My maths teachers at school, like probably everyone else&#x27;s, loved to tell us that we wouldn&#x27;t be able to carry calculators around with us all the time when we&#x27;re adults.<p>The joke&#x27;s on them.  I carry a supercomputer with wireless access to the collective knowledge of humanity in my pocket.<p>More seriously, if we assume we only have limited time and capacity to learn things, these tools surely free us from learning mundane &quot;tricks&quot; and allow us to further explore more interesting subjects.  Sure, an understanding of arithmetic is important, so that we can verify our tools are working.  But once that&#x27;s obtained, let&#x27;s move on.