Hand Calculator Performance Under Interrupted Operation

Abstract

Hand calculators use either Reverse Polish Notation or Algebraic Notation and users of each ordinarily declare that their own type is superior. Of three published experiments, two have indicated RPN is superior to AN while one has shown no difference. The present experiment compared the two logic systems under uninterrupted conditions and when the subjects were interrupted during the task simulating realworld conditions. During noninterrupted operation, no significant performance differences were found between RPN and AN. When users were interrupted, both type of logic users took longer to complete the task although AN users took much longer than RPN users. Examination of these and previous results suggest that, while RPN seems to be superior to AN, a further conclusion is that RPN and AN users may possess inherently different problem formulation logics which each match their selected calculator logics.