Leibniz's Inventions

Описание: While Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is famous for his early mechanical calculator, he was also a visionary inventor whose blueprints anticipated modern computing, armoured warfare, and even ballistic tech. In this video, we explore his most surprising "lost" inventions: from binary machines and tactile clocks designed for the blind to a terrifying gunpowder-powered "fire cart" (a 17th-century proto-tank) and bullet-resistant clothing made entirely of pressed silkworm cocoons. Join us as we reveal how one of history’s greatest philosophers was actually a secret engineer of the future, turning 0s and 1s into a world-changing reality long before the first computer was ever built.

Links to English translations of the texts discussed in this video:
"Tactile Binary Clock": https://www.leibniz-translations.com/...
"My Fire Cart": https://www.leibniz-translations.com/...
"Plan for a Military Manufacturing Process": https://www.leibniz-translations.com/...

English translations of texts on the binary calculating machine can be found in "Leibniz on Binary: The Invention of Computer Arithmetic", published by MIT Press in 2022: https://mitpress.mit.edu/978026254434...

A new three-volume edition of Leibniz's Philosophical Papers 1677-1686 were published by Oxford University Press on 30 April 2026. More details on the three volumes here: https://leibnizpapers.org

These volumes form part of a long-term project to edit and translate Leibniz’s philosophical writings from manuscript sources. If you would like to support its continuation, please visit: https://opencollective.com/leibniz-pa...