Kan man være for flisespikkete?

**Esme** · 07-12-07, 21:26

Dette er en anekdote som sikkert mange har lest før om Charles Babbage.

Sitat:

The English mathematician Charles Babbage, who conceived programmable computation, wrote to the young poet Tennyson. "In your otherwise beautiful poem," he said, "one verse reads,

Every moment dies a man,
Every moment one is born.

" ... If this were true," he went on, "the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death. I would suggest [that the next edition of your poem should read]:"

Every moment dies a man,
Every moment 1 1/16 is born.

"Strictly speaking," Babbage added, "the actual figure is so long I cannot get it into a line, but I believe the figure 1 1/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry."

Etter en nokså hissig diskusjon mellom noen venner hvorvidt han var en tulling eller om han var kul, lurer jeg på hva damene og herrene synes i dag om dette.

Se resultatene: Hva synes du om Babbage?
Han var en tulling, at det går an å hekte seg opp i detaljer på denne måten	15	31,91%
Han var grisekul, man kan ganske enkelt ikke være for nøyaktig	22	46,81%
1 1/16? I dag er det vel 1 1/4.	10	21,28%
Deltakere: 47. Du kan ikke stemme på denne undersøkelsen

07-12-07, 21:26	#1
Esme Mother of Dragons Medlem siden: Nov 2006 Hvor: Trondheim Innlegg: 20.029 Blogginnlegg: 76	Kan man være for flisespikkete? Dette er en anekdote som sikkert mange har lest før om Charles Babbage. Sitat: The English mathematician Charles Babbage, who conceived programmable computation, wrote to the young poet Tennyson. "In your otherwise beautiful poem," he said, "one verse reads, Every moment dies a man, Every moment one is born. " ... If this were true," he went on, "the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death. I would suggest [that the next edition of your poem should read]:" Every moment dies a man, Every moment 1 1/16 is born. "Strictly speaking," Babbage added, "the actual figure is so long I cannot get it into a line, but I believe the figure 1 1/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry." Etter en nokså hissig diskusjon mellom noen venner hvorvidt han var en tulling eller om han var kul, lurer jeg på hva damene og herrene synes i dag om dette. __________________ It takes a great deal of effort to sustain a conservative, trustworthy persona.