Charles Babbage

Computer Science English 1791 – 1871 186 quotes

Conceived the first automatic computing engine

Quotes by Charles Babbage

The Analytical Engine is not merely a calculating machine, but a machine for operating upon symbols generally.

Letter to a colleague

My mind is perpetually occupied with the construction of my machines.

Diary entry

The difference engine is a machine for tabulating mathematical functions.

Letter to the Treasury

I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam!

Reflecting on tedious manual calculations

The great advantage of the Analytical Engine is that it is not only capable of executing calculations, but of executing them in any order and any number of times.

Description of the Analytical Engine

Errors, indeed, are not to be found in the Analytical Engine itself, but only in the instructions which are communicated to it.

On the reliability of the Analytical Engine

The more I see of the works of man, the more I admire the works of God.

General reflection

The principle of the Analytical Engine is that the engine can act upon its own results.

Description of the Analytical Engine's capabilities

It is a machine that can be programmed to do anything that can be expressed by a finite number of operations.

On the universality of the Analytical Engine

The economy of time and of mental labour, which such a machine would produce, can scarcely be imagined.

On the benefits of the Analytical Engine

The great object of the Analytical Engine is to effect calculations without the intervention of human intellect.

Purpose of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is an embodying of the science of operations, constructed with a view to the most general applications.

Description of the Analytical Engine's scope

The power of the Analytical Engine is not limited to numerical calculations; it can also perform algebraic operations.

On the versatility of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be set to any given problem, and will then work out the solution.

On the problem-solving capability of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is an engine of invention.

On the creative potential of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be taught to perform any operation that can be expressed by a finite number of symbols.

On the programmability of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be made to follow any law, however complicated.

On the flexibility of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be made to perform any series of operations that can be defined.

On the definability of operations for the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be made to perform any calculation that can be expressed by a finite number of steps.

On the algorithmic nature of the Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine is a machine that can be made to perform any logical operation.

On the logical capabilities of the Analytical Engine