Building the Empire of the Sum with Keith Houston

Keith Houston is the author of Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator. He joins Alan on this episode of AMSEcast to discuss the history of calculating. From the ancient Lebombo bone to mechanical calculators, Keith covers the evolution of calculating tools. This includes modern milestones like John Napier's logarithms, the HP-35 scientific calculator, and the TI-81's impact on U.S. classrooms. Keith also discusses his forthcoming book, Face With Tears of Joy. In this book, he explores the history, culture, and governance of emojis.     Guest Bio Keith Houston is the author of many books. In Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator, he explores the story behind this revolutionary tool. Keith is also the creator of the Shady Characters blog where he covers the history of punctuation and typography. He is working on a new book that dives into the history of emojis.     Show Highlights (1:55) When humans started counting (4:37) How the abacus and counting board advanced our ability to calculate (6:28) The creation of the algorithm (11:13) Why the Curta stands out in the evolution of the calculator (18:00) Why the Pocketronic from Texas Instruments was so groundbreaking (25:44) How the HANDY-LE fits into the story of calculating (26:30) HP's role in revolutionizing calculating with the HP-35 (29:05) How the TI-81 was able to be found in classrooms around the world (34:15) America's reaction to calculators in the classroom setting (36:17) What's next for Keith Houston       Links Referenced Shady Characters: https://shadycharacters.co.uk/ Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks: https://www.amazon.com/Shady-Characters-Punctuation-Symbols-Typographical/dp/0393064425 The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Cover-Cover-Exploration-Powerful/dp/1324086351/ Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator: https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Sum-Reign-Pocket-Calculator/dp/0393882144 Face With Tears of Joy: https://www.amazon.com/Face-Tears-Joy-Natural-History/dp/1324075147