Chapter 287 The real father of computers
U.K.
London.
Thick ink clouds squeezed the sky, and there was no white gap. They were so heavy that they seemed to be falling.
on the ground.
The howling north wind blew through, chilling me to my bones.
A willow tree on a certain street has shed its remaining leaves, leaving only gray dry branches, like raging whips, dancing around under the command of the wind.
Pedestrians on the street were all wrapped in thick scarves and walking in a hurry.
Occasionally they met face to face, but most of them just looked at them indifferently and continued to move forward with their heads down.
However, in stark contrast to this cold tone, there is a seven-story building standing at the end of the street.
The high-ceilinged foyer and grand door, round arched windows and corner stone masonry all show elegance and elegance.
At the gate of the building stood two tall white security guards, with a row of English words engraved on their heads:
BarclaysBank, since1690.
Barclays Bank, one of the earliest banks in the UK or the world.
At this moment.
On the third floor of Barclays Bank, in a certain reception room.
A well-built man in his forties was sitting at his desk, looking at a document in his hand expressionlessly.
And opposite him.
Sitting there was a little old man with a broad forehead, a narrow mouth, and a somewhat embarrassed expression.
After a while.
The rich man put the documents back on the table, raised his head, and said to the little old man in front of him:
"Sorry, Mr. Charles, we are unable to provide you with a loan."
The little old man's expression froze when he heard this, he laughed twice, and said slightly humbly:
"Director Salor, would you like to think about it again?"
"As long as I have enough funds, I can build a machine that can automatically calculate numerical tables through constant differences. I think this is a very promising project."
"Very promising?"
Hear the word from the little old man's mouth.
The rich man's mouth immediately raised a hint of mockery, and he interrupted his words mercilessly:
"Sorry, Mr. Charles, I don't see much promise in this project."
"If I remember correctly, you submitted a paper and prototype to the Royal Society more than 20 years ago, and the next year the government allocated you a grant of 1,500 pounds."
"At that time, you claimed that the task could be completed in two to three years, but in reality?"
"By 1842, the government had invested nearly 20,000 pounds. What was the result?"
The little old man's face suddenly turned red, but he was not ashamed, but angry:
"It's because of that bastard Clement!"
"He took all the money away. All the money issued by the Ministry of Finance and the final drawings are in his hands! He."
The little old man was about to continue talking, but the rich man interrupted him first:
"That's enough, Mr. Charles, I don't have the mood or time to listen to you complaining here."
"I just want to tell you that Barclays Bank has no idea of investing or lending to your project - if it weren't for the sake of Countess Lovelace, you wouldn't even be able to get through this door today."
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When he heard the words 'Countess Lovelace', the little old man's initially angry expression froze.
The fists that had been clenched into a ball under the table began to loosen unconsciously.
After a few seconds.
His whole body seemed to have been drained of strength, his head drooped, he picked up the plan and turned around to leave.
Waited out the door of the room.
The little old man leaned his head against the wall, his chest rose and fell a few times, and he exhaled a breath of boredom.
After spending less than half a minute to adjust his mentality, he continued walking downstairs.
The stairs these days are mainly made of wood, but Barclays Banker has a big business, so even the wooden stairs are extremely stable to walk on, and you can feel a sense of heaviness under your feet at any time.
Less than half a minute.
The little old man returned to the first floor safely.
Same as hereafter.
The first floor of Barclays Bank is also a spacious hall for receiving regular customers, with an area of about hundreds of square meters.
However, the number of customers is much smaller than that of later generations, and there are only less than ten scattered customers.
To know.
This is the center of London. In 2022, every inch of land is at a premium. You have to wait for a ticket on the 20th or 30th day of the queue.
The appearance of the little old man quickly attracted the attention of the guests in the hall, but most of them simply glanced at him and turned their eyes away again.
Only a woman in her thirties brightened up, walked up to her quickly, and asked:
"How's it going, Mr. Charles? Have they agreed?"
The little old man sighed and shook his head with a gloomy expression.
When the woman saw this, her movements froze, and a trace of disappointment clearly flashed in her eyes, but she still comforted:
"It's okay, Mr. Charles, we will definitely find investors who can see the value of the analytical machine"
"It's very blue."
I don’t know if he was hit too many times. The little old man shook his head helplessly and took the initiative to change the topic:
"Ada, you keep showing up with me like this, and you even often stay at my house. Your husband won't be angry, right?"
The woman shook her head gently and said:
"Mr. Charles, William is not the kind of narrow-minded person."
"The idea of mortgaging jewelry to raise money was originally proposed by him, but my grandmother discovered it later."
"By the way, let's not talk about him. How about we go to Kangruo Bank next? I heard that their president is a very courageous young man."
The little old man glanced at this chirping old friend, feeling a deep sense of guilt in his heart.
Maybe I shouldn't have introduced that prototype to her more than ten years ago.
This would not make her life so difficult now, and even affect her husband and children.
And just when the little old man's mind was wandering.
At the gate of the bank, a middle-aged man suddenly walked in quickly.
This man is about in his early forties, not tall, with fair skin, and a gentle appearance with a hint of shyness.
Some look like a later player named Torres when he was young.
After entering the bank, he did not go to the counter, but glanced around a few times.
After spotting the little old man and the woman, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Then he quickly came to the two of them, rubbed his hands nervously, and said:
"Ada, Mr. Charles, did I disturb you?"
The woman named Ada turned her head when she heard the words and saw the man's face was overjoyed. She stepped forward and gave him a kiss:
"mua!"
Then she hugged her husband and asked:
"Honey, why are you here?"
The gentle man did not answer her question directly, but looked at the plan in the little old man's hand and asked:
"Mr. Charles, what was the result of today's interview?"
The little old man sighed again, shook his head and said:
"It failed and Barclays refused to invest in our project."
There was a deep apology in the little old man's tone. The gentle man didn't feel disappointed at all when he heard this, but clapped his hands suddenly:
"Great!"
"?!"
In an instant.
The eyes of the little old man and Ada turned to the gentle man at the same time, and huge question marks appeared above their heads.
The little old man even had a little doubt.
Don't tell me that this person really has some misunderstandings about Ada and himself, so he wishes he could fail, right?
To know.
From 1842 to the present, Ada spends 70% of her time by her side.
In order to save money, they only rented a single-story building.
Most of the time Ada would go home and go to bed.
But if the project is too time-consuming, Ada will stay overnight, one sleeping on the bed and the other sleeping on the floor
Although the little old man could swear that he and Ada had no Minotaur plot, he could not guarantee that her husband would think so.
In fact, it is a bit outrageous to be able to endure it for eight years
And the other side.
Seeing that the little old man and his wife were looking at each other strangely, the gentle man slapped his head in hindsight:
"Oops, I'm sorry, Mr. Charles, look at my mouth, I can't speak clearly"
"Actually, this is the case. This morning, the University of Cambridge found me through the Lords Division and expressed that Trinity College is very interested in your Analytical Engine and hopes to have an interview with you about some cooperation matters."
"So you see.?"
The little old man's expression was a bit blank at first, and he was ready for the other party to show their cards and break up.
But the more he listened, the bigger his eyes widened. In the end, he grabbed the gentle man's hand and asked:
"Mr. Count, are you telling the truth?"
The gentle man smiled and nodded, without any hint of the demeanor of a count:
"Yes, the person who came here is a friend from Cambridge University who I met when I was teaching. He is now the Lucas Professor at Cambridge University. His name is George Stokes."
"The information sent by him must be very reliable."
The little old man looked at him seriously and asked:
"Are you sure it has something to do with the Analytical Engine? Isn't it something like an alumni gathering organized by Trinity College?"
The gentle man glanced at his wife, who also looked expectant, and with a firm chest, he affirmed:
"It's definitely related to the Analytical Engine, Mr. Charles, when do you think we'll be out?"
The words have not yet finished.
The little old man grabbed his hand and walked out quickly:
"Elbow, let's go to Cambridge!"
Half a day later.
University of Cambridge.
Trinity College.
Faraday's Office.
At this moment, this office has been converted into a reception room.
A gentle man, a little old man, and a woman named Ada sat on one side.
The third person, Xu Yun, Gauss and Farah, sat on the other side.
Riemann and Maima stood behind Xu Yun and the others, responsible for serving tea and pouring water.
Looking at the three people of Ada and Da who were embarrassed and full of hope in front of them, Xu Yun's eyes couldn't help but be a little subtle.
In the later generations where he traveled through time, there was a saying that was widely circulated:
There is no pure friendship between men and women, and things will happen to best friends of the opposite sex.
This sentence is relatively accurate when it is popularized. In the adult field, best friends of the opposite sex often have some special ideas.
However, in the history of mankind, there is such a pair of men and women.
Both men and women have their own families, but they cooperate closely in related fields and have never crossed the border.
That's right, this is the pair.
Phoenix legend.
Ahem, wrong, wrong.
The pair were Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace.
at the same time.
They are also two extremely important pioneers in the history of human computers.
Everyone knows that Turing and von Neumann are the founders of computers, but few people know who truly meets the definition of the 'Father of Computers'.
It was the little old man in front of Xu Yun, Charles Babbage.
Actually.
The relationship between Babbage, Turing, and von Neumann should be easier to understand for students who have read our book:
Just like Hans Lieber invented the telescope and Galileo invented the astronomical telescope, some concepts can be subdivided under specific names.
For example, Charles Babbage was the ‘Father of the Universal Computer’.
Von Neumann was the ‘Father of Modern Computers’.
Turing is the 'Father of Computer Science'.
The fields of the three are different, and their statuses do not conflict.
But unfortunately, I don't know if it was fate, but the endings of these three people were not very good.
For example, von Neumann died of cancer at the age of 53.
Turing's death is even more controversial. He committed suicide at the age of 41. Before his death, he encountered extremely strong public opinion attacks because he was a homosexual.
Considering that LGBT is relatively sensitive these days, I won’t go into details here.
And the most unlucky and miserable.
Undoubtedly the pairing of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace.
Babbage was born in London in 1791. He excelled in mathematics while studying at Cambridge. Together with John Herschel, the son of William Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus, he formed the Analytical Society and worked hard to revive British mathematics.
After graduation, Babbage also engaged in mathematical research and participated in the establishment of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was once regarded as Britain's 'Little Gauss'.
But in 1820.
An unexpected idea completely changed Babbage's life.
The direct reason that led to this idea is very simple, it's called a number table.
People have used numerical tables for a long time, and there are a large number of records at home and abroad.
The oldest surviving number tables come from Babylon and were produced between 1800 and 1500 BC.
These number tables were carved into clay using cuneiform script, and people used them to convert units and calculate multiplication and division.
In modern times, numerical tables are widely used in science, finance, navigation, engineering, surveying and mapping and other fields.
These data are extremely important and have become indispensable as tools in people’s lives.
Compiling a number table requires division of labor and cooperation. The usual model is as follows:
Mathematicians are responsible for determining the mathematical formulas used in calculations;
The supervisor is responsible for organizing calculations according to mathematical formulas and supervising the summary and printing of results;
The calculator then does the calculations.
The calculators work at home. In order to prevent errors, two calculators will calculate the data independently, and then another comparator will check the results.
Calculating and publishing these tables requires a huge amount of work, but errors are inevitable.
Even the famous British Nautical Almanac contained errors, and more than one ship reported that their ship was stranded or lost at sea because of incorrect data in the almanac.
In 1820, Babbage and John Herschel were working on logarithm tables for the Astronomical Society.
The whole process was not only boring and complicated, but also found a lot of errors.
Ever since, a thought came into Babbage's mind:
It would be great if these calculations could be done with steam.
This incident is recorded in Babbage's autobiography, called "Passages from the Life of a Philosopher", available on Amazon for $27. (By the way, does anyone know how to hold a lottery? I want to give this book away in a lottery)
This idea was out of control after it emerged. Babbage devoted a lot of energy to this, and finally came up with a principle called the differential difference method.
The differential method can easily construct a table of function T, and generate a series of numbers through cascaded addition, so that a column of required calculation results can be obtained. It is obviously very suitable to be implemented by a machine.
On this basis.
Babbage named the machine he envisioned as the Difference Engine:
Powered by a steam engine, it calculated tables of numbers by constant differences and recorded the results on a metal dial.
By printing tables directly from these dials, the Difference Engine avoided the kinds of errors that watchmakers could make.
Babbage envisioned.
An operator simply inputs different differential values into the differential machine, and the machine accumulates and prints the results over and over again.
Because each addition depends on the value calculated in the previous step, this method contains an inherent detection mechanism:
As long as the last number is correct, then all previous data in the table must be correct.
If it were a human calculator, it would be possible to make a mistake at any step.
After deciding on the design, Babbage got a lathe, operated it himself, and hired several metal casters.
1822.
A working model machine was created - it performed calculations by turning gears via a handle.
Although this was only part of the machine Babbage envisioned, there is no doubt that this model machine proved the feasibility of his ideas.
This machine soon attracted the attention of the British Treasury. Finally, in 1824, the British Treasury decided to fund Babbage 1,500 pounds to start building a full-scale difference engine.
Babbage's Difference Engine required high-precision equipment, so he hired Clement, a first-class mechanical engineer, to assist - this was also the source of all evil that led to Babbage's miserable end.
Because the Difference Engine had very high requirements for parts, the manufacturing process at the time was far from Babbage's requirements.
So,
Babbage had to design the Difference Engine while asking Clement to make the tools to produce the Difference Engine parts.
Typically, he would design a module of the difference engine and then design and build the tools to produce the module.
Therefore, in the long run, the Difference Engine project raised the level of British machine manufacturing to a new level.
But the project itself has been slow and expensive.
This part of the funds passed through Clement's hands - he used the funds to equip thousands of pounds worth of mechanical tools, which were designed by Babbage and built with government investment.
But according to the law, these things were Clement's property.
So in 1834, Clement finally jumped back:
He refused to work for Babbage anymore, withheld the drawings and parts, and countersued Babbage and the British government, which he eventually succeeded in winning.
since then.
The British government abandoned investment in Babbage's Difference Engine.
During the legal battle with Clement, Babbage came up with the idea of the Analytical Engine:
Why not build a machine that can solve not only equations based on constant differences, but also any mathematical problem?
So he wrote to British Prime Minister Robert Peel, but was met with ruthless ridicule:
"The only use of this machine is to spend a lot of money!"
So from then on, Babbage could only rely on himself to 'beg' for help.
It was during this process that he met another member of the unlucky duo:
Ada Lovelace.
Ada Lovelace was the daughter of the poet Byron and a mathematical genius. When she was 20 years old, she married her mathematics teacher William King.
Early 1835.
William King was awarded the Copley Medal and was created Earl of Lovelace.
Therefore, Ada Lovelace was often referred to as Countess Lovelace.
Ada Lovelace was more than 20 years younger than Babbage. When she was 17 years old, she had listened to Babbage's lectures when he was famous.
Therefore, he admired Babbage extremely and was also very interested in the difference engine.
After joining Babbage's team.
She popularized and programmed Babbage's Analytical Engine and is considered the world's first computer programmer.
Although Babbage never completed the Analytical Engine, Ada's efforts made it widely known.
In memory of this remarkable woman.
The early programming language Ada is named after her.
In addition, the second Tuesday in October each year is also designated as Ada Lovelace Day to pay tribute to the contributions of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
This woman never does anything gender-contradictory, yet she makes everyone respect her.
In a sense, this is real women's rights - rights earned through contribution rather than through conflict.
His gaze returned to its original position.
After Ada joins the team.
In order to turn the drawings of the Analytical Engine into reality, they both spent all their property and became impoverished.
After all, William King was only an honorary earl, not a traditional nobleman. He was completely incomparable to a hereditary earl like Ellis.
Mentioned before.
In 1850, one pound had roughly the same purchasing power as 900 dollars in later generations.
18,000 pounds is more than 16 million pounds, which even the newly promoted earl family cannot afford.
Ever since.
In order to raise funds for scientific research, Babbage and others even developed chess toys and horse racing game consoles.
Ada also reluctantly sent her husband's ancestral treasures to a pawn shop twice to use the money in exchange for daily expenses - and these treasures were redeemed twice by her mother.
Throughout the entire process, William King silently supported his wife.
It is a pity that unless you go to the British data website to query information, you will basically not be able to see any information related to the Earl of Lovelace.
Searching for Count Lovelace, basically all the information that comes up is the introduction of Ada, that is, the content about Countess Lovelace.
It's a pity.
This unreserved support did not bring good returns.
Quite the opposite.
Due to long-term poverty and endless mental work, Ada's health began to deteriorate rapidly after 1850.
Finally, in 1852, she lost too much blood due to cervical cancer and died at the age of 36.
After Ada's death, Babbage remained independent for another 20 years.
But things didn't work out as he wished, and he still failed to build the Analytical Engine.
In the end, Babbage died of a cerebral hemorrhage at home on October 18, 1871. The Times also mocked his failure in its obituary.
In the future life where Xu Yun traveled through time.
Many people think that Babbage's inability to build the Analytical Engine was mainly due to productivity issues, but this is not actually the case.
For example, his contemporary Swedish Pergeorg Schutz built a difference engine in 1843 that supported 5 digits and 3 differences after learning from Babbage's design.
Later, he built two machines supporting 15 digits and 4 differentials in 1853 and 1859 respectively, which were purchased and used by the New York Observatory in the United States and the British government.
Babbage's failure was largely due to Clement's rebound. After that, due to lack of financial resources, most of his energy was actually focused on attracting investment.
Running into walls again and again can easily affect efficiency and easily lead people to extremes. This kind of thing will be common in later generations.
But now, the duo, who have suffered so much, are facing a change.
In the reception room.
Xu Yun coughed lightly and asked Babbage: "Senior Charles, do you want to understand the meaning of computers and really live?
(End of chapter)