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Charles Babbage & His Calculating Engine
I. Chapters from Passages from the life of a philosopherpt. II. Selections from Babbage's Calculating enginespt. III. Appendix of miscellaneous papers
- GenresNonfiction
453 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1961
12 people want to read
About the author
Charles Babbage
89 books21 followersBritish mathematician Charles Babbage invented an analytical machine, based on similar principles to those that modern computers use.
This English philosopher and mechanical engineer originated the concept of digital programming. Some persons consider Babbage a "father" and credit him with the first that eventually led to more complex electronic designs but find all essential ideas in his engine. His varied work in other fields led to his described "preeminence" of his century.
The science museum in London displays incomplete parts of Babbage. From original plans of Babbage, people in 1991 constructed a functioning difference engine. Built to achievable tolerances in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated that Babbage worked.
This English philosopher and mechanical engineer originated the concept of digital programming. Some persons consider Babbage a "father" and credit him with the first that eventually led to more complex electronic designs but find all essential ideas in his engine. His varied work in other fields led to his described "preeminence" of his century.
The science museum in London displays incomplete parts of Babbage. From original plans of Babbage, people in 1991 constructed a functioning difference engine. Built to achievable tolerances in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated that Babbage worked.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 25, 2025
This collection released relatively near the beginning of our computer age, gave a detailed introduction of Charles Babbage's thought and work on calculating machines to a wider public. Charles Babbage was a 19th century mathematician, scientist and inventor who dedicated much of his life and work to an effort to design and build complicated and automatic calculating machines. These machines would come to be seen as the precursors and heralds of the modern computer. This trend was already visible in the late 1940s, but this book made detailed accounts of his work available to a wider public.
The book is an excerpting of full chapters from Babbage's autobiography Passages from the Life of a Philosopher and then a subset of the essays originally published in 1889 in Babbage's Calculating Engines by Charles's son Major General Henry Provost Babbage. These give some sense of how Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine would have functioned, why they were constructed and what some of the implications for science and mathematics that were foreseen for them.
These include Babbage's own descriptions of his machines and those of others of particular interest is the detailed description of the Analytical Engine by L. F. Menabrea translated from the Italian with extensive notes by Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace. This description and the notes provides some of the most suggestive discussion of the Analytical Engine.
The excerpts of Babbage's autobiography and work not related to the Engines are an enjoyable survey of the the wide and rapacious nature of his scientific interests. This is interesting in its own right, but also as context for the design and attempted construction of these machines.
The introduction by Philip and Emily Morrison gives some historical context to Babbage and also charts his reception subsequently. It perhaps plays up the extent Babbage's eccentricities and conflicts with his contemporaries but is a useful starting point to understanding Babbage. It is also an interesting benchmark of the way Babbage has been popularly understood.
I read an old paperback that has been on my shelf for years, it hangs together okay, although the lamination on the colour peeled off over the years.
The book is an excerpting of full chapters from Babbage's autobiography Passages from the Life of a Philosopher and then a subset of the essays originally published in 1889 in Babbage's Calculating Engines by Charles's son Major General Henry Provost Babbage. These give some sense of how Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine would have functioned, why they were constructed and what some of the implications for science and mathematics that were foreseen for them.
These include Babbage's own descriptions of his machines and those of others of particular interest is the detailed description of the Analytical Engine by L. F. Menabrea translated from the Italian with extensive notes by Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace. This description and the notes provides some of the most suggestive discussion of the Analytical Engine.
The excerpts of Babbage's autobiography and work not related to the Engines are an enjoyable survey of the the wide and rapacious nature of his scientific interests. This is interesting in its own right, but also as context for the design and attempted construction of these machines.
The introduction by Philip and Emily Morrison gives some historical context to Babbage and also charts his reception subsequently. It perhaps plays up the extent Babbage's eccentricities and conflicts with his contemporaries but is a useful starting point to understanding Babbage. It is also an interesting benchmark of the way Babbage has been popularly understood.
I read an old paperback that has been on my shelf for years, it hangs together okay, although the lamination on the colour peeled off over the years.
Displaying 1 of 1 review