The Mathematics of Miracles

Charles Babbage and the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise


a work in progress

by

Charles Petzold

The Daily Drafts (year-month-day) Size Thoughts for the Day
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-03-20.doc 30,720 bytes
451 words
Spring has sprung and the book has begun! Here's the blog entry announcing the project.
I always thought I would begin with Egerton, but I was puzzled how I'd justify the discussion of Cowper later on. The solution: Move Cowper to the front.
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-03-22.doc 56,832 bytes
1,981 words
Much reading about and by G. H. Toulmin yesterday.
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-04-04.doc 58,368 bytes
2,586 words
Nice full work day; new and less boring lead on Chapter 1.
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-04-06.doc 68,608 bytes
3,447 words
Mostly thinking about structure. By the time we get to Babbage and his book, the reader should be familiar with the history of natural theology, the background to the age of the Earth controversy, Hume on miracles, etc.
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-04-17.doc 99,840 bytes
4,000 words
Not as much time as I had hoped. Mostly worked on Cowper bio.
MathematicsOfMiracles-08-06-16.doc 36,352 bytes
848 words
Forked off Mistaken in its Age: William Cowper and the Age of the Earth.

© Charles Petzold
cp@charlespetzold.com