Re: OT: Pental number system? Message #5 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 11 Apr 2009, 10:38 a.m., in response to message #4 by Egan Ford
Egan,
Your photo of the hybrid calculator is awesome! At first I thought maybe you were pulling my leg, however, after doing some research I find that it is legitimate. Soroban
Quote:
I'm going to guess it is something to do with the abacus.
Or more specifically, the Japanese version of the abacus. It makes sense that since Sharp is a Japanese company and that early Sharp calculators were manufactured in Japan, then they would incorporate the Japanese abacus into their calculators. I have seen old Japanese storekeepers still using the Japanese abacus, as I have seen Chinese using the Chinese abacus. Perhaps Sharp incorporated the pental number system into some of their more recent calculators to teach Japanese schoolchildren about the Japanese abacus.
Thanks for your contribution,
Michael
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