Responding to Tennyson's poem 'The Vision of Sin,' mathematician and "Difference Engine" visionary Charles Babbage wrote to Tennyson:
"In your otherwise beautiful poem, one verse reads 'Every moment dies a man/Every moment one is born.' If this were true, the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death. I would suggest that the next edition of your poem should read: 'Every moment dies a man/Every moment 1 1/16 is born. Strictly speaking, the actual figure is so long I cannot get it into a line, but I believe the figure 1 1/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry."
"In your otherwise beautiful poem, one verse reads 'Every moment dies a man/Every moment one is born.' If this were true, the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death. I would suggest that the next edition of your poem should read: 'Every moment dies a man/Every moment 1 1/16 is born. Strictly speaking, the actual figure is so long I cannot get it into a line, but I believe the figure 1 1/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry."
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