Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I didn't realize it would
spark such discussion! I, forone, believe it is important to understand
misconceptions, not to teach kids a list of 'this is wrong' but simply to
prevent ourselves from continuing those misconceptions, as well as being
able to help students sort out their confusion. I was directed to the list
archives for February 1998
<http://lists.nau.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind9802&L=phys-l> for threads on this
very topic.
As for calculators and science, I found a thread in the December 1998
archive about that, if anyone is interested.
The archive for December 1998 contains a thread on the Asimov story, "The
Feeling of Power"-- perhaps this is the story one subsriber is looking
for.
Thank you also for the 'weighing' air suggestions.