Extending the range of calipers

[Toolmaker51]

The arithmetic/ mathematics-education system generates all kinds of hoohah, apparently most everywhere. My initial years were ok, then something happened and it went kablooey. Some things like positive and negative numbers, no issue, but other students had trouble. Enjoyed geometry then and now, but I'm no Marv Klotz.
Trig gave me trouble, due some variety of dyslexia, I suppose. Soon, but by accident, I turned a worksheet around to wherever the most recognizable intersection or right angle 'popped out', it no longer bothers me.
I'm sure now, that some math works as a visual function, others not so well, abstract. It does seem trying to teach math should demonstrate more 'how' instead of 'why', in application, ignore algebraic types until the others are solid. I base this on personal experience, once exposed to how machining couples math to action, bingo, purely tangible. It worked again in auto shop, flight school, ocean navigation, some gunnery, and just now learning survey of plots.

Afterall, how hard would language or music be, native or otherwise, if it was all on paper?

Got so wound on my thoughts, completely fizzed on Marv's.......the calculator originally banned from education, I remember it.
That never made sense. If you miss order operations, it will be wrong; burning up 6 sheets of paper won't make it apparent halfway through. Hate to think what state things like space program or major construction would be dependent on manual calculation. At same time, engineering being fully digitized is not perfect. We enjoy so many old products that were papered or slide-ruled, with that extra 10%~, while the newer comparatively shoddy from paring thickness, material shear strength, etc.