Computers have obviously transformed our world. You wouldn't be listening to my voice right now if it wasn't for computers.

However, the first computers, a device which could perform arbitrary calculations, actually came well before electronics. It was made of gears, cogs, and levers, and it was able to perform mathematical calculations as well as run simple programs.

Learn more about Charles Babbage and his analytical engine, the world's first mechanical computer,

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You've probably heard the expression that necessity is the mother of invention.

This too is the case with the creation of the world's first computer.

I should note what I'm talking about when I say computer. In a previous episode I talked

about the antichithra mechanism which was an ancient geared device that was found in a shipwreck

off the coast of Greece. The antichithra mechanism was a type of computer insofar as it could

predict astronomical events years in the future. However, it could only do that one

thing. It couldn't be programmed and it couldn't provide different outputs based on different inputs.

The antichithra mechanism was a sophisticated mechanical device, but it was more akin to a clock than

a computer.

Charles Babbage, the subject of this episode, was a pretty smart guy.

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