--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am so old, I entered engineering school…" description: "\"I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide rule. And I left engineering school with a calculator. I can still use a slide rule but it's not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/bill-nye-1613_calculators_i-am-so-old-i-entered-engineering-school_1879804.png" --- # I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide… ![“I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide rule. And I left engineering school with a calculator. I can still use a slide rule but it's not a skill you especially need anymore.” quote by Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/bill-nye-1613_calculators_i-am-so-old-i-entered-engineering-school_1879804.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/bill-nye-1613_calculators_i-am-so-old-i-entered-engineering-school_1879804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/bill-nye-1613_calculators_i-am-so-old-i-entered-engineering-school_1879804.png) > “I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide rule. And I left engineering school with a calculator. I can still use a slide rule but it's not a skill you especially need anymore.” [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advances in technology render some old skills obsolete, but they remain valuable for understanding fundamentals. **In simple terms:** Old tools become less needed, yet they teach basics. Key Takeaway Value foundational knowledge even as tools evolve. Themes technology education skill relevance progress Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type educational reflective When to use this quote - teaching - career development - skill adaptation - technology adoption Key Concepts engineering historical tools learning theory Questions to Reflect On - What foundational skills should you preserve? - How can you balance new tech with old methods? A Different Perspective Reliance on new tools can erode deep understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calculator Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculator-use-2647085/) [Calculators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculators/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Rule Skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-skill-2647086/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School Calculator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-calculator-2647087/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Slide Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slide-rule-2238832/) [Slides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slides/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Use Slide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-slide-2647084/) ## Related quotes > [When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I'd place a table outside the meeting room with a sign:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/when-i-was-research-head-of-general-motors-and-wanted-a-problem/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [There is nothing in the world more perfect than a slide rule. Its burnished aluminum feels cool against your lips, and if you hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-more-perfect-than-a-slide-rule-its/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Even a very little girl can wield a slide rule, the cursor serving as a haft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/even-a-very-little-girl-can-wield-a-slide-rule-the-cursor-serving-as/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Speaking of human computers, there is a guy named Art Benjamin, he's a human calculator. He says it's a skill he learned as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/speaking-of-human-computers-there-is-a-guy-named-art-benjamin-he-s-a/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Nature hates calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-hates-calculators/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No Geologist worth anything is permanently bound to a desk or laboratory, but the charming notion that true science can only be based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/no-geologist-worth-anything-is-permanently-bound-to-a-desk-or/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [People think that the arts are optional and they aren't. They teach a level of emotional depth that's equally important to mathematic skill. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/people-think-that-the-arts-are-optional-and-they-aren-t-they-teach-a/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [I am not personally a parent. But I do have two godchildren and am expecting a third. I am naturally concerned for their future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-am-not-personally-a-parent-but-i-do-have-two-godchildren-and-am/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Value investing is at its core the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-at-its-core-the-marriage-of-a-contrarian-streak/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Fighting emotion with logic is like bringing a calculator to a knife fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-sundquist/fighting-emotion-with-logic-is-like-bringing-a-calculator-to-a-knife/) [Josh Sundquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-sundquist/) > [Electronic calculators can solve problems which the man who made them cannot solve; but no government subsidised commission of engineers and physicists could create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/electronic-calculators-can-solve-problems-which-the-man-who-made-them/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [My fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-spade/my-fellow-nerds-and-i-will-retire-to-the-nerdery-with-our-calculators/) [David Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-spade/) > [Calculators can only calculate - they cannot do mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-van-de-walle/calculators-can-only-calculate-they-cannot-do-mathematics/) [John A. Van de Walle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-van-de-walle/) > [Look, this is a man, he's got great numbers. He talks about numbers. I'm beginning to think not only did he invent the Internet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/look-this-is-a-man-he-s-got-great-numbers-he-talks-about-numbers-i-m/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) ## More by Bill Nye > [That's what makes a human a human, if we store information outside our bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/that-s-what-makes-a-human-a-human-if-we-store-information-outside-our/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/to-try-to-really-land-a-spacecraft-really-on-another-world-is-really/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Humor is everywhere in that there's irony in just about anything a human does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/humor-is-everywhere-in-that-there-s-irony-in-just-about-anything-a/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [There's nothing I believe in more strongly than getting young people interested in science and engineering, for a better tomorrow, for all humankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/there-s-nothing-i-believe-in-more-strongly-than-getting-young-people/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Tax dollars intended for science education must not be used to teach creationism as any sort of real explanation of nature, because any observation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/tax-dollars-intended-for-science-education-must-not-be-used-to-teach/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [The most serious problem facing humankind is climate change. All of these people breathing and burning our atmosphere has led to an extraordinarily dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/the-most-serious-problem-facing-humankind-is-climate-change-all-of/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [If you just take a single human and put him or her in the forest he or she might not do very well without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/if-you-just-take-a-single-human-and-put-him-or-her-in-the-forest-he/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Over billions of years, the planets exchange quite a bit of material. This is not speculation; this is fact. Planetary scientists have found pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/over-billions-of-years-the-planets-exchange-quite-a-bit-of-material/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [From an evolutionary standpoint you can't just wipe everything out and start over, and I don't think you can do it in the school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/from-an-evolutionary-standpoint-you-can-t-just-wipe-everything-out/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“People who should (or do) know better keep confusing weather with climate. Weather is what happens day to day in one place. Climate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/people-who-should-or-do-know-better-keep-confusing-weather-with/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/the-more-you-find-out-about-the-world-the-more-opportunities-there/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Millennial voters are very concerned about climate change and will vote for candidates who are planning to address it. But the systems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/millennial-voters-are-very-concerned-about-climate-change-and-will/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [By the way, most of the light that comes from the sun is green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/by-the-way-most-of-the-light-that-comes-from-the-sun-is-green/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“As of this writing, the Opportunity rover is still roving. It was designed to run ninety Martian days—just over three months—but it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/as-of-this-writing-the-opportunity-rover-is-still-roving-it-was/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“radioactive Rubidium-87, containing 37 protons (and 50 neutrons), can change or decay to strontium, which has 38 protons. These two elements can be thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/radioactive-rubidium-87-containing-37-protons-and-50-neutrons-can/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) [Explore all 220 Bill Nye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) ## More Calculators quotes > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Look, this is a man, he's got great numbers. He talks about numbers. I'm beginning to think not only did he invent the Internet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/look-this-is-a-man-he-s-got-great-numbers-he-talks-about-numbers-i-m/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Calculators can only calculate - they cannot do mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-van-de-walle/calculators-can-only-calculate-they-cannot-do-mathematics/) [John A. Van de Walle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-van-de-walle/) > [My fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-spade/my-fellow-nerds-and-i-will-retire-to-the-nerdery-with-our-calculators/) [David Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-spade/) > [Electronic calculators can solve problems which the man who made them cannot solve; but no government subsidised commission of engineers and physicists could create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/electronic-calculators-can-solve-problems-which-the-man-who-made-them/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Fighting emotion with logic is like bringing a calculator to a knife fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-sundquist/fighting-emotion-with-logic-is-like-bringing-a-calculator-to-a-knife/) [Josh Sundquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-sundquist/) > [Value investing is at its core the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-at-its-core-the-marriage-of-a-contrarian-streak/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [I am not personally a parent. But I do have two godchildren and am expecting a third. I am naturally concerned for their future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-am-not-personally-a-parent-but-i-do-have-two-godchildren-and-am/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [People think that the arts are optional and they aren't. They teach a level of emotional depth that's equally important to mathematic skill. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/people-think-that-the-arts-are-optional-and-they-aren-t-they-teach-a/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [No Geologist worth anything is permanently bound to a desk or laboratory, but the charming notion that true science can only be based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/no-geologist-worth-anything-is-permanently-bound-to-a-desk-or/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Nature hates calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-hates-calculators/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People say I talk slowly. I talk in a way sometimes called laconic. The phone rings, I answer, and people ask if they've woken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/people-say-i-talk-slowly-i-talk-in-a-way-sometimes-called-laconic-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [A lot of people... use a calculator!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-strummer/a-lot-of-people-use-a-calculator/) [Joe Strummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-strummer/) > [It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the engine will do; but, not all the calculators of the National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-known-to-the-force-of-a-single-pound-weight-what-the-engine/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Should I not be proud, when for twenty years I have had to admit to myself that the great Newton and all the mathematicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/should-i-not-be-proud-when-for-twenty-years-i-have-had-to-admit-to/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Browse all 46 Calculators quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculators/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide rule. 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