UndertheOcean
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed Dec-08-10 06:09 PM
Original message |
|
From Wikipedia :
Babbage once contacted the poet Alfred Tennyson in response to his poem "The Vision of Sin". Babbage wrote, "In your otherwise beautiful poem, one verse reads,
Every moment dies a man, Every moment one is born.
... If this were true, 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 :
Every moment dies a man, Every moment 1 1/16 is born.
Strictly speaking, 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."
|
dimbear
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Wed Dec-08-10 10:06 PM
Response to Original message |
1. History has spoken loud. |
|
Nowadays Tennyson is widely ignored and unread. Babbage's ideas flourish everywhere, especially in the mall.
In fact, I wager most people remember Tennyson because he is invoked so often in old drawing-room detective stories.
"The Mirror Cracked."
Know any more of the Lady of Shalott?
|
DU
AdBot (1000+ posts) |
Thu Apr 25th 2024, 04:46 AM
Response to Original message |