Beschreibung
1 p.l., 53 pp. Large 4to, orig. blue wrappers, uncut. London: J. Smith, 1826. A remarkable association copy of this extremely rare offprint, linking two of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, and pre-figuring Babbage s later work on his difference and analytical engines. This copy bears the following inscription on the title-page in Babbage s hand: "To M. Gauss from the Author." Additionally, Babbage has written on the upper wrapper: "M. Gauss. Influence of Signs. 3. Ch. Babbage. On the influence of signs in mathematical reasoning." Babbage here presents his views on the importance of symbolic notation in mathematical reasoning. He argues that algebraic symbolism enables one to express ideas more briefly and precisely than in ordinary language; it enables one to consider problems in great generality, rather than only in special cases; and it often enables one to consider simultaneously different cases of a problem that would otherwise be treated separately. The use of mathematical symbols is more efficient, and less prone to error, than other forms of reasoning, as he emphasized particularly when discussing the superiority of algebraic analysis over geometrical reasoning: "[T]he power which we possess by the aid of symbols in compressing into a small compass the several steps of a chain of reasoning, whilst it contributes greatly to abridge the time which our enquiries would otherwise occupy, in difficult cases influences the accuracy of our conclusions: for from the distance which is sometimes interposed [in geometrical reasoning] between the beginning and the end of a chain of reasoning, although the separate parts are sufficiently clear, the whole is often obscure" (p. 8). Babbage also emphasizes the importance of choosing the correct notation: it should remind the user of the nature of the quantity itself (so use v for velocity, t for time, and so on); and related quantities should be denoted by similar symbols (so v, v , v etc. for the velocities of different bodies in the same problem, for example). Babbage singles out Lagrange s Mecanique Analitique as a model to be emulated in the correct choice of mathematical symbols. The present paper may be seen as part of a chain of ideas that links not only his mathematical and scientific work, but also his views on politics and industry. While a student at Cambridge, Babbage formed, together with Herschel and Peacock, the "Analytical Society." This society was principally concerned with a matter of mathematical symbolism: its aim was famously to support "the principles of pure D ism in opposition to the Dot-age of the University." Theological overtones apart, this was a plea to replace what Babbage and the other members of the Society viewed as the outdated and inefficient Newtonian fluxional "dot" notation still used in England with the Leibnizian dy/dx notation which was universally employed on the Continent. "For Herschel and Babbage, however, there was more to analysis than a debate about the appropriate mathematical symbols…The key to the success of analytical algebra as they saw it was its efficiency. It was a problem-solving technology that could produce answers quickly and without wasting resources…It was a way of economizing mental labor. As such it could be used to recognize what the most efficient way of proceeding in other enterprises might be too. It could provide the key, for example, to the most profitable way of deploying resources in order to maximize factory production." Morus, When Physics became King, p. 36. "Babbage s ultimate solution to the problem of how to guarantee efficiency, transparency, and accuracy in reasoning was the same as his solution to the same problem in political economy: replace humans with machinery. Babbage was a firm exponent of the division of labor in factory management and equally enthusiastic for mechanization as the ultimate realization of the principle. His primary concern throughout the 1820s and beyond was to wor.
Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 3368
Verkäufer kontaktieren
Diesen Artikel melden
