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Used by engineers for centuries, they were displaced by pocket calculators and all but forgotten until Mr. Shawlee created a subculture of obsessives and cornered the market. By Alex Traub For about ...

It was the only technological tool widely and continuously used for over three centuries. For math and science geeks it was a badge of honor, nestled neatly into a plastic pocket protector along with ...

The protractor and the Bunsen burner. Playing the recorder in music class. Drawing arcs and circles with a compass in geometry. These tools of the education trade become part of our lives for a ...