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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: A pocket-size history of the calculator

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A pocket-size history of the calculator

03/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - More or Less, A pocket-size history of the calculator

Tim Harford explores the history of calculators from clockwork to the Kashio brothers

Tim Harford explores the history of calculators, from clockwork to the Kashio brothers, with author Keith Houston

How was the calculator invented?  How did it go from something the size of a table to something that could be carried in your pocket, the must-have gadget of the 1970’s and 80’s?   

Tim Harford unpicks the history of the calculator with Keith Houston, author of Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator.  

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Debbie Richford
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Sound Mix: Hal Haines
Editor: Richard Vadon

(Technology evolution: old metal mechanical calculator 1930s, vintage plastic calculator 1970s, modern digital smartphone calculator 2000s. Credit: Getty Images)

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