Wiki has a lot on it..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus

from all over the place, not just Asian.

I like that about the factor of ten error being extra penalized, re the
aircraft.
I think engineers only 'get close' too often.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 7:02 PM
Subject: Re: Pesky Oil Leak

> ---- Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote:
>
>> the tricky part for me was keeping track of the decimal place. Getting
>> the
>> number was easy.
>
> My freshman physics instructor, unlike a good many other instructors I
> knew over the years, deducted extra rather than less for a power of ten
> error.  His rationale, explained to a young man who complained, was that
> with a power of ten error, you crashed the plane, rather than it just
> being hard to fly.
>
>> now tell me ...is 'abacus' a Latin word ?
>> seems like it would be, yet the abacus is an oreintal invention I
>> believe.
>
> 'Cordin to my dictionary, the word is Latin, adapted from a Greek word,
> which in turn had adapted that word from Hebrew.
>
> The device has been historically important in Oriental cultures, but I
> suspect it had parallel development in many places.
>
> David McNeely