Scientific knowledge scarcely exists amongst the higher classes of society. The discussion in the Houses of Lords or of Commons, which arise on the o… - Allan G Bromley

On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.

Em duas ocasiões me perguntaram: 'Diga-nos, Sr. Babbage, se introduzirmos dados errados na máquina, ainda sairão respostas corretas?' Eu não consigo compreender o tipo de confusão de ideias que motivou tal questão.

Forget this world and all its troubles and if possible its multitudinous Charlatans — everything in short but the Enchantress of Numbers.