Charles Babbage
Inventor of the Analytical Engine & Difference Engine
Lives in London, United Kingdom
Born December 26th, 1791
Works for: Queen Victoria
Likes: Steam Engines, Mechanics, Technology, Math, Science, Queen Victoria, Ada Lovelace
Interests: Likes to experiment with the Analytical Engine & Difference Engine to test their limits, Likes to solve problems and fight crime with Ada Lovelace, Likes to get funding from the Queen in order to make more technological inventions
Status: “Queen Victoria just stopped by the workshop. What an honour. Unfortunately she wasn’t amused with my invention at first because it didn’t stop crime. However, Lovelace saved the day and now we’re getting double the funding for our invention. She said it’ll help her in the little scheme to take over the world. That’s weird don’t you think?”
“Duke of Wellington just caught us off guard and stopped by our workshop. What’s with the intrusions all the time? He said that our funding will be cut if we don’t help with the current banking situation. To the difference engine we go!”
“Solved the issue. Who knew we just needed to renew public exuberance in investing in innovate new technologies!”
“I have finally succeeded in eliminating all errors from mathematical tables by the use of my machinery. On to fixing the alphabetical production of our kingdom! Wish me luck.”
“Finally my beta test release is here. Who will be the first to try it out?”
“First test of the day. 380 pages of data too! Let’s see how it goes!”
“Everything went just as planned! Except for the cat ruining everything in the end.”
This is a Facebook profile that I made of Charles Babbage in The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. Everything that is presented in his profile such as his status, likes and interests are all connected to the Victorian Era within the narrative. The Victorian Era was a time of peace, prosperity and refined sensibilities which helped me in creating Charles Babbage’s Facebook profile. Charles Babbage was very fond in putting work into his inventions and ran multiple experiments with them to ensure they were properly functioning. The Analytical Engine was a clanging, sputtering steampunk contraption with gears, cogs, an infinite staircase and a maze of hallways. This steampunk contraption was an alternate history of what truly happened as the sub-genre enabled the reader to understand how people in the 19th century might have envisioned such inventions.
Would our representation of characters change if the narrative was set in a different era? Would the Facebook profile look different if it was set in a different era?
Yes, our representation would definitely change in a different era for Babbage’s Facebook profile. For example, if the profile was created in the 2000’s it would significantly change. There would be more things to like and share. Life has more social media these days and our ability to share ideas is endless. The narrative will be more relatable for the audience because it will be read in a setting we are living in. The characters right now seem a bit foreign because they are living in a time we have not lived in. If they were to be present in the 2000’s, then things would feel similar for us. The technology, the jokes, the environment, the storyline, the emotions and all would be affected because of the fact they are in a different era. An era we are used to and can relate to.
I really enjoyed all of the information you took from the comic book and put in to the Facebook profile. If the narrative was in a different era then everything would be slightly different. For instance, put Babbage into the 21st century where technology is everywhere. Instead of working in the Victorian era where mechanical and technical advancements are slow to now where every day a new app is being released or some new iPhone is coming out. The Victorian era was an era of peace and prosperity and the average person lived without much stress. The 21st century is filled with stress and everyone is moving at a fast pace trying to get through life instead of just enjoying it. In the Victorian era, you did not see people wandering the streets looking down at their phones or consumed by technology. Instead you saw people walking and aware of their surroundings, people out for dinner looking at each other and not a piece of technology in their hand. Putting the setting in a different era impacts our perspective of the character greatly because it affects the environment that the character grows up in. None of us were alive during the Victorian era so what we have to go on when picturing the character is what we have read and learned about. However, putting the character in the 21st century makes the character more relatable and easier for us to make assumptions about his dislikes/likes.
I think our representations would change. When you think back to a certain era different characteristics of that era pop up, example like 80’s rock etc. So if this was represented in a narrative in the future we would not think of this narrative the same compared to the era it is written in. I think because one of the main character in Love Lace and Babbage is a female it is more uncommon then if it was set in an era that we are in now. I would like to think on a Facebook profile, they would have still post too many personal information, but just in a different way. The would not be creating slag words, but their it would be old english. The events that they create would be like when they go to balls, or these formal events. Pictures that people would post be the old polaroid kind of photos. I think in general Facebook profiles would be very different.
-Carter
Jumpman,
Representation of character as well as Facebook profile would have been different if it was set in the twenty-first century. Lovelace and Babbage lived in the nineteenth century, and everything was different back then. They lived in an era of peace and prosperity and enlightenment. Humans did not go through much stress in that era because everything was simple. It is significant to mention that technology did not exist in the nineteenth century. And now in the twenty-first century digital culture is taking over everything. Humans are all influenced by the technological world. In fact, it is a part of our life, I would like to give an example from my personal experience. I always carry my smartphone with me, sometimes when I forget it at home or leave it at work, I get this feelings as if a part of me is missing and whatever I am doing at the moment I stop immediately and go back to grab my phone. Facebook profile and representation of a character in the twenty-first century would not have any similarities with the Victorian era (nineteenth century) because today’s generation are raised in a different environment.