"Knight?" Ma Whistle was stunned for a moment.

Queen Victoria: "As a reward for scientific work, I will award you the knighthood of honour, if you wish." ”

Knighthood was the lowest rank in the English knighthood system, not hereditary, and was mostly used as a reward for commoners.

Many illustrious figures have been knighted, such as Bacon, Newton, the future Kelvin, Thomson, and even Bill Gates of the 21st century.

Now, the horse whistle is going to be one of them.

Although this title is only an honorary title and does not bring any direct material benefits, the effect is still enormous.

With this status, it would have been much easier for him to do anything in the UK. Not only in the United Kingdom, but the King of England, as the most powerful monarch on the planet, will not ignore the knighthood she confers anywhere in the world.

Naturally, it was impossible for the horse whistle to refuse this medal.

"It is a great honour, Her Majesty." He gladly accepted.

The queen smiled: "The canonization ceremony will take place in the near future, and before that, you will have to learn some necessary etiquette." But don't worry, I'll send someone to guide you. ”

The canonization ceremony took place at St. James's Palace.

St James's Palace has been neglected since the Queen moved her residence to Buckingham Palace, but it is still very important in terms of ceremonies.

The ceremony was pompous and attended by many celebrities, including almost all the famous physicists who could be present.

As the father of thermodynamics, Ma Whistle is respected by the physics community.

The attitude of others is much more subtle than that of physicists.

These prominent people did not behave rudely at the canonization ceremony, but Ma Whistle could still feel that a considerable number of people were very disapproving of themselves.

For example, Prime Minister John Russell.

He barely hid the arrogance in his eyes, and if it weren't for the presence of the Queen, Ma Whistle was absolutely sure that this short, fat fellow would have shouted at himself like a man.

It's hard to imagine that this crude old man was Bertrand Russell's grandfather.

The whistle knew that he would never be able to please people like John Russell, so he wisely didn't communicate much with them.

In fact, he can only be pleasant in the circle of scientists.

He was accompanied by Darwin, who was from a wealthy background, experienced in dealing with such situations, and a scientist with whom he was a good friend, so he acted as a guide.

An elegant and beautiful lady approached the Horse Whistle with a warm face: "Oh, what an honor to see you, Sir Horse Whistle! ”

Ma Whistle hadn't been officially ordained yet, but she was willing to call him that.

"Hello." The horse whistle greeted politely.

Darwin introduced him: "This is Ida, Countess of Lovelace, Byron's daughter. ”

Ida?

Could it be the Ida who is known as the "first programmer in history"?

Darwin's next words confirmed his suspicions: "Ida was a brilliant mathematician who once worked with Babbage to build the Difference Machine. ”

Difference engine.

A type of mechanical computer.

Before the advent of electronic computers, many scientists and engineers were keen to build mechanical computers, and Charles Babbage is one of the most famous.

He did produce a finished product with a six-decimal place accuracy, which impressed the British government and led to the financial support of the state for his subsequent research.

In the beginning, it was believed that Babbage would be able to build a more powerful mechanical computer that would "make logarithmic tables as cheap as potatoes" – an irresistible temptation for seafaring civilizations, since accurate logarithms could save ships.

But after the British government burned 17,000 pounds and only harvested a defective product with a 15% completion rate, few officials were willing to support Babbage.

The cost of this defective differential machine was more than 17,000 pounds, because Babbage was born into a wealthy family, and he himself took a lot of money to get in.

Babbage was also present at today's ceremony, as he was chatting and laughing with a man with messy hair not far away.

"Mr. Darwin, I didn't make a difference machine, I just solved some problems about 'operations.'" Aida corrected.

Darwin was a little baffled, and he apparently didn't know much about it: "Computing? ”

Ida proudly explains: "Any process that alters the interrelationship between two or more things can be called an operation. ”

Darwin was still scratching his head.

At this time, Ma Whistle said, "Dear Madam, I have actually learned about your work. ”

"Really?" Ida's eyes lit up when she heard this.

Ma Whistle nodded: "I still have a little bit of my opinion, or I have found a word that may better describe your work." ”

Aida couldn't wait to ask, "What is it?" ”

"Algorithm." Ma Whistle said that this concept is extremely important to computer science, and according to the original historical trajectory, the word algorithm was not given such a connotation until a century later, "I think this term is more appropriate, do you think?" ”

Ida repeated the word a few times, then nodded again and again, and couldn't help but admire: "Great, Sir Whistle, no wonder people say you're a genius!" ”

Ma Whistle smiled, ready to chat with this beautiful and intelligent lady about computers one more time.

Unexpectedly, at this time, two greasy middle-aged men walked over - strictly speaking, it should be an elderly person and a middle-aged man.

Aida took the initiative to introduce: "This is Charles Babbage, my partner. ”

"This is Charles Dickens, a great writer." She introduced the younger man, but he also looked rather greasy and a little unkempt.

"I have admired the daimyo for a long time." Ma Whistle was obviously telling the truth, but he didn't expect that the person in front of him was the famous Dickens.

After some politeness, Babbage suddenly said to Ma Whistle: "Regarding the computer machine, I have a better design, I wonder if you are interested in collaborating?" ”

The horse whistle smiled politely, then declined Babbage's invitation.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Babbage, though I'm interested in your work, I don't have that much time and energy, you know, I'm still the Great Chief of a clan, and the people need me." The reason for this is unassailable.

But in fact, Ma Whistle rejected Babbage for only one reason: the project had no future.

Mechanical computers wouldn't have played much of a role, let alone working with Babbage.

There's no doubt that Babbage is a great player, but it's hard to describe his personality and way of working.

As a young man, Babbage was known for his foul mouth, public blasphemy that led to a great deal of criticism, complaints about his father's lack of thought and stinginess, and his claim that Newton's calculus was Alzheimer's......

Babbage was also extremely restless when it came time to build the differential machine, revising the design every now and then, and working with the passion of the craftsmen who made the parts for him.

Even with the British government, which provided him with financial support, Babbage was sometimes disrespectful.

It can be said that his failure was largely self-inflicted.

Working with such a person, Ma Whistle is really full.

In fact, he had a better option - Kelvin. Kelvin was also interested in mechanical computers, and was clearly a better candidate to work with than Babbage.

And even with Kelvin's plan, the horse whistle is not very cold.

For anyone who has seen electronic computers, these toy-like machines are really not attractive.

Babbage refused to give up easily, and continued to persuade: "I can guarantee that the new machine will be a hundred times stronger and easier to manufacture than the failed product......"

Ida also wants Horse Whistle to join: "Sir Horse Whistle, don't you want to make this great plan a reality with your own hands?" ”

Eventually, the whistle said, "Well, I have a friend George Bull, who is a teacher in Lincolnshire, and if you have time, you can talk to him, and I think you and Bull will be inspired by this." ”

"Okay." Babbage sighed.

"Mr. Cutkens, I have read a lot of your writings." The horse whistle prepares to communicate with Dickens.

Dickens asked, "In America?" ”

Ma Whistle smiled and said, "Yes, but I think it should be piracy, so I always feel that I owe you a sum of money." ”

Dickens also smiled helplessly: "I know, when I went to the United States a few years ago, I understood that piracy there was so rampant, it was beyond my imagination." Actually, I don't even expect to meet genuine readers in the United States. ”

Whistle: "Mr. Dickens, can you tell me what new great work you are making?" ”

"The ceremony is about to begin." At this moment, a servant of the royal family came to remind.