A Litmus Test

You're not a true nerd until you have to instruct someone as to how to properly use your calculator.

For me, that day occurred years ago in college, when the instructor for my American Sign Language class asked to borrow my TI-85 to grade some papers while the rest of the class broke into groups to practice our new vocabulary.

It wasn't five minutes before she came up to me asking why the cryptic symbols on the screen were not, in fact, giving her valid results, or any results whatsoever. When your calculator has 50 buttons, it's easy to miss the right ones, or to misinterpret the symbols on some of the wrong ones.

I'm just glad I never owned an HP.