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An image from a peripheral blood smear showing a hyposegmented neutrophil seen in a patient with Pseudo Pelger-Huet (100X oil immersion).

An image from a peripheral blood smear demonstrating rouleaux and three blasts seen in a patient with acute leukemia (50X oil immersion).

This sculpture stands outside the main building of the University of Oulu.

This is an image of a Herring Specimen. This specimen is observed in Survey of Vertebrates, Zoology 224. This image was created as part of the University of Alberta OER image database project in Biological Sciences. Identifier 2041I.

How do we know the stuff we know? In physics and engineering, a lot of our knowledge comes from calculations. And when these calculations become difficult, we need tools to perform them. Fifty years ago, mechanical calculators (pictured left) were the tool of choice, and they allowed us to quickly add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers. They are reliable, make a heck of a noise, weigh 20 pounds, and they just work. They solved many problems before the advent of the computer, contributing a huge amount to what we know today. But as science progressed, new and faster tools were required. Today, almost every day, I use my computer (pictured right) to solve the equations I encounter in my research in physics. Don’t get me wrong: many of those calculations could, in principle, still be done on the mechanical calculator, but a computer is just faster, quieter, and does not weigh as much. In the background you can see a part of the equation that I solved using my computer. Below it, the mechanical calculator and the laptop stand “back to back,” as if they are debating who is better at solving it.

This is an image of a Tuatara Skull. This specimen is observed in Survey of Vertebrates, Zoology 224. This image was created as part of the University of Alberta OER image database project in Biological Sciences. Identifier 2088I.

This is an image of a clam, Mercenaria, dissection showing Adductor Muscle, Foot, Mantle, Ctenidia, Labial Palps. This dissection is completed in Survey of invertebrates, Zoology 250. This image was created as part of the University of Alberta OER image database project in Biological Sciences. Identifer 1005I.

An image from a peripheral blood smear showing a giant platelet (center) seen in a patient with a thrombocytosis (50X oil immersion).

An image from a bone marrow particle smear stained with an iron stain (Perls Prussian Blue) showing multiple ringed sideroblasts surrounded by blue iron granules (100X oil immersion).