do math by hand. I was taught of course, I'm not only old but I went to university, but I would still need refreshers to really do anything of any complexity.
I don't think it's a vacuous argument, it's just reality. I can use a calculator as long as one is available, but if I'm lost in the woods, I'm still going to need a refresher because calculators are too plentiful to maintain advanced math skills.
Not debatable because as long as calculators exist and are available, nothing is lost. You can put that mental energy towards whatever is relevant. There's nothing special about math that elevates doing it in your own mind more valuable than other tasks. Any of us that do software for a living understand that mental work is real work and you are limited in your capacity per day. If your boss wants to pay you to do longhand division instead of getting projects done, I'd call that man a liar.
The people that make these arguments that we "lose" something are usually academics or others that aren't actually in the trenches getting things done. They think we're getting weaker mentally or as a society. I'm physically tired at the end of the day, and I sit at a desk. I'll do math when the calculators are gone, I have a lot of tasks and responsibilities otherwise.