Comments on: Goodies! Giant Monsters!

By: Pati Nagle

Pati Nagle — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:11:29 +0000

I just found this fabulous blog. Wonderful, wonderful!

I want the Ada wallpaper on a t-shirt – just like that. White on black shirt.

You are marvelous! Never die!

By: Harrison Gross

Harrison Gross — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:28:34 +0000

I just finished reading all of your comic in a row, and I must say I’m impressed. I’ve been fascinated by other mathematical figures in the past, more notably Bertrand Russell, but I understand the fervor that occurs when you get an idea and become stuck with it.

As such, I have to say your depiction of Babbage and Lovelace is simply wonderful. I read in an earlier post/comments/something that you regret not going into mathematics, and while there is a steep curve, there is always tons you can still do in your spare time (ha ha, I understand the feeling) to learn about mathematics. Though seeing your passion, I shouldn’t be lecturing considering my own laziness despite pursuing an undergraduate degree in mathematics.

If you’re interested in Russell or any of the mathematicians of the late 19th/early 20th century I strongly suggest picking up the graphic novel Logicomix, it’s a fun tale of logic, contradictions and what happened after Babbage and before Turing in mathematics.

By: James

James — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:53:55 +0000

Don’t know if you’ve heard of the Antikythera mechanism, but it was an ancient Greek (c. 150-100bc) mechanical calculator. Some try to call it a mechanical computer, but it appears to be designed for a specific astronomical tasks, not a general, programmable computing device. Anyway, given your interest in Babbage’s devices, I thought you’d be interested:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=decoding-an-ancient-computer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_Mechanism

Did I mention I love your comic and art style and bad puns etc. etc.?

By: sydney

sydney — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:55:11 +0000

I know.. not sure why they’re not available all the time! They have a very nice bar there you know, and a very hot sculpture of Michael Faraday. Of course every time I walk past the RS I’m irresistibly reminded of Babbage’s multiple quarrels with them..

By: egoscribo

egoscribo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:40:46 +0000

Just in case you weren’t aware—the Royal Society has made its online archives freely available until the end of February 2010. They are quite searchable and searching Babbage turns up quite a few articles. From which, of course, a distractable inquiring mind can branch to searching Faraday, Herschel, and others of the same kidney…

By: sydney

sydney — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:23:18 +0000

Pffft.. we’ve had one in the Science Museum here in London since 1991!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8tmfcOg8l8

By: Anon, a Mouse

Anon, a Mouse — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:32:36 +0000

A REAL DIFFERENCE ENGINE!! Really real!!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121206408&sc=emaf

By: Sarah Kauthen

Sarah Kauthen — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:05:11 +0000

Madam, I have taken the liberty of resizing your Babbage wallpaper so that it fits the unwieldy 1366×768 resolution of newfangled popularly sold laptops. I have uploaded it for other fans:

http://ubiquitouspitt.hypermart.net/images/babbage.jpg

By: Douglas442

Douglas442 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:04:18 +0000

Thanks for all the wonderful stuff!

Went ahead and bought that great Brunel t-shirt, what with the sale on today.

And because I’d been reading up a little about IKB online ( who’s likely almost unknown, generally, eclipsed in Edison’s shadow, etc., here in the USA ) over the past few days. Interesting character. We could probably use someone like him today. Though… in dealing with some of our current corporate CEO’s and politicians, he’d probably have to fit himself with a steam-powered boot.

By: Ceridwen

Ceridwen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:19:43 +0000

Whoo-hoo! Brunel! And desktops! And teasers! And it’s all waiting for the semester to be over with!