In Turning From The Smaller Instruments In

On Two Occasions I Have Been Asked, 'pray, Mr. Babbage, If You Put Into The Machine Wrong Figures, Will The Right Answers Come Out?' I Am Not Able Rightly To Apprehend The Kind Of Confusion Of Ideas That Could Provoke Such A Question.

There Are Few Circumstances Which So Strongly Distinguish The Philosopher, As The Calmness With Which He Can Reply To Criticisms He May Think Undeservedly Severe.

Remember That Accumulated Knowledge, Like Accumulated Capital, Increases At Compound Interest: But It Differs From The Accumulation Of Capital In This; That The Increase Of Knowledge Produces A More Rapid Rate Of Progress, Whilst The Accumulation Of Capital Leads To A Lower Rate Of Interest. Capital Thus Checks It Own Accumulation: Knowledge Thus Accelerates Its Own Advance. Each Generation, Therefore, To Deserve Comparison With Its Predecessor, Is Bound To Add Much More Largely To The Common Stock Than That Which It Immediately Succeeds.

Some Kinds Of Nails, Such As Those Used For Defending The Soles Of Coarse Shoes, Called Hobnails, Require A Particular Form Of The Head, Which Is Made By The Stroke Of A Die.

The Fatigue Produced On The Muscles Of The Human Frame Does Not Altogether Depend On The Actual Force Employed In Each Effort, But Partly On The Frequency With Which It Is Exerted.