Quote#Politics & Power
The limits of man's observation lie within very narrow boundaries,…
Quote byCharles Babbage · 1791–1871
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), "Passages from the life of a philosopher", Appendix: Miracle. Note (A).
English (original)
The limits of man's observation lie within very narrow boundaries, and it would be arrogance to suppose that the reach of man's power is to form the limits of the natural world. The universe offers daily proof of the existence of power of which we know nothing, but whose mighty agency nevertheless manifestly appears in the most familiar works of creation.
— Charles Babbage
More from Charles Babbage
The errors which arise from the absence of facts are far more numerous and more durable than those which result from unsound reasoning respecting true data.
We have already mentioned what may, perhaps, appear paradoxical to some of our readers, — that the division of labour can be applied with equal success to mental as to mechanical operations, and that it ensures in both the same economy of …
“Every moment dies a man, every moment 1 1/16 is born.”
The object of the present volume is to point out the effects and the advantages which arise from the use of tools and machines ;—to endeavour to classify their modes of action ;—and to trace both the causes and the consequences of applying …
Mr. Herschel ... brought with him the calculations of the computers, and we commenced the tedious process of verification. After a time many discrepancies occurred, and at one point these discordances were so numerous that I exclaimed, "I …
The triumph of the industrial arts will advance the cause of civilization more rapidly than its warmest advocates could have hoped, and contribute to the permanent prosperity and strength of the country far more than the most splendid …