I got familiar with a slide rule when I studied for my pilot's license, through the "E6B flight computer"[1]. This is essentially a slide rule for specialised calculations (knots-km/h, gallons-litres, density altitude, etc). The E6B is still a mandatory piece of equipment for student pilots but generally regarded as outdated, even by instructors.
As an early millennial I'd never ran into this 17th century marvel called slide rule. When I asked the instructor how it works (rather than how to use it) he answered along the lines of "don't ask, it just does".