Wednesday, January 6, 2010

World's Best Science Shirts 6

Babbage and Lovelace Fight Crime Shirts from Sydney Padua at 2D Goggles. Move over Dr Who, Professor River Song and Sarah Jane. Ada Lovelace is the boss. Also a sad indictment on the impact of funding on scientific research. No-one wanted the Analytical Engine, the actual computer, because the overgrown adding machine that Babbage initially built, the Difference Engine, was actually adding numbers.

No one, except for Ada Lovelace, could imagine any reason to ask for more from a machine. She pictured the next 2 centuries of computing possiblities but it didn't help Babbage get funding. Then she died of blood letting at age 36. And possible opium and gambling addiction with a few ruinous relationships thrown in but she had it easy compared to her other siblings!

I'm going to post it again because you need to see it up close and personal.

Posted via web from andragy's posterous

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