lego difference engine

andrew carol, great mind behind much of the LEGO serial protocol, has constructed a working LEGO technic difference engine able to “compute 2nd or 3rd order polynomials to 3 or 4 digits.”

i mean…holy shit right? his explanation of his process is really interesting (if you’re into that sort of thing) but also pretty dense if your brain has been out of calculus – or algebra…or, let’s be honest, math – mode for awhile. more photos at the bottom of the page.

link via eric