Featured Image Credit: Alex Walker/ Getty/ astern_art/TikTok /
We can't be the only ones who remember graphing calculators as basically arcane gadgets, devices that had countless buttons we didn't know the uses for and a handful that we actually used.
That might, admittedly, spotlight the fact that we didn't exactly excel in math class, but it's still pretty likely that even accomplished mathematicians have never seen a graphing calculator used like this.
TikToker astern_art has seen one of their videos explode in popularity, shooting up to nearly half a million likes in just a couple of days, and it's an unreal showcase of their calculator skills.
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Rather than solving complex equations or plotting statistical charts, though, they're actually drawing on their calculator - that is, drawing using their calculator.
In what seems to be something like the world's hardest-to-use Etch-a-Sketch, they painstakingly plot lines and shading to slowly but surely start to draw a person's portrait.
The video is a timelapse, so things are moving extra quickly, but it's still easy to see how slow the process is, and how patient you must have to be with it.
By the end of the video, you can tell the portrait isn't close to being finished, but it's already an accomplished silhouette with some nice clean lines and features.
This might just up-end everything you know about calculators, but it's a testament to the fact that these tools are a little bit more powerful than many people realise.
It's left people in the comments section under the video amazed, too.
One person responded: "looked at my calculator and sighed", summing up how inadequate many of us would feel observing this level of skill and dedication.
Another commenter wrote: "Digital art final boss", and they're not the only person taking the time to make it clear how impressive the creator's skills are.
Still, others are still able to be a little cynical about the video, like one top comment that says, "ik that calculator expensive af". They're not wrong, either - looking up the calculator in question, which the video's caption identifies as a TI-84 Plus CE calculator from Texas Instruments, it lands at $120 on Amazon.
Now, that's not killingly expensive for a good graphing calculator, by any means, but it's still a good chunk more than most of us would be aiming to spend on something like this.
The video is also a useful reminder that even if you're locked in your bedroom being told to concentrate on your trigonometry homework, there's always something you can do to distract yourself, and a calculator might just be the perfect tool. Of course, if you've got an iPhone in your pocket, that might be the easier route.
