QuotesCosmos
Edgar Allan Poe, "Maelzel's Chess-Player" (Southern Literary Messenger, April 1836)
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But if these machines were ingenious, what shall we think of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage? What shall we think of an engine of wood and metal which can not only compute astronomical and navigation tables to any given extent, but render the exactitude of its operations mathematically certain through its power of correcting its possible errors? What shall we think of a machine which can not only accomplish all this, but actually print off its elaborate results, when obtained, without the slightest intervention of the intellect of man?

— Edgar Allan Poe on Computers

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "But if these machines were ingenious, what shall we think of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage? What shall we think of an engine of wood and metal which can not only compute astronomical and navigation tables to any given extent, but render the exactitude of its operations mathematically certain through its power of correcting its possible errors? What shall we think of a machine which can not only accomplish all this, but actually print off its elaborate results, when obtained, without the slightest intervention of the intellect of man?" in the context of "Edgar Allan Poe, "Maelzel's Chess-Player" (Southern Literary Messenger, April 1836)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Computers" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Edgar Allan Poe#shall#what#machine#mathematically#astronomical#intervention#calculating#navigation#exactitude#operations#correcting
Edgar Allan Poe

About Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, born Edgar Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, a part of literary studies and was also considered by some peoples both the central and most major figure of the American Romanticism, and a part of the American literature. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction.