1836: I Became a Literary Giant in Great Britain

Chapter 108 Keyboard Layout and New Work

No wonder he's a top agent recommended by Bentley.

Once the funds were in place, Mr. Finch's efficiency was astonishing.

In just one day, he completed all the formalities and settled Babbage's debts as well.

When Finch handed Michel a thick stack of documents and receipts, his expression still showed confusion.

"Mr. LeBron, your decisions are always so...unexpected."

Michelle took the documents and said with a smile.

"This place will no longer be called 'the Asylum,' Mr. Finch."

He pointed to the building.

"This is the 'Future Lab,' a place where miracles are created."

Finch nodded as if he understood, then took his leave with a belly full of questions.

No one knows how many surprises and awes this laboratory will bring to the world in the future.

The "Future Lab" is now free of its previous decay and lifelessness.

The floor was cleaned spotlessly by the hired workers and looked brand new.

Professor Babbage, on the other hand, seemed to be on steroids, his whole being radiating an unusual glow.

He used the research and development funds that Michel had prepaid to bring back several of his former students and technicians.

Most of these people lived in poverty, but their love for machinery and their admiration for the professor remained undiminished.

Now, they have gathered here again.

Michelle originally intended to be a hands-off manager.

He believes that professional tasks should be left to professionals...

After all, in his previous life he was just a graduate student, and a liberal arts student at that.

The kind where you don't even need to learn advanced mathematics...

However, just two days later, Babbage excitedly invited him over.

How did it happen so quickly?

Michelle was indeed a little surprised when she heard the news.

"Michelle! Come look! My first draft is finished!"

In the future laboratory, Babbage unfolded a huge blueprint.

The densely packed, intricate mechanical structures depicted on it caused Michelle's eye to twitch involuntarily.

It was less a typewriter and more a small steam printer.

It features a complex gear set, a precision drive shaft, and even a steam boiler for power.

The estimated weight of the entire machine is likely to exceed 300 kilograms.

Who would be so kind as to carry something like this around all the time?

"Professor, what's wrong...?"

Michelle pointed to the power unit on the drawing, and for a moment she didn't know where to begin.

Babbage, however, took it as Michelle praising him.

"This is the core power system!" He proudly patted the blueprints.

"I've calculated it. Using steam to drive the piston, and then through this linkage mechanism, we can ensure that the striking force of each hammer is completely consistent, resulting in printed text that is clearer and more uniform than ever before!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and then pointed to another area.

"And here's a simplified version of the automatic layout module. It can automatically adjust margins based on paper size and even create simple tables!"

"So, Michelle, isn't this a great invention?"

Michelle took a deep breath.

All I need is a regular business typewriter...

This is indeed a brilliant design, but it's like using a cannon to kill a mosquito...

He had no doubt how advanced this machine would be in this era.

However, its cost, size, and complexity also mean that it can never become a mass-market product.

"Professor, we are making a commodity, not a work of art."

Michelle had to interrupt Babbage's fervor.

"It needs to be placed on an ordinary person's desk, not in the Royal Society's exhibition hall."

What we need to do is simplify the design and reduce costs.

""

"But... such a crude design is an insult to machinery!"

Babbage frowned, his stubbornness flaring up again.

Michelle did not directly refute him.

He knew that arguing with such a genius had to be within the realm of logic he could understand.

Besides, geniuses are mostly more responsive to gentle persuasion than force...

So Michelle simply asked a question in return.

"Professor, what do you think was the biggest problem encountered in building the Analytical Engine?"

Babbage paused for a moment, something he knew all too well, and instinctively replied, "The precision of the parts, and... mechanical failures caused by overly complex structures..."

""

"That's right." Michelle nodded.

"So, given the complexity of your typewriter design, will it also face the same problem?"

Babbage fell silent for a moment.

"What we need to do now is not to showcase your talent."

"Instead, we solve the most practical problem in the simplest, most reliable, and lowest-cost way."

"For example, our keyboard layout could be exactly like this..."

"Michel picked up a charcoal pencil and drew a keyboard layout that would be familiar to everyone in later generations on a relatively clean piece of paper."

Q, W, E, R, T, Y...

"What is this?" Babbage looked at the strange arrangement of letters, his face full of confusion.

"It makes no sense at all; it's like it was just sprinkled on randomly."

"It may seem casual, but that's precisely the logic behind solving the problem," Michelle explained.

"As you mentioned before, the biggest problem with early typewriter prototypes was that adjacent hammers would collide and jam when struck rapidly."

"Yes, this is a very troublesome mechanical problem."

Babbage immediately entered a scholarly state of mind.

"Therefore, the principle of my layout is to physically separate the most frequently occurring consecutive letter combinations in daily use, such as 'th' and 'on'."

Michelle drew circles on the letters with a charcoal pencil.

"In this way, when striking these common combinations, the responsible finger and the connecting hammer are separated, greatly reducing the probability of key jamming."

"Yes, Michelle also wondered in her previous life why the letters on the keyboard weren't arranged in order..."

I later learned that this was a clever design on purpose.

In fact, this QWERTY layout is a crucial element in solving the commercialization of typewriters.

In the original timeline, it wouldn't have been until 1867, thirty years later, that American Christopher Larsen Sholes applied for the patent.

Babbage leaned down and got closer to Michel's design.

His brain was rapidly deducing and calculating.

A few minutes later, Babbage's gaze towards Michelle suddenly changed.

The gaze was no longer that of someone looking at a sugar daddy, but rather as if they were looking at a genius like themselves.

"This is simply genius thinking."

"By changing the arrangement of the input terminals, we can circumvent the physical defects of the mechanical structure itself!"

Babbage originally thought Michel was just a business-savvy, visionary writer.

In any professional field, it ultimately depends on your own abilities.

But now, he realizes he was wrong.

The young man in front of me knew absolutely nothing about mathematics...

But Michel's understanding of mechanical principles and his insight into the essence of the problem surprised him greatly.

It was as if he had eyes that could see into the future.

"So, Professor," Michelle said with a smile as she put away her charcoal pencil.

"We don't need a steam engine, nor do we need automatic typesetting. All we need is a smart enough leverage system and a smart enough keyboard layout."

Babbage looked at his complex design draft, then at the simple letter arrangement on Michel's paper.

For the first time, he felt his pride shattered by a more efficient form of intelligence.

He picked up the blueprint that he had poured his heart and soul into, crumpled it into a ball without hesitation, and threw it into the wastebasket.

"I understand completely," Babbage said solemnly to Michelle.

"That makes things simple... You'll see the finished typewriter in a week at the latest."

A week?

Michelle was very excited about the typewriter that was about to be released.

Keyboard, please!

With these expectations in mind, Michelle returned to her apartment.

His interactions with Babbage also inspired his creative desires.

An invention that is ahead of its time should be paired with a completely new novel theme!

It's time for the people of London to experience the awe-inspiring power of science fiction.

Moreover, if the science fiction novel becomes popular, it will be of great benefit to his subsequent launch of a typewriter.

Which one should we adapt?

This made Michelle think deeply.