35: The Future Prospects of Manufacturing
In considering the process of machinery in manufacturing, it occurs to Babbage that it represents an evolution in the field of scientific endeavor. Science had previously been left to philosophers and dabblers who explored the world around them, but whose discoveries did little to benefit society except for the diversion of curious facts and trivia. It is only when the sciences are applied to practical matters that it is of much interest or any appreciable benefit to the majority of people.
By the time this book was written (1832), there had already been appreciable, and even wondrous, progress in the manufacturing sector as a result of taking science out of the academy and putting it to good use in the field. The profit rendered by science has led to an increased interest in funding scientific research, and the two gather strength from one another.
Moreover, it has made a real profession of science. The researcher is no longer the entertainer of a wealthy patron, or a drain upon public resources, but a valued contributor to his society, whose discoveries are delivered to the public in ways that improve their lives in observable ways. For business to fund scientific development is more just - as the revenue of business is contributed by those who purchase its products, hence they indirectly pay for the research that directly benefits them.
Neither does science answer to arbitrary authority as it has in recent ages: its value is proven by its accomplishments. In this sense science has begun to receive the distinction it deserves - no less and no more - for its value to alleviate the miseries of those from whom it demands acclaim. No fiat, no edict, of government or the church can un-prove what has been proven and demonstrated in practice on such an enormous scale.
He further predicts that in future generations, science will continue to be better integrated into society - no longer the idle pursuit of effete dilettantes of the upper classes, but the means by which the mind of a man of any class can pursue and earn distinction by the value of his discoveries to society. He cites examples of men of ingenuity who have risen to wealth and power as a just reward of the value they have contributed to others through their discoveries.
At the time of this book, the advancement of industry has been through the physical sciences - the motion of things and their physical properties. Babbage suggests that the next wave of discoveries will come from the chemical sciences, which has discovered significant value in the things that have long been ignored.
A specific example is in the use of bark of certain Peruvian trees. Manufacturers valued these trees for the hardness of wood, but stripped away the bark and disposed of it. Chemistry has found that an alkali could be extracted for the bark which possessed wondrous medical powers (EN: This is the basis of "sulfa drugs" which were used to fight infection prior to the discovery of antibiotics - and were at that time quite a miracle of science.)
He further speculates that there are likely quite a large number of natural resources whose value will be uncovered by science - as there are many undiscovered species of plant that are entirely inedible and disregarded as being without value. Likewise, animals and minerals can be explored by means of chemistry to discover what useful compounds they may contain. In all, there is much for chemistry to contribute.
Even those forces of nature that are in current employment - electricity, light, hydraulics, and heat - are being used in manners that seem only slightly removed from the primitive. He senses that there is a great amount of power that is wasted from inefficient use, and likely other ways that these powers can be put to use that had not been discovered in his time.
He strays a bit into ecology, recognizing that the chief fuel of industry in his time is coal, and that there must be a finite supply of it. As it becomes more scarce, it will become more precious, and there will be call for scientists to discover ways to make better use of it.
He also speaks to forms of renewable and infinite forms of energy - the rising and falling of the tide could be used to power machinery, as can the heat from beneath the earth that has boiled steam out of natural springs for countless centuries. He speaks specifically to Iceland as a potential future power, as it has a plentitude of volcanic districts that provide an affordance to the seemingly unlimited power of the earth.
And even with the consideration of such things, he recognizes that his own speculation is likely pale and paltry. The science of his own time could not have been imagined by men even two centuries ago, and the wonders that will be commonplace two centuries into the future are likely unimaginable during the present day.
He speaks briefly about charlatanism, as it had long been the practice of wizards, shaman, and other spiritualists to exploit man's fear of the unknown to enslave him. The function of science in his time could not be more difficult - as it serves to bolster man's understanding of the unknown, and to conquer or bring into his own service those forces of nature that were once regarded as a capricious and incomprehensible threat. By means of human reason, man is taking control of his own destiny. (EN: From here, it gets even more dreamy and poetic, so I'll cut it off.)