Chapter 204: [Knighted]

 "Knight?" Ma Shao was stunned.

  Queen Victoria: "As a reward for your scientific work, I will make you an honorary knight if you wish."

  Knighthood is the lowest rank in the British peerage system. It is not hereditary and is mostly used as a reward for civilians.

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

  Now, Ma Shao is going to become one of them.

  Although this title is only an honorary title and does not bring any direct material benefits, its impact is still huge.

  For Ma Shao, with this identity, it would be much easier for him to do anything in the UK. Not only in the UK, but also in the UK, as the most powerful monarch on the planet, the knighthood titles granted by the King of England would not be easily ignored anywhere in the world.

  Naturally, Ma Shao couldn't refuse this medal.

  "It is a great pleasure, Your Majesty," he accepted.

  The queen smiled and said, "The enthronement ceremony will be held soon. Before that, you have to learn some necessary etiquette. But don't worry, I will send someone to teach you."

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

  St James's Palace has fallen into disuse since the Queen moved her apartments to Buckingham Palace, but it remains ceremonially important.

  The ceremony was quite grand and many celebrities attended, including almost all the famous physicists who could attend.

  As the recognized father of thermodynamics, Ma Shao is highly respected by the physics community.

  Compared to physicists, other people's attitudes are much more subtle.

  These people of prominent status would not behave rudely at the enthronement ceremony, but Ma Shao could still feel that quite a number of people disapproved of him.

  For example, Prime Minister John Russell.

  He barely concealed the arrogance in his eyes, and if the queen had not been present, Ma Shao absolutely believed that this short and fat guy would yell at him like he was yelling at a servant.

  It is hard to imagine that this gruff old man is Bertrand Russell's grandfather.

  Ma Shao knew that he could never please people like John Russell, so he wisely did not communicate much with them.

  In fact, he was still only happy in the circle of scientists.

  Traveling with him was Darwin, who came from a wealthy family, had a lot of experience in dealing with such situations, and was a scientist on good terms with him, so he acted as a guide.

  An elegant and beautiful lady walked towards Ma Shao with a warm expression on her face: "Oh, it's such an honor to meet you, Sir Ma Shao!"

  Ma Shao has not been officially conferred the title yet, but she is already willing to call him that.

  "Hello." Ma Shao greeted politely.

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

  Aida?

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

  Darwin's next words confirmed his suspicion: "Ada was a brilliant mathematician who had worked with Babbage on the Difference Engine."

  Difference Engine.

  A purely mechanical computer.

  Before the birth of electronic computers, many scientists and engineers were keen on making mechanical computers, and Charles Babbage was a famous one.

  He did produce a finished product with a calculation accuracy of six decimal places, which impressed the British government and enabled his subsequent research to receive national financial support.

  At first, people believed that Babbage could build a more powerful mechanical computer and "make logarithmic tables as cheap as potatoes" - this was an irresistible temptation for maritime civilization. After all, accurate logarithms could save ships.

  But after the British government spent 17,000 pounds and only got a defective product that was 15% complete, almost no officials were willing to support Babbage.

  The cost of this defective Difference Engine was more than 17,000 pounds. Since Babbage came from a wealthy family, he also invested a lot of money in it.

  Babbage also attended today's ceremony. At this time, he was chatting and laughing with a man with messy hair not far away.

  "Mr. Darwin, I didn't build a difference engine. I just solved some problems about 'calculation'," Ada corrected.

  Darwin was a little puzzled. He obviously didn't understand this very well: "Calculation?"

  Ada proudly explained: "Any process that changes the relationship between two or more things can be called an operation."  

  Darwin was still puzzled.

  Ma Shao then said, "Dear Madam, I actually know about your work."

  "Really?" Aida's eyes lit up when she heard it.

  Ma Shao nodded: "I have another opinion of my own, or I found a word that may better describe your work."

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

  "Algorithm." Ma Shao said this extremely important concept in computer science. According to the original historical trajectory, the word algorithm was not given such a connotation until a century later. "I think this word is more appropriate, what do you think?"

  Aida repeated the word several times, then nodded repeatedly, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Great, Sir Ma Shao, no wonder people say you are a genius!"

  Ma Shao smiled and prepared to chat more about computer knowledge with this beautiful and intelligent lady.

  Unexpectedly, at this moment, two greasy middle-aged men came over - strictly speaking, one old and one middle-aged.

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

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

  "I've heard of your name for a long time." What Ma Shao said was obviously the truth. He didn't expect that the person in front of him was the famous Dickens.

  After some pleasantries, Babbage suddenly said to Ma Shao: "I have a better design for a calculating machine. Are you interested in cooperating?"

  Ma Shao smiled politely and then declined Babbage's invitation.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Babbage, although I am very interested in your work, I don't have that much time and energy. You know, I am also the chief of a tribe and my people need me." This reason is impeccable.

  But in fact, there was only one reason why Ma Shao rejected Babbage: this project had no future.

  A purely mechanical computer would not have been very useful, let alone Babbage's plan.

  There is no doubt that Babbage was an excellent man, but his character and working style are difficult to describe.

  When he was young, Babbage was known for his foul mouth. He once publicly blasphemed God, which led to a lot of criticism. He also complained that his father was closed-minded and stingy, only giving him 300 pounds a year, and claimed that Newton's calculus symbols were Alzheimer's...

  When making the Difference Engine, Babbage was also extremely restless. He modified the design every now and then and had passionate arguments with the craftsmen who made parts for him.

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

  What's worse is that there are many impractical aspects in Babbage's design.

  Therefore, it can be said that his failure was largely caused by himself.

  Following Babbage in developing mechanical computers, Ma Shao really had nothing better to do.

  In fact, he had a better choice - Kelvin. Kelvin was also very interested in mechanical computers. Compared with Babbage, Kelvin was obviously a more suitable partner.

  Even though it was Kelvin's plan, Ma Shao was not particularly interested.

  For people who have seen electronic computers, these toy-like machines have little appeal.

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

  Ida also hopes that Ma Shao can join in: "Sir Ma Shao, don't you want to make this great plan a reality yourself?"

  Finally, Ma Shao said, "Well, I have a friend, George Boole, who is a teacher in Lincolnshire. If you have time, you can talk to him. I think both you and Boole will be inspired by it."

  "All right," sighed Babbage.

  "Mr. Dickens, I have read many of your works." Ma Shao was ready to communicate more with Dickens.

  Dickens asked, "In America?"

  Ma Shao smiled and said, "Yes, but I think it's probably pirated, so I always feel like I owe you money."

  Dickens also smiled helplessly: "I know. When I went to the United States a few years ago, I realized that piracy there was too rampant, beyond my imagination. In fact, I didn't even expect to meet genuine readers in the United States."

  Ma Shao: "Mr. Dickens, can you tell me what new great work you are working on?"

  "The ceremony is about to begin." Just then, the royal servant came over to remind.