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The photo shows a calculator I bought on Temu.
I wish it were clear from the calculator, but its official name is an electronic computer.
In Japan, calculators are mostly sold in small sizes.
The reason for the small size is probably to prioritize portability.
I find the size in the photo the easiest to use.
Partly because I have large hands, but also because I used this size at work long ago, so I'm probably just more accustomed to it.
You can grab it quickly when needed, place it on the desk, and start typing away—it's easy to handle.
For a woman, I have large hands. As a child, I could reach an entire octave with one hand. I also played a bit of basketball and worked with machinery as an adult, so I have craftsman's hands.
They're still my pride and joy.
In other words, they're the same size as a man's.
Since Japan has both men and women, I think larger calculators would be appreciated.
*One octave (ichi-okutābu) = On a piano keyboard, the range from C (Do) up to the next C (Do).
Nowadays, most people use calculators on their smartphones or desktop calculators, but isn't that inconvenient?
You have to leave the file you're working on, call up the calculator, rearrange it on top of the file you're creating, and then type in the numbers. If you only need to calculate once, you have to copy and paste the result or jot it down on paper, which is a hassle.
That's why placing a calculator right next to your computer and hammering away at the 10-key pad—focusing on the tactile feedback of the pin braille (Slang) above the 5 key—while letting your dominant hand fly over it automatically, is the most efficient way to input numbers at incredible speed.
The calculator in the photo lacks the pin braille (official name: home position) above the 5 key, so I guess the country where it was manufactured doesn't consider the 5 braille necessary.
If I'm working with an Excel file that has formulas set up automatically, it's no problem. But since I have to create that file first, when I'm in a hurry, it's still the calculator I reach for.
Also, I really hated those tiny round batteries. You had to remember the model number to replace them, hunt for them, and I'd been annoyed for decades wondering why they weren't AA or AAA batteries. This one, however, is a wonderful, wonderful dry-cell battery type.
Once, someone pulled out an abacus for another job requiring calculations, which really surprised me. Now, I hear more elementary school kids are learning the abacus again.
It makes perfect sense since the abacus even has features that speed up mental arithmetic.
Lately, I've noticed foreign residents working in Japan have incredibly fast mental math skills.
Until about five years ago, I sometimes wondered if younger shop clerks were really bad at mental math. Once, when an analog cash register clerk was clearly struggling with change calculations, I asked, “How much change do you think it is?” and got a really annoyed look.
Before criticizing or saying unpleasant things about a generation, why not just lend them a calculator instead of focusing on whether they can do mental math?Quickly showing them how to calculate change on a calculator would improve work efficiency and create a more pleasant atmosphere for everyone working together.
I can only do simple mental math myself, so I think I'll train myself in calculations again.
Isn't teaching ingenious workarounds instead of criticizing weaknesses what makes a good senior colleague and a good boss?
I'm surprisingly adept at things I'm good at, but with things I'm bad at, it takes me time to grasp them, and I've often figured out ways to get the job done through my own methods.
That's why I was unusually good at teaching people who didn't understand.
People who had many points they didn't understand often ended up becoming the most skilled at the job.
Because they thought deeply about that one job (1 Job: one-job).
Thinking deeply about one job means they were tackling it seriously.
Unnecessary 1 Jobs cannot exist within a 1Works.
It's precisely because we let things slide without properly considering why each 1 Job exists that we end up causing major mistakes in a 1 Works.
Let's keep working hard together, both at home and outside, making sure each and every one of your 1 Jobs is solid.
Well then, have a wonderful Sunday.
20260125 Revised the text.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)











