CHARLES BABBAGE AND THE "FACILITY OF USING"

Charles Babbage is a key figure in the history of computing. One of the driving forces for his creation of a computing machine was to eliminate human error in the production of mathematical tables. His early attempts at ameliorating the situation concentrated on improving printed tables and in this context that he describes in 1826, "... the facility of using ...". He also devised a notation system for representing the complexities of machines. So was Babbage the first ergonomist? The paper explores his concern with making technology usable through matching design to human characteristics.