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Should you never use a calculator because you want to keep your math skills high?

There are a growing set of problems which feel like using a calculator for basic math to me.

But also school is a whole other thing which I'm much more worried about with LLMs. Because there's no doubt in my mind I would have abused AI every chance I got if it were around when I was a kid, and I wouldn't have learned a damn thing.

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I don't use calculators for most math because punching it in is slower than doing it in my head -- especially for fermi calculations. I will reach for a calculator when it makes sense, but because I don't use a calculator for everything, the number of places where I'm faster than a calculator grows over time. It's not particularly intentional, it just shook out that way.

And I hated mental math exercises as a kid.

I do not trust myself, so even if I know how to do mental math, I still use my computer or a calculator just to be sure I got it correct. OCD? Lack of self-trust? No clue.

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