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Thinking back to reading The Difference Engine I asked the above question. There has to be a thread similar to this already but I haven’t been able to find it so far.

“Though exactly how it came to their attention is unknown, through an argument among the Royals whether it would actually work the designs for the Analytic Engine are funded to completion.”

What effect would this of had on History? Was the world simply unready to utilize it?
Would the British Government of simply used it to print mathematical tables as had been the purpose OTL for funding it’s unfinished predecessor the Difference Engine?

Are there any places it would have a better chance of making a difference being the world’s first general purpose computer? I’m trying to think of an industry that could use it in 1840 but I can’t readily think of one. Could the Analytic Engine of been a technologic marvel at Oxford for a few academics to use, a few eccentrics to improve upon? Perhaps so improved upon and such a time saving device that Analytic Engines start spreading to other universities. Could it of been a tool for artillery calculation?
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