on the RPN mentioning sharp pc-1211, v.albillo, el-506w and recurring topics

[Trond]

Wait a second. You can see everything you type in HP35S, which also uses algebraic notation as an alternative. I just tried this calculation in both (don't do any of it in your head of course):

(7+12)x(5+23)
(3+18)x(4+12)

I know this is personal and not very scientific, but that calculation is way faster in RPN for me at least. I did a similar calculation, for an actual assignment, in front of my students (who all have modern algebraic calculators), and their jaws dropped. Most of them still prefer algebraic, simply because they can't wrap their heads around RPN