[8bitsrule]

Some parts are ... amusing to read. For example the article on stars [0]...

"anything approaching a uniform distribution of the stars cannot extend Limits of the Universe. indefinitely. It can be shown that, if the density of distribution of the stars through infinite space is nowhere less than a certain limit (which may be as small as we please), the total amount of light received from them (assuming that there is no absorption of light in space) would be infinitely great, so that the background of the sky would shine with a. dazzling brilliancy ...."

[0] https://britannica11.org/article/25-0806-star/star#section-1...

[Aransentin]

The article about the Sun was quite fun; even though they didn't know about fusion, the article dismisses most theories about how it could generate such a large amount of energy (like chemical combustion or gravitational contraction).

IT says the most likely cause is some sort of "rearrangement of the structure of the elements' atoms" and "supposing a gaseous nebula is destined to condense into a sun, the elementary matter of which it is composed will develop in the process into our known terrestrial and solar elements, parting with energy as it does so". Pretty much as bang on as one could reasonably be given what they knew.

[failingforward]

Sounds like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox

[tim333]

Searching for "computer" the only one was one Chauncey Wright, American philosopher and mathematician, who became became computer to the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac.

https://britannica11.org/article/28-0872-wright-chauncey/wri...

Times change.

[8bitsrule]

When I thought I recalled 'computer' used to be a job title, I found this on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_(occupation)

which says that "(the first known written reference dates from 1613)... often women from the late nineteenth century onwards, were used to undertake long and often tedious calculations; the work was divided so that this could be done in parallel."

[8bitsrule]

More on the topic:

Review of 2005 book "When Computers Were Human" 424pp. ISBN: 0-691-09157-9

https://web.archive.org/web/20060821120909/http://www.pupres...