Yeah. The "day job" has always been nothing more than a means to
better ends. Everything worthwhile, exciting, and satisfying I've
achieved in life was in the gaps between doing something I could use
my time better for. Like Twain said - "don't let schooling get in the
way of your education", similarly I think ones "work" happens despite
employment, rarely through it. In this way "capitalism" is a horrible
waste of human capital. Imagine what Ludgate might have achieved if
not counting penny corns. I hope for a world for children who'll get a
UBI, and space in life to develop their true selves.
Maybe the habits of discipline that come from formal schooling and work are necessary for a man like Ludgate, or maybe not. We are products of our constraints to some extent
However, it also means we do not know how many hobbyists has tinkered with analytical engines between Babbage and WWII, and whether any of these attempts were earlier or more advanced.