People think humanity is as inventive as a chimpanzee chucking his shit on the end of the stick, to ward off potential challengers to his mate. A flash of light blinded the little primate and lead him to drop his shit stick, a glowing gold orb was glowing in the middle of the forest floor, he reached out and touched this marvel and its light traveled through his body. He awoke with a greater awareness of the world he lived in, he spotted that scoundrel challenger to his mate and then drop kicked that fucker off a cliff, humanities promise had begun!
rewind I believe there is life out there in the cosmos, but give humanity a little credit! We are resourceful shapes of matter!
The Antikythera device was a compass like contraption that mapped astronomical locations and events, such as eclipses. It was the first computer and is over 2000 years old! Humanity 1 - aliens 0 !
It was found by Greek sponge divers in1900 and only “108 years later” in French accent did we find out what the device was actually used for!
However, extensive analysis of the replica model found that the limited design options available to create cogs caused the accuracy of the device to diminish slightly.
OK… Aliens 1 – humanity 1!
Next up in the humanity corner we have Crazy cog Babbage!!!
Charles Babbage was a Victorian pioneer of computing and definitely ahead of his time !
(The true wet dream for every steam punk enthusiast!)
He noted how inaccurate his fellow academics were in regard to writing down mathematical tables, human computers were an obstacle in the way of scientific progress in his mind. In 1822, he endeavored to remedy this human limitation by crafting his “difference engine” ! The name even has steampunk written all over it!
He received 17000 pounds, over 10 years, from the government to finish his design, enough to buy a pimped out carriage “they see me trotting, they hating”.
However, his ADHD split his attention and falling out with people over the prices for new parts , cast the machine to the history pages.
The “difference engine” was used to calculate Polynomial formulas (- many terms)
People like me who are bad with math can see this machine calculated many algebraic terms at a time, in simple terms.
Basic every day example -
“ You've probably used a polynomial in your head more than once when shopping. For example, you might want to know how much three pounds of flour, two dozen eggs and three quarts of milk cost. Before you check the prices, construct a simple polynomial, letting "f" denote the price of flour, "e" denote the price of a dozen eggs and "m" the price of a quart of milk. It looks like this: 3f + 2e + 3m.
This basic algebraic expression is now ready for you to input prices. If flour costs $4.49, eggs cost $3.59 a dozen and milk costs $1.79 a quart, you will be charged 3(4.49) + 2(3.59) + 3(1.79) = $26.02 at checkout, plus tax. ”
It could have helped revolutionize engineering, as many complex polynomials are used by engineers, to design roads, buildings, or special structures, let your imagination fill in the blanks for you!
Babbage’s first difference machine survived in parts due to his son’s efforts to put together the loose parts in his lab, after his dad died.
However, before crazy cog Babbage met his maker he had another few swings at his machine!
The Analytical engine was quilled on scroll which was more complex than the Difference engine. It marked the evolution to general purpose computation and by using a punch card system could be programmed to do a range of functions that modern computers use. The engine was a collage of changing designs up until Babbage’s death in 1871, ADHD fucks with progress! (I should know!)
I had a computer expert from the early 80’s telling me how computers used punch cards and he said I wouldn’t be old enough to remember this. I’m pretty sure Babbage’s ghost scoffed when he uttered this sentence!
“ His design was finally constructed in 1989–1991, using his plans and 19th century manufacturing tolerances. It performed its first calculation at the Science Museum, London, returning results to 31 digits.
Nine years later, in 2000, the Science Museum completed the printer Babbage had designed for the difference engine! ”
Babbage’s Computers were halted by money, falling out with people, and a common theme for the computers of yesteryear… THE COG! He couldn’t make cogs small enough to finish his beautiful contraption!
I would say humanity 2 – aliens 2 – a solid draw!
Humanity has a lot more in the locker room than many think!