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<title>The Engine</title>

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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">The Engine</span></span>

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<p><b>The Engine</b> is a fictional device described in the 1726 satirical novel <i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels" title="Gulliver's Travels">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> by <a href="Jonathan_Swift" title="Jonathan Swift">Jonathan Swift</a>. It is possibly the earliest known reference to a device in any way resembling a modern computer.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>The Engine is a device that generates <a href="Permutations" class="mw-redirect" title="Permutations">permutations</a> of word sets. It is found at the <a href="Academy_of_Projectors" class="mw-redirect" title="Academy of Projectors">Academy of Projectors</a> in <a href="Lagado" title="Lagado">Lagado</a> and is described thus by Swift:

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<blockquote><p>“... Every one knew how laborious the usual method is of attaining to arts and sciences; whereas, by his contrivance, the most ignorant person, at a reasonable charge, and with a little bodily labour, might write books in philosophy, poetry, politics, laws, mathematics, and theology, without the least assistance from genius or study.” He then led me to the frame, about the sides, whereof all his pupils stood in ranks. It was twenty feet square, placed in the middle of the room. The superfices was composed of several bits of wood, about the bigness of a die, but some larger than others. They were all linked together by slender wires. These bits of wood were covered, on every square, with paper pasted on them; and on these papers were written all the words of their language, in their several moods, tenses, and declensions; but without any order. The professor then desired me “to observe; for he was going to set his engine at work.” The pupils, at his command, took each of them hold of an iron handle, whereof there were forty fixed round the edges of the frame; and giving them a sudden turn, the whole disposition of the words was entirely changed. He then commanded six-and-thirty of the lads, to read the several lines softly, as they appeared upon the frame; and where they found three or four words together that might make part of a sentence, they dictated to the four remaining boys, who were scribes. This work was repeated three or four times, and at every turn, the engine was so contrived, that the words shifted into new places, as the square bits of wood moved upside down."<sup id="cite_ref-gullivers_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gullivers-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote>

<p>That story is thought be a satire on medieval philosopher <a href="Ramon_Llull" title="Ramon Llull">Ramon Llull</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<ul><li><a href="Infinite_monkey_theorem" title="Infinite monkey theorem">Infinite monkey theorem</a> – Counterintuitive result in probability</li>

<li><a href="SCIgen" title="SCIgen">SCIgen</a> – Random text generating software</li>

<li><a href="Large_language_model" title="Large language model">Large language model</a> – Type of machine learning model</li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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</style><cite id="CITEREFEric_A._Weiss1985" class="citation news cs1">Eric A. Weiss (1985). "Jonathan Swift's Computing Invention". <i><a href="IEEE" class="mw-redirect" title="IEEE">IEEE</a></i>. Vol. 7, no. 2. pp. <span class="nowrap">164–</span>165. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1109%2FMAHC.1985.10017">10.1109/MAHC.1985.10017</a>. <q>In 1726 Jonathan Swift published a description of a wonderful machine, made of equal parts of ...</q></cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-gullivers-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-gullivers_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFSwift1726" class="citation book cs1">Swift, Jonathan (1726). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/829/829-h/829-h.htm"><i>Gulliver's Travels</i></a>. p. Part 3, Chapter 5<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 March</span> 2016</span>.</cite></span>

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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFBonner1994" class="citation book cs1">Bonner, Anthony (1994). <i>Doctor Illuminatus: A Ramon Llull Reader</i>. Princeton University Press. p. 70.</cite></span>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

<ul><li><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=573">"Knowledge Engine – The first reference to a machine that could create sentences or write books"</a>. Technovelgy.com.</cite></li>

<li><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/gullivers-engine/">"Gulliver's Engine"</a>. Computer History Museum. 28 November 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 March</span> 2016</span>.</cite></li></ul>

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</style><div id="Jonathan_Swift&#039;s_Gulliver&#039;s_Travels_(1726)111" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="Jonathan_Swift" title="Jonathan Swift">Jonathan Swift</a>'s <i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels" title="Gulliver's Travels">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1726)</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Characters</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Lemuel_Gulliver" title="Lemuel Gulliver">Lemuel Gulliver</a></li>

<li><a href="Glumdalclitch" class="mw-redirect" title="Glumdalclitch">Glumdalclitch</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Locations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Balnibarbi" title="Balnibarbi">Balnibarbi</a></li>

<li><a href="Brobdingnag" title="Brobdingnag">Brobdingnag</a></li>

<li><a href="Glubbdubdrib" title="Glubbdubdrib">Glubbdubdrib</a></li>

<li><a href="Japan_in_Gulliver's_Travels" title="Japan in Gulliver's Travels">Japan</a></li>

<li><a href="Lagado" title="Lagado">Lagado</a></li>

<li><a href="Laputa" title="Laputa">Laputa</a></li>

<li><a href="Lilliput_and_Blefuscu" title="Lilliput and Blefuscu">Lilliput and Blefuscu</a></li>

<li><a href="Lindalino" title="Lindalino">Lindalino</a></li>

<li><a href="Luggnagg" title="Luggnagg">Luggnagg</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other characters</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul>

<li><a href="Houyhnhnm" title="Houyhnhnm">Houyhnhnm</a></li>

<li><a href="Struldbrugg" title="Struldbrugg">Struldbrugg</a></li>

<li><a href="Yahoo_(Gulliver's_Travels)" title="Yahoo (Gulliver's Travels)">Yahoo</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Films</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_Among_the_Lilliputians_and_the_Giants" title="Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants">Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants</a></i> (1902)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver_en_el_pa%C3%ADs_de_los_Gigantes" title="Gulliver en el país de los Gigantes">Gulliver en el país de los Gigantes</a></i> (1903)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_(1924_film)" title="Gulliver's Travels (1924 film)">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1924)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver_Mickey" title="Gulliver Mickey">Gulliver Mickey</a></i> (1934)</li>

<li><i><a href="The_New_Gulliver" title="The New Gulliver">The New Gulliver</a></i> (1935)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_(1939_film)" title="Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1939)</li>

<li><i><a href="The_3_Worlds_of_Gulliver" title="The 3 Worlds of Gulliver">The 3 Worlds of Gulliver</a></i> (1960)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_Beyond_the_Moon" title="Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon">Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon</a></i> (1965)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_(1977_film)" title="Gulliver's Travels (1977 film)">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1977)</li>

<li><i><a href="Jajantaram_Mamantaram" title="Jajantaram Mamantaram">Jajantaram Mamantaram</a></i> (2003)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_(2010_film)" title="Gulliver's Travels (2010 film)">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (2010)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver_Returns" title="Gulliver Returns">Gulliver Returns</a></i> (2021)</li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Television</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><i><a href="The_Mind_Robber" title="The Mind Robber">The Mind Robber</a></i> (1968)</li>

<li><i><a href="The_Adventures_of_Gulliver" title="The Adventures of Gulliver">The Adventures of Gulliver</a></i> (1968–1969)</li>

<li><i><a href="Saban's_Gulliver's_Travels" title="Saban's Gulliver's Travels">Saban's Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1992–1993)</li>

<li><i><a href="Gulliver's_Travels_(miniseries)" title="Gulliver's Travels (miniseries)">Gulliver's Travels</a></i> (1996)</li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Cultural_influence_of_Gulliver's_Travels" title="Cultural influence of Gulliver's Travels">Cultural influence of Gulliver's Travels</a></li></ul>

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