Part 3

At the time when the calculation and publication of Taylor's Logarithms were undertaken, it so happened that a similar work was in progress in France; and it was not until the calculation of the French work was completed, that its author was informed of the publication of the English work. This circumstance caused the French calculator to relinquish the publication of his tables. The manuscript subsequently passed into the library of Delambre, and, after his death, was purchased at the sale of his books, by Mr Babbage, in whose possession it now is. Some years ago it was thought advisable to compare these manuscript tables with Taylor's Logarithms, with a view to ascertain the errors in each, but especially in Taylor. The two works were peculiarly well suited for the attainment of this end; as the circumstances under which they were produced, rendered it quite certain that they were computed independently of each other. The comparison was conducted under the direction of the late Dr Young, and the result was the detection of the following nineteen errors in Taylor's Logarithms. To enable those who used Taylor's Logarithms to make the necessary corrections in them, the corrections of the detected errors appeared as follows in the Nautical Almanac for 1832.

ERRATA, detected in Taylor's Logarithms. London: 4to, 1792.

° ' " 1 E Co-tangent of 1.35.35 for 43671 read 42671 2 M Co-tangent of 4. 4.49 --- 66976 ---- 66979 3 Sine of 4.23.38 --- 43107 ---- 43007 4 Sine of 4.23.39 --- 43381 ---- 43281 5 S Sine of 6.45.52 --- 10001 ---- 11001 6 Kk Co-sine of 14.18. 3 --- 3398 ---- 3298 7 Ss Tangent of 18. 1.56 --- 5064 ---- 6064 8 Aaa Co-tangent of 21.11.14 --- 6062 ---- 5962 9 Ggg Tangent of 23.48.19 --- 6087 ---- 5987 10 Co-tangent of 23.48.19 --- 3913 ---- 4013 11 Iii Sine of 25. 5. 4 --- 3173 ---- 3183 12 Sine of 25. 5. 5 --- 3218 ---- 3228 13 Sine of 25. 5. 6 --- 3263 ---- 3273 14 Sine of 25. 5. 7 --- 3308 ---- 3318 15 Sine of 25. 5. 8 --- 3353 ---- 3363 16 Sine of 25. 5. 9 --- 3398 ---- 3408 17 Qqq Tangent of 28.19.39 --- 6302 ---- 6402 18 4H Tangent of 35.55.51 --- 1681 ---- 1581 19 4K Co-sine of 37.29. 2 --- 5503 ---- 5603

An error being detected in this list of ERRATA, we find, in the Nautical Almanac for the year 1833, the following ERRATUM of the ERRATA of Taylor's Logarithms:--

'In the list of ERRATA detected in Taylor's Logarithms, for cos. 4° 18' 3", read cos. 14° 18' 2".'

Here, however, confusion is worse confounded; for a new error, not before existing, and of much greater magnitude, is introduced! It will be necessary, in the Nautical Almanac for 1836, (that for 1835 is already published,) to introduce the following:

ERRATUM of the ERRATUM of the ERRATA of TAYLOR's Logarithms. For cos. 4° 18' 3", read cos. 14° 18' 3".

If proof were wanted to establish incontrovertibly the utter impracticability of precluding numerical errors in works of this nature, we should find it in this succession of error upon error, produced, in spite of the universally acknowledged accuracy and assiduity of the persons at present employed in the construction and management of the Nautical Almanac. It is only by the mechanical fabrication of tables that such errors can be rendered impossible.

On examining this list with attention, we have been particularly struck with the circumstances in which these errors appear to have originated. It is a remarkable fact, that of the above nineteen errors, eighteen have arisen from mistakes in carrying. Errors 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, have arisen from a carriage being neglected; and errors 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 18, from a carriage being made where none should take place. In four cases, namely, errors 8, 9, 10, and 16, this has caused two figures to be wrong. The only error of the nineteen which appears to have been a press error is the second; which has evidently arisen from the type 9 being accidentally inverted, and thus becoming a 6. This may have originated with the compositor, but more probably it took place in the press-work; the type 9 being accidentally drawn out of the form by the inking-ball, as mentioned in a former case, and on being restored to its place, inverted by the pressman.

There are two cases among the above errata, in which an error, committed in the calculation of one number, has evidently been the cause of other errors. In the third erratum, a wrong carriage was made, in computing the sine of 4° 23' 38". The next number of the table was vitiated by this error; for we find the next erratum to be in the sine of 4° 23' 39", in which the figure similarly placed is 1 in excess. A still more extensive effect of this kind appears in errata 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. A carriage was neglected in computing the sine of 25° 5' 4", and this produced a corresponding error in the five following numbers of the table, which are those corrected in the five following errata.

This frequency of errors arising in the process of carrying, would afford a curious subject of metaphysical speculation respecting the operation of the faculty of memory. In the arithmetical process, the memory is employed in a twofold way;--in ascertaining each successive figure of the calculated result by the recollection of a table committed to memory at an early period of life; and by another act of memory, in which the number carried from column to column is retained. It is a curious fact, that this latter circumstance, occurring only the moment before, and being in its nature little complex, is so much more liable to be forgotten or mistaken than the results of rather complicated tables. It appears, that among the above errata, the errors 5, 7, 10, 11, 17, 19, have been produced by the computer forgetting a carriage; while the errors 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 18, have been produced by his making a carriage improperly. Thus, so far as the above list of errata affords grounds for judging, it would seem, (contrary to what might be expected,) that the error by which improper carriages are made is as frequent as that by which necessary carriages are overlooked.

We trust that we have succeeded in proving, first, the great national and universal utility of numerical tables, by showing the vast number of them, which have been calculated and published; secondly, that more effectual means are necessary to obtain such tables suitable to the present state of the arts, sciences and commerce, by showing that the existing supply of tables, vast as it certainly is, is still scanty, and utterly inadequate to the demands of the community;--that it is rendered inefficient, not only in quantity, but in quality, by its want of numerical correctness; and that such numerical correctness is altogether unattainable until some more perfect method be discovered, not only of calculating the numerical results, but of tabulating these,--of reducing such tallies to type, and of printing that type so as to intercept the possibility of error during the press-work. Such are the ends which are proposed to be attained by the calculating machinery invented by Mr Babbage.

The benefits to be derived from this invention cannot be more strongly expressed than they have been by Mr Colebrooke, President of the Astronomical Society, on the occasion of presenting the gold medal voted by that body to Mr Babbage:--'In no department of science, or of the arts, does this discovery promise to be so eminently useful as in that of astronomy, and its kindred sciences, with the various arts dependent on them. In none are computations more operose than those which astronomy in particular requires;--in none are preparatory facilities more needful;--in none is error more detrimental. The practical astronomer is interrupted in his pursuit, and diverted from his task of observation by the irksome labours of computation, or his diligence in observing becomes ineffectual for want of yet greater industry of calculation. Let the aid which tables previously computed afford, be furnished to the utmost extent which mechanism has made attainable through Mr Babbage's invention, and the most irksome portion of the astronomer's task is alleviated, and a fresh impulse is given to astronomical research.'

The first step in the progress of this singular invention was the discovery of some common principle which pervaded numerical tables of every description; so that by the adoption of such a principle as the basis of the machinery, a corresponding degree of generality would be conferred upon its calculations. Among the properties of numerical functions, several of a general nature exist; and it was a matter of no ordinary difficulty, and requiring no common skill, to select one which might, in all respects, be preferable to the others. Whether or not that which was selected by Mr Babbage affords the greatest practical advantages, would be extremely difficult to decide--perhaps impossible, unless some other projector could be found possessed of sufficient genius, and sustained by sufficient energy of mind and character, to attempt the invention of calculating machinery on other principles. The principle selected by Mr Babbage as the basis of that part of the machinery which calculates, is the Method of Differences; and he has in fact literally thrown this mathematical principle into wheel-work. In order to form a notion of the nature of the machinery, it will be necessary, first to convey to the reader some idea of the mathematical principle just alluded to.

A numerical table, of whatever kind, is a series of numbers which possess some common character, and which proceed increasing or decreasing according to some general law. Supposing such a series continually to increase, let us imagine each number in it to be subtracted from that which follows it, and the remainders thus successively obtained to be ranged beside the first, so as to form another table: these numbers are called the first differences. If we suppose these likewise to increase continually, we may obtain a third table from them by a like process, subtracting each number from the succeeding one: this series is called the second differences. By adopting a like method of proceeding, another series may be obtained, called the third differences; and so on. By continuing this process, we shall at length obtain a series of differences, of some order, more or less high, according to the nature of the original table, in which we shall find the same number constantly repeated, to whatever extent the original table may have been continued; so that if the next series of differences had been obtained in the same manner as the preceding ones, every term of it would be 0. In some cases this would continue to whatever extent the original table might be carried; but in all cases a series of differences would be obtained, which would continue constant for a very long succession of terms.

As the successive serieses of differences are derived from the original table, and from each other, by subtraction, the same succession of series may be reproduced in the other direction by addition. But let us suppose that the first number of the original table, and of each of the series of differences, including the last, be given: all the numbers of each of the series may thence be obtained by the mere process of addition. The second term of the original table will be obtained by adding to the first the first term of the first difference series; in like manner, the second term of the first difference series will be obtained by adding to the first term, the first term of the third difference series, and so on. The second terms of all the serieses being thus obtained, the third terms may be obtained by a like process of addition; and so the series may be continued. These observations will perhaps be rendered more clearly intelligible when illustrated by a numerical example. The following is the commencement of a series of the fourth powers of the natural numbers:--

No. Table. 1 1 2 16 3 81 4 256 5 625 6 1296 7 2401 8 4096 9 6561 10 10,000 11 14,641 12 20,736 13 28,561

By subtracting each number from the succeeding one in this series, we obtain the following series of first differences:

15 65 175 369 671 1105 1695 2465 3439 4641 6095 7825

In like manner, subtracting each term of this series from the succeeding one, we obtain the following series of second differences:--

50 110 194 302 434 590 770 974 1202 1454 1730

Proceeding with this series in the same way, we obtain the following series of third differences:--

60 84 108 132 156 180 204 228 252 276

Proceeding in the same way with these, we obtain the following for the series of fourth differences:--

24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24

It appears, therefore, that in this case the series of fourth differences consists of a constant repetition of the number 24. Now, a slight consideration of the succession of arithmetical operations by which we have obtained this result, will show, that by reversing the process, we could obtain the table of fourth powers by the mere process of addition. Beginning with the first numbers in each successive series of differences, and designating the table and the successive differences by the letters T, D^1 D^2 D^3 D^4, we have then the following to begin with:--

T D^1 D^2 D^3 D^4 1 15 50 60 24

Adding each number to the number on its left, and repeating 24, we get the following as the second terms of the several series:--