

Sketch of the Analytical Engine, with Notes by Ada Lovelace (1842) - thursdayb
http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/sketch.html

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e12e
"It is desirable to guard against the possibility of exaggerated ideas that
might arise as to the powers of the Analytical Engine. In considering any new
subject, there is frequently a tendency, first, to overrate what we find to be
already interesting or remarkable; and, secondly, by a sort of natural
reaction, to undervalue the true state of the case, when we do discover that
our notions have surpassed those that were really tenable.

The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It
can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It can follow analysis;
but it has no power of anticipating any analytical relations or truths. Its
province is to assist us in making available what we are already acquainted
with. This it is calculated to effect primarily and chiefly of course, through
its executive faculties; but it is likely to exert an indirect and reciprocal
influence on science itself in another manner. For, in so distributing and
combining the truths and the formulæ of analysis, that they may become most
easily and rapidly amenable to the mechanical combinations of the engine, the
relations and the nature of many subjects in that science are necessarily
thrown into new lights, and more profoundly investigated. This is a decidedly
indirect, and a somewhat speculative, consequence of such an invention. It is
however pretty evident, on general principles, that in devising for
mathematical truths a new form in which to record and throw themselves out for
actual use, views are likely to be induced, which should again react on the
more theoretical phase of the subject. There are in all extensions of human
power, or additions to human knowledge, various collateral influences, besides
the main and primary object attained." \-- Ada Lovelace, 1842

Quite remarkable foresight, I would say.

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shas3
Another historic object of interest concerning the 'hype cycle' is Claude
Shannon's 'Bandwagon': [http://dsp.rice.edu/sites/dsp.rice.edu/files/shannon-
bandwag...](http://dsp.rice.edu/sites/dsp.rice.edu/files/shannon-
bandwagon.pdf)

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divs1210
'Passages from the life of a Philosopher' was a very insightful read. We were
_this_ close to becoming a steampunk society! Here's the Difference Engine
implemented in Clojure[0] and Pythton[1].

[0]
[https://gist.github.com/divs1210/6e388a31d4e0a425efe7](https://gist.github.com/divs1210/6e388a31d4e0a425efe7)

[1]
[https://gist.github.com/divs1210/5d2d605339d6bc551ca0](https://gist.github.com/divs1210/5d2d605339d6bc551ca0)

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thr0waway23419
Does anyone know how much of this is Ada's original work and how much is the
attributed to L. F. MENABREA who the article says it was written by? I assume
that she is listed as a translator because she is a woman. Do you know how she
is attributed in her other works?

~~~
cafard
I had a Dover edition of some of Babbage's stuff. I remember from the notes
that she had considerably expanded on Menabrea's explanation, and contributed
the program. However, I bet Wikipedia would be better source than my rusty
recollections.

