Shadowy vision: spanners in the mechanization of mathematics

AbstractBefore the mid-20th century, the most successful attempt to automatize mathematics was made by Charles Babbage in his Analytical Engine. By explaining the steps necessary for the machine to perform the task, Luigi Menabrea left little doubt that if an Analytical Engine could be built, it could solve two simultaneous linear equations in two unknowns. The same may be said of description given by Lady Lovelace of the computation of the Bernoulli numbers. However, despite repeated suggestions that it could also handle symbolic manipulation, the lack of similar specifics indicates otherwise. In this respect, the Analytical Engine followed a long tradition of claims about early calculators