Need for paper & pencil with 48/49/50 calculators

[carey]

John, thanks for your reply!

Sure about additional context. I'm mainly interested in physics applications where, for example, starting with a conservation law and a geometric constraint, a model is derived and numerical values are introduced at the last step. Therefore, algebraic manipulations would be used more frequently than chained calculations. Here's an example: deriving the equation for a conical pendulum (rather than starting with the equation) and then substituting numerical values. It's interesting that Dr. Wickes was a physics professor before being recruited by HP and it wouldn't be surprising if the physics perspective of solving problems as generally as possible may have (positively) influenced some 48 series design decisions.

That's a great point you make about similar previous claims for RPN calculators in reducing paper and pencil use. Pioneer series solvers that solve for any unknown in an equation reduce the need for paper and pencil to rearrange equations (though, of course, don't have symbolic features to simplify or expand equations).