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Quote by Charles Babbage

Work

Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes

This work delves into the historical and societal reasons behind the waning of scientific advancements in England, offering an insightful analysis of the period. more

Author

Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage, born on December 26, 1791 and died on October 18, 1871, was a renowned British mathematician, inventor, and engineer, often referred to as the 'father of computers'. He made significant contributions in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering, and his designs of the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine laid the foundation for the development of computer science. more

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“Precedents are treated by powerful minds as fetters with which to bind down the weak, as reasons with which to mistify the moderately informed, and as reeds which they themselves fearlessly break through whenever new combinations and difficult emergencies demand their highest efforts.”

“The influence of electricity in producing decompositions, although of inestimable value as an instrument of discovery in chemical inquiries, can hardly be said to have been applied to the practical purposes of life, until the same powerful genius [Davy] which detected the principle, applied it, by a singular felicity of reasoning, to arrest the corrosion of the copper-sheathing of vessels. ... this was regarded as by Laplace as the greatest of Sir Humphry's discoveries.”

“The most noble and profitable invention of all other, was that of SPEECH, consisting of Names or Appellations, and their Connexion; whereby men register their Thoughts; recall them when they are past; and also declare them one to another for mutuall utility and conversation; without which, there had been amongst men, neither Commonwealth, nor Society, nor Contract, nor Peace, no more than amongst Lyons, Bears, and Wolves.”