The Epistemology Of Calculators

Everyday objects like calculators, whether those on smartphones or devices created primarily/solely for mathematical calculations, are far more related to explicitly philosophical truths and issues than many people seem to realize.  The use of a calculator is mainly reserved for more complicated mathematical problems that the typical person cannot or does not want to solve in their own minds.  After all, there are numerous math problems that many individuals have probably never specifically thought about or that they would almost never have a need to focus on.

For example, a random person would probably not know what 20,759 multiplied by 8,031 equals even though they are at least somewhat aware that it is not 120 or 5,000.  They would also likely be aware that a number such as 16 trillion is too high.  However, they would almost certainly not be familiar with the exact number that results--which means they could not simply look at a calculator after multiplying those factors and be aware of the actual product.  If pressed, many people would likely push back against this, but it is sound all the same!

They might rightly acknowledge that the calculator is accurate unless it is defective or sabotaged, but then they merely assume it is not malfunctioning unless they refrain from believing that which they cannot prove.  It is not that this is even a particularly devastating assumption in that it dictates much about how one lives, but it is nonetheless a practical example of how epistemological validity is often completely sidestepped in daily life.  One assumption can easily be accompanied by another, and none are justified in the first place.

Unless someone knows the exact number that multiplying the two factors leads to, they do not truly know if the calculator is accurate--unless they are using it to calculate comparatively simple mathematical operations like adding three and five.  Even using a calculator to perform the addition of one and one and seeing the correct numerical symbols would not prove that other calculations are also accurate, however.  In other words, a person can only know a calculator is accurate if they solve for a number they already know.

That such a basic, seemingly overlooked part of life for so many people is ultimately adrift in uncertainty might be difficult for some to confront or accept.  All the same, belief that calculators have some other kind of epistemological status is inherently flawed.  By necessity, any other position is borne only from ignorance or stupidity.  No one needs to fret over this fact every time they use a calculator for a mathematical calculation they cannot pinpoint on their own, but the truth of the matter can never be validly denied.