Darcy, I was the person who said don't look at the computer. Yes, that is exactly my strategy. Conserve energy in a low gear. While I don't need to do that on short climbs (no matter the grade) most of the time, at times weather and the way i feel make me use it as an all around successful strategy for climbing. I guess if you are focused on going faster up a climb, then look at your speed. I do have a cadence function, but I don't need to look at it to know when it's dropped! And while I agree that knowing your cadence is important so you are not mashing, it's not necessary for everyone.
Personally, I do much better if I do not know the grade. In fact, knowing it makes me feel like giving up much more easily. Let me find out later and then I will feel like I accomplished something.
I guess I am not so focused on speed while climbing. I am a natural spinner and have had a lot of questions on how I am able to do this. My answer is always "I don't know. It's just what I do." I never trained to do this, and all I know is that it sort of pisses off some of the guys in my riding group when I spin up a hill, and they are standing, trying to get ahead.