10th February 2006, 4:12 PM
Yes, that's part of the prediction that was thankfully averted. It's still pretty bad, but for all the criticism, it is pretty clear that in that case the prophecy was self defeating.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)