[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.11,0:00:01.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the machine I'm going to talk you about
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.53,0:00:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is what I call the greatest machine that never was.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.20,0:00:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a machine that was never built,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.20,0:00:07.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet, it will be built.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.58,0:00:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a machine that was designed
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.58,0:00:11.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,long before anyone thought about computers.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.93,0:00:14.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you know anything about the history of computers,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.08,0:00:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you will know that in the '30s and the '40s,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.60,0:00:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,simple computers were created
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.15,0:00:21.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that started the computer revolution we have today,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.94,0:00:23.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you would be correct,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.23,0:00:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except for you'd have the wrong century.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.71,0:00:27.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first computer was really designed
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.35,0:00:31.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the 1830s and 1840s, not the 1930s and 1940s.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.02,0:00:33.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was designed, and parts of it were prototyped,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.35,0:00:35.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the bits of it that were built are here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.49,0:00:37.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in South Kensington.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.48,0:00:40.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That machine was built by this guy, Charles Babbage.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.80,0:00:42.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I have a great affinity for Charles Babbage
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.56,0:00:45.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because his hair is always completely unkempt like this
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.16,0:00:47.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in every single picture. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.50,0:00:49.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was a very wealthy man, and a sort of,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.35,0:00:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of the aristocracy of Britain,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.36,0:00:53.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and on a Saturday night in Marylebone,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.70,0:00:56.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were you part of the intelligentsia of that period,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.14,0:00:57.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you would have been invited round to his house
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.63,0:01:00.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a soiree — and he invited everybody:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.59,0:01:04.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kings, the Duke of Wellington, many, many famous people —
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.02,0:01:06.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he would have shown you one of his mechanical machines.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.54,0:01:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really miss that era, you know, where you could
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.58,0:01:11.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go around for a soiree and see a mechanical computer
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.93,0:01:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get demonstrated to you. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.04,0:01:16.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Babbage, Babbage himself was born
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.31,0:01:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the end of the 18th century,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.04,0:01:20.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and was a fairly famous mathematician.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.09,0:01:23.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He held the post that Newton held at Cambridge,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.23,0:01:25.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that was recently held by Stephen Hawking.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.74,0:01:28.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's less well known than either of them because
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.60,0:01:31.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he got this idea to make mechanical computing devices
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.75,0:01:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and never made any of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.03,0:01:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reason he never made any of them, he's a classic nerd.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.32,0:01:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every time he had a good idea, he'd think,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.33,0:01:40.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"That's brilliant, I'm going to start building that one.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.78,0:01:43.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'll spend a fortune on it. I've got a better idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.37,0:01:45.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to work on this one. (Laughter) And I'm going to do this one."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.73,0:01:48.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He did this until Sir Robert Peel, then Prime Minister,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.61,0:01:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,basically kicked him out of Number 10 Downing Street,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.08,0:01:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and kicking him out, in those days, that meant saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.52,0:01:56.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I bid you good day, sir." (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.67,0:01:58.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thing he designed was this monstrosity here,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.65,0:02:02.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the analytical engine. Now, just to give you an idea of this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.09,0:02:03.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is a view from above.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.96,0:02:07.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every one of these circles is a cog, a stack of cogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.07,0:02:10.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this thing is as big as a steam locomotive.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.31,0:02:12.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So as I go through this talk, I want you to imagine
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.30,0:02:14.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this gigantic machine. We heard those wonderful sounds
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.94,0:02:16.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what this thing would have sounded like.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.70,0:02:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm going to take you through the architecture of the machine
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.48,0:02:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,— that's why it's computer architecture —
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.96,0:02:23.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and tell you about this machine, which is a computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.29,0:02:26.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let's talk about the memory. The memory
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.69,0:02:28.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is very like the memory of a computer today,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.94,0:02:31.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except it was all made out of metal,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.64,0:02:35.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stacks and stacks of cogs, 30 cogs high.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.18,0:02:37.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine a thing this high of cogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.25,0:02:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hundreds and hundreds of them,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.01,0:02:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they've got numbers on them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.90,0:02:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a decimal machine. Everything's done in decimal.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.32,0:02:44.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he thought about using binary. The problem
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.90,0:02:46.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with using binary is that the machine would have been so
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.62,0:02:49.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tall, it would have been ridiculous. As it is, it's enormous.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.94,0:02:51.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he's got memory.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.100,0:02:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The memory is this bit over here.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.40,0:02:56.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see it all like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.73,0:03:01.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This monstrosity over here is the CPU, the chip, if you like.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.27,0:03:03.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, it's this big.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.52,0:03:06.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Completely mechanical. This whole machine is mechanical.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.43,0:03:10.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a picture of a prototype for part of the CPU
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.57,0:03:12.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is in the Science Museum.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.71,0:03:16.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The CPU could do the four fundamental functions of arithmetic --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.34,0:03:18.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so addition, multiplication, subtraction, division --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.80,0:03:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which already is a bit of a feat in metal,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.80,0:03:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it could also do something that a computer does
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.43,0:03:26.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a calculator doesn't:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.13,0:03:30.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this machine could look at its own internal memory and make a decision.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.07,0:03:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It could do the "if then" for basic programmers,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.94,0:03:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that fundamentally made it into a computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.08,0:03:39.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It could compute. It couldn't just calculate. It could do more.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.67,0:03:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, if we look at this, and we stop for a minute,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.36,0:03:44.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we think about chips today, we can't
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.23,0:03:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,look inside a silicon chip. It's just so tiny.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.04,0:03:49.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet if you did, you would see something
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.84,0:03:51.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very, very similar to this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.66,0:03:54.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's this incredible complexity in the CPU,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.61,0:03:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this incredible regularity in the memory.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.30,0:03:58.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you've ever seen an electron microscope picture,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.96,0:04:00.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll see this. This all looks the same,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.93,0:04:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then there's this bit over here which is incredibly complicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.50,0:04:07.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All this cog wheel mechanism here is doing is what a computer does,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.48,0:04:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but of course you need to program this thing, and of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.58,0:04:12.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Babbage used the technology of the day
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.60,0:04:16.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the technology that would reappear in the '50s, '60s and '70s,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.25,0:04:19.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is punch cards. This thing over here
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.12,0:04:21.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is one of three punch card readers in here,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.94,0:04:25.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a program in the Science Museum, just
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.62,0:04:30.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not far from here, created by Charles Babbage,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.01,0:04:31.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is sitting there — you can go see it —
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.88,0:04:34.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,waiting for the machine to be built.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.32,0:04:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's not just one of these, there's many of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.74,0:04:40.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He prepared programs anticipating this would happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.83,0:04:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the reason they used punch cards was that Jacquard,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.80,0:04:44.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in France, had created the Jacquard loom,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.98,0:04:47.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was weaving these incredible patterns controlled by punch cards,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.66,0:04:50.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so he was just repurposing the technology of the day,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.29,0:04:52.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and like everything else he did, he's using the technology
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.39,0:04:57.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of his era, so 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, cogs, steam,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.14,0:05:01.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanical devices. Ironically, born the same year
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.08,0:05:03.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as Charles Babbage was Michael Faraday,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.25,0:05:05.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who would completely revolutionize everything
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.93,0:05:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the dynamo, transformers, all these sorts of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.44,0:05:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Babbage, of course, wanted to use proven technology,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.60,0:05:13.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so steam and things.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.15,0:05:14.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, he needed accessories.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.82,0:05:16.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Obviously, you've got a computer now.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.50,0:05:18.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've got punch cards, a CPU and memory.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.88,0:05:20.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You need accessories you're going to come with.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.82,0:05:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're not just going to have that,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.45,0:05:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, first of all, you had sound. You had a bell,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.28,0:05:27.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so if anything went wrong — (Laughter) —
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.43,0:05:29.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the machine needed the attendant to come to it,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.77,0:05:31.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a bell it could ring. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.74,0:05:33.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's actually an instruction on the punch card
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.28,0:05:36.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which says "Ring the bell." So you can imagine this "Ting!"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.18,0:05:38.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, just stop for a moment, imagine all those noises,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.38,0:05:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this thing, "Click, clack click click click,"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.46,0:05:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,steam engine, "Ding," right? (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.40,0:05:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You also need a printer, obviously, and everyone needs a printer.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.84,0:05:47.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is actually a picture of the printing mechanism for
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.84,0:05:50.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,another machine of his, called the Difference Engine No. 2,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.33,0:05:52.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which he never built, but which the Science Museum
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.26,0:05:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,did build in the '80s and '90s.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.43,0:05:56.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's completely mechanical, again, a printer.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.71,0:05:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It prints just numbers, because he was obsessed with numbers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.40,0:06:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it does print onto paper, and it even does word wrapping,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.92,0:06:05.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so if you get to the end of the line, it goes around like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.69,0:06:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You also need graphics, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.34,0:06:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, if you're going to do anything with graphics,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.90,0:06:11.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so he said, "Well, I need a plotter. I've got a big piece of paper
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.50,0:06:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and an ink pen and I'll make it plot."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.60,0:06:15.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he designed a plotter as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.43,0:06:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, you know, at that point, I think he got pretty much
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.36,0:06:20.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a pretty good machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.89,0:06:23.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Along comes this woman, Ada Lovelace.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.58,0:06:26.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, imagine these soirees, all these great and good comes along.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.30,0:06:29.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This lady is the daughter of the mad, bad
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.39,0:06:31.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and dangerous-to-know Lord Byron,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.82,0:06:34.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her mother, being a bit worried that she might have
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.34,0:06:37.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inherited some of Lord Byron's madness and badness,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.19,0:06:40.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thought, "I know the solution: Mathematics is the solution.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.43,0:06:43.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll teach her mathematics. That'll calm her down."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.38,0:06:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Because of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.14,0:06:51.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's never been a mathematician that's gone crazy,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.05,0:06:53.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, you know, that'll be fine. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.45,0:06:56.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything'll be fine. So she's got this mathematical training,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.79,0:06:59.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she goes to one of these soirees with her mother,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.53,0:07:02.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Charles Babbage, you know, gets out his machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.32,0:07:04.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Duke of Wellington is there, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.15,0:07:05.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get out the machine, obviously demonstrates it,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.72,0:07:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she gets it. She's the only person in his lifetime, really,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.47,0:07:10.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who said, "I understand what this does,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.77,0:07:12.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I understand the future of this machine."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.97,0:07:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we owe to her an enormous amount because we know
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.06,0:07:19.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a lot about the machine that Babbage was intending to build
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.04,0:07:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of her.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.64,0:07:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, some people call her the first programmer.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.40,0:07:26.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is actually from one of -- the paper that she translated.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.78,0:07:29.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a program written in a particular style.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.69,0:07:33.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not, historically, totally accurate that she's the first programmer,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.26,0:07:35.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and actually, she did something more amazing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.32,0:07:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rather than just being a programmer,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.89,0:07:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she saw something that Babbage didn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.06,0:07:42.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Babbage was totally obsessed with mathematics.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.24,0:07:46.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was building a machine to do mathematics,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.19,0:07:49.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Lovelace said, "You could do more than mathematics
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.45,0:07:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on this machine." And just as you do,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.28,0:07:53.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everyone in this room already's got a computer on them
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.91,0:07:55.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right now, because they've got a phone.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.96,0:07:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you go into that phone, every single thing in that phone
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.19,0:08:00.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or computer or any other computing device
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.21,0:08:02.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is mathematics. It's all numbers at the bottom.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.29,0:08:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whether it's video or text or music or voice, it's all numbers,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.98,0:08:10.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all, underlying it, mathematical functions happening,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.96,0:08:13.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Lovelace said, "Just because you're doing
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.07,0:08:16.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mathematical functions and symbols
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.39,0:08:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn't mean these things can't represent
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.64,0:08:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other things in the real world, such as music."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.99,0:08:24.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was a huge leap, because Babbage is there saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.72,0:08:26.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We could compute these amazing functions and print out
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.94,0:08:30.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tables of numbers and draw graphs," — (Laughter) —
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.61,0:08:32.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Lovelace is there and she says, "Look,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.51,0:08:34.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this thing could even compose music if you
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.98,0:08:38.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,told it a representation of music numerically."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.53,0:08:40.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is what I call Lovelace's Leap.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.10,0:08:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you say she's a programmer, she did do some,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.84,0:08:46.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the real thing is to have said the future is going to be
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.98,0:08:49.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much, much more than this.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.17,0:08:51.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, a hundred years later, this guy comes along,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.35,0:08:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alan Turing, and in 1936, and invents the computer all over again.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.80,0:08:59.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, of course, Babbage's machine was entirely mechanical.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.38,0:09:01.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Turing's machine was entirely theoretical.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.91,0:09:04.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Both of these guys were coming from a mathematical perspective,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.70,0:09:07.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but Turing told us something very important.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.26,0:09:10.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He laid down the mathematical foundations
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.19,0:09:12.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for computer science, and said,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.30,0:09:15.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It doesn't matter how you make a computer."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.49,0:09:17.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't matter if your computer's mechanical,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.37,0:09:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Babbage's was, or electronic, like computers are today,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.78,0:09:24.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or perhaps in the future, cells, or, again,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.58,0:09:27.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanical again, once we get into nanotechnology.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.73,0:09:29.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We could go back to Babbage's machine
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.76,0:09:32.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just make it tiny. All those things are computers.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.34,0:09:33.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is in a sense a computing essence.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.97,0:09:35.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is called the Church–Turing thesis.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.98,0:09:38.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so suddenly, you get this link where you say
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.64,0:09:40.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this thing Babbage had built really was a computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.87,0:09:43.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it was capable of doing everything we do today
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.69,0:09:48.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with computers, only really slowly. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.52,0:09:50.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To give you an idea of how slowly,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.63,0:09:54.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it had about 1k of memory.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.47,0:09:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It used punch cards, which were being fed in,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.39,0:10:03.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it ran about 10,000 times slower the first ZX81.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.15,0:10:04.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It did have a RAM pack.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.75,0:10:07.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could add on a lot of extra memory if you wanted to.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.93,0:10:10.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) So, where does that bring us today?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.26,0:10:11.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there are plans.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.86,0:10:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over in Swindon, the Science Museum archives,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.80,0:10:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are hundreds of plans and thousands of pages
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.49,0:10:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of notes written by Charles Babbage about this analytical engine.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.96,0:10:23.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of those is a set of plans that we call Plan 28,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.92,0:10:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that is also the name of a charity that I started
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.08,0:10:28.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Doron Swade, who was the curator of computing
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.81,0:10:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the Science Museum, and also the person who drove
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.05,0:10:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the project to build a difference engine,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.48,0:10:35.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and our plan is to build it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.04,0:10:38.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here in South Kensington, we will build the analytical engine.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.90,0:10:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The project has a number of parts to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.90,0:10:43.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One was the scanning of Babbage's archive.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.42,0:10:45.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's been done. The second is now the study
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.35,0:10:48.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of all of those plans to determine what to build.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.46,0:10:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third part is a computer simulation of that machine,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.90,0:10:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the last part is to physically build it at the Science Museum.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.82,0:10:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it's built, you'll finally be able to understand how a computer works,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.40,0:11:00.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because rather than having a tiny chip in front of you,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.23,0:11:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you've got to look at this humongous thing and say, "Ah,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.84,0:11:06.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I see the memory operating, I see the CPU operating,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.18,0:11:10.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hear it operating. I probably smell it operating." (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.04,0:11:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in between that we're going to do a simulation.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.64,0:11:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Babbage himself wrote, he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.40,0:11:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as soon as the analytical engine exists,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.02,0:11:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it will surely guide the future course of science.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.72,0:11:21.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, he never built it, because he was always fiddling
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.57,0:11:23.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with new plans, but when it did get built, of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.65,0:11:27.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the 1940s, everything changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.16,0:11:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I'll just give you a little taste of what it looks like
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.98,0:11:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in motion with a video which shows
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.62,0:11:36.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just one part of the CPU mechanism working.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.21,0:11:42.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is just three sets of cogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.21,0:11:45.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's going to add. This is the adding mechanism
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.03,0:11:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in action, so you imagine this gigantic machine.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.69,0:11:48.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, give me five years.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.85,0:11:51.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before the 2030s happen, we'll have it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.19,0:11:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much. (Applause)