Charles Babbage

If [scientific work] produces no information, it is harmless; if it produces false information, it is pernicious.

The accumulation of skill and science is the genius of a nation.

I never read books; I write them.

The road from geometry to algebra passes through arithmetic.

Every minute detail of a machine is of importance in its economy.

The late rebellion in Manchester is a striking instance of the evils of manufacturing.

Science is the knowledge of consequences, and induction the knowledge of causes.

My object is to show that there may be mechanical causes which produce motion.

The fatigue produced on the mind by the repetition of the same operation is much greater than that produced on the body.

In England, the profession of the law is that which seems to hold out to youth the most assured, if not the highest, prizes of fortune.

The difference between the powers of men and machines is soon to be little more than that between the powers of men and women.

I calculate that during my lifetime, the number of editions of my works will exceed those of any other author.

The present state of the cultivation of mathematics among us is a disgrace to a progressive nation.

A tool is usually more simple than a machine; it is generally used with the hand, whilst a machine is moved by animal or other power.

The art of attaining worldly success is one of the most difficult arts.

In former times, the cultivation of the sciences was almost entirely confined to the clergy.

The number of errors in mathematical tables is enormous.

My head is so full of ideas that I cannot express them.

The introduction of the Jacquard apparatus into weaving has led to the invention of the analytical engine.

Perhaps the most important principle on which the economy of a manufacture depends is the division of labour amongst the persons who perform the work. For the greater the subdivision of labour the greater the gain.