I felt like this was about me reading it. When I took Level 1, I opened up my car door only to have my calculator fall to the ground face down (TI BAII Plus Professional). When I picked it up and turned it over, the screen was broke and could only see 2 numbers. I was panicing because there was no place I could go get one that was close. I had someone nice enough offer their spare to me without even asking. I gave it back to him at the end, and he wouldn’t take anything from me. I wouldn’t have passed without it. Goes without saying now that I would lend mine out now.
I have always had a spare calculator with me, and would not lend it out to anyone - I am sure that the calculator, which I have had all through the program, will be fine, but I I bring the spare for a reason, so that I am not stressed about anything going wrong with the calculator.
That said, I had a third calculator this year, a mate of mine has just started the program, and I borrowed his - left it in the car - but would have lent it out if need be.
I am pretty OCD about exams though, always have a bunch of pens/pencils etc - reason being, it’s one less thing to worry about, there is enough stress in that exam room, without worrying if your pen runs out.
All told, I know it’s ridiculous, and 5-6 standard deviations into the tail risk, I would rather bring a few extra pencils/pens/calculator than worry about the remote possibility.
Interesting, after having read this thread I was sat at a table with a guy who didn’t bring a calculator.
Sat there for a minute and then went with the aforementioned karma-play and offered him my spare.
He said no and proceeded to take both AM and PM without a calculator.
He didn’t seem like the type to be compounding interest in his head, either.
Didn’t look like Sheldon Cooper?
he probably gave up on passing
Sounds foolhardy and fatalistic, was he japanese?
Kid I can do things in my head you would have to use a 12c for. What you do not seem to understand is the concept of opportunity cost. Time is money. Once you learn that you will get out of mom’s basement.
Des right des right!
Happened to me. I was waiting to get in, when I see a tall guy walking in, taking out his exam ticket and realizing that he had forgotten his calculator. He was about to take L3 in the am. So he asks the guy next to me, with fear in his eyes; but that guy was a typical Swiss arse, who tells him he needs both of his calculators, plus the damn batteries. Fking nerd; I hope he knows Mrs Karma by now, cause shes a naughty beeatch. So the guy asks me and I ask him if he knows how to work the old Texas Instruments machine. The guy showed some massive relief right there. I actually walked up to him during the break right before the pm cession and was a bit concerned that the batteries might have died since its not a calculator that I have ever used much; I would have felt horrible and responsible for a potential fail. He told me then, that he did not use it a whole lot in the morning but that he would have felt like crap without a calculator. We exchanged business cards during the break and he gave that calculator back to me with a bottle of wine a few weeks later. Best thing of em all: I managed to pass L2. Hope he passed his exam as well.
Well done and congrats!
I’ve been thinking that a great business model would be to purchase a number of qualified calculators, then set up stands outside test centers to lease the calculators to candidates who have forgotten theirs.
The cost would be, say, twice the price of a calculator. Maybe thrice.
Seems like it would be sure-fire.
^i actually have considered doing that with pens, pencils, calculators, etc. but since I live ~350 miles from the closest exam location, I think that would be a bad way to spend a Saturday.
Respect.