LEGO Tech Still Going Strong

zimage writes to tell us that Andrew Carol has designed and built a working Babbage Difference Engine out of LEGO. From the article: "Before the day of computers and pocket calculators, all mathematics was done by hand. Great effort was expended to compose trigonometric and logarithmic tables for navigation, scientific investigation, and engineering purposes. In the mid-19th century, people began to design machines to automate this error prone process. Many machines of various designs were eventually built. The most famous of these machines is the Babbage Difference Engine. [...] Babbage's design could evaluate 7th order polynomials to 31 digits of accuracy. I set out to build a working Difference Engine using LEGO parts which could compute 2nd or 3rd order polynomials to 3 or 4 digits." In related, but not quite as functional, news DigitalDame2 writes to tell us that PC Magazine has an interview with LEGO "brick-artist" Nathan Sawaya, creator of their commissioned LEGO PC. There are also several pictures of the creation in addition to a contest to win the snap-together sculpture.

Comments

Next Gen of MindStorms

[Biul]

Here's real integration of LEGO and computing, the first rev was MIT's Brick, now this...

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,69946-0.html?t w=wn_tophead_1

Computers

[Bacon Bits]

Before the day of computers and pocket calculators, all mathematics was done by hand. Great effort was expended to compose trigonometric and logarithmic tables for navigation, scientific investigation, and engineering purposes.

The job title of the people who did all the math? Who got up and all day every day did these same calculations over and over and over to build these tables?

Computers.

Note also that ENIAC's inended design purpose was to produce ballistic firing tables for Army artillery during WWII.

Re:Amazing

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry to be pedantic, but I think you mean "pedantic".

Seriously cool quote

[NeoManyon]

Here is a quote from the man himself which is amazingly still relevant!

"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."

Charles Babbage (1791-1871)

Re:Amazing

[JanneM]

This ranks up there with certain folk refering to the slang term for Mathematics as 'Math', when it is infact 'Maths'

Since when is slang supposed to follow rules of grammar and usage?

If people use "math" as an informal shorthand for "mathematics" then that's the term, any individual with a grammar lexicon reposited in a painful location nonwidthstanding.

Re:Difference Machine...pfffff

[JakartaDean]

I built a Lego Turing Machine using only 1x1 blocks.

Is that you posting, or the Turing Machine?

Re:Buy Danish!

[meringuoid]

When you by Lego products, you help offset the Muslims in their attempt to cause damage to Denmark, and you defend freedom of speech for all of Western Civilization!

As I understand it, Denmark's other exports consist almost exclusively of lager and bacon.

I'm not entirely clear, then, on what a Muslim boycott of these products is supposed to achieve.

Re:Amazing

[BeardsmoreA]

Too bad Babbage didn't have legos when he was trying to get funding to build his computer

No, don't you see! It explains why the original never got completed - he ran out of red 2x4 pieces with the little holes through for cross axles!