Saturday, November 19, 2011

Without a shadow of a doubt


I took this photo at the bottom of Tour Saint-Jacques, the tower they renovated recently and that I showed you several times (here, here, here and here!). You'd think this would be a statue of Saint Jacques, but... it is not. It's the one of Blaise Pascal, a famous French mathematician and philosopher who, among other things, invented in 1642, the first calculator (mechanical at that time, obviously...). Why is here there? Because he is said to have prevented the destruction of a church that was previously on these premises. BTW, around this tower, there is a little square, which apparently was the first square in Paris (1856).
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Tags , , , Photographed at 39 Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France

15 comments:

  1. Roniece Dawson-BruceNovember 19, 2011 at 12:54:00 AM GMT+1

    oh yes I remember the last 'here' pic as you were on your way to dinner with Marc and me! :-) nice memories of that night too! Great pic, love the statue and I have sat in that square too :-) xx

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  2. CatalystNovember 19, 2011 at 1:30:00 AM GMT+1

    I love your mini history lessons.

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  3. jeffNovember 19, 2011 at 5:12:00 AM GMT+1

    Sorry I missed the Golden Blog post. You know that we all give you the prize.

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  4. DrummondNovember 19, 2011 at 11:44:00 AM GMT+1

    A very clever man by all accounts.
    There is an example of his calculator, called the 'Pascaline' in the Musee des art et Metiers.
    It was very expensive, was considered a toy for the rich and of course you couldn't slip it in your pocket. Only 20 were ever made.
    I suppose one must conclude that high cost of the Pascaline together with its lack of portability and poor marketing just didn't add up in the end.

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  5. brattcatNovember 19, 2011 at 1:07:00 PM GMT+1

    hah! i was thinking ben franklin.

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  6. ChristieNovember 19, 2011 at 2:05:00 PM GMT+1

    Ha, ha, Drummond. I was thinking Ben Franklin too, brattcat!! I kept looking for his name in the lesson, but Eric surprised us with someone new! How very interesting. I wouldn't have thought that a calculator would have been developed so early. Amazing.

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  7. PerthDailyPhotoNovember 19, 2011 at 5:09:00 PM GMT+1

    How funny, I immediately thought M Bonaparte, how wrong could I be haha! Beautiful silhouette and composition!

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  8. AlexaNovember 19, 2011 at 6:45:00 PM GMT+1

    I just learned a lot. And got to enjoy this great composition at the same time—thanks, Eric!

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  9. Petrea BurchardNovember 19, 2011 at 10:48:00 PM GMT+1

    Perfect shot, Eric. Another classic.

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  10. AnonymousNovember 20, 2011 at 4:45:00 PM GMT+1

    Ooh la la! Sure to draw a crowd.

    Kris

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  11. painless trafficDecember 3, 2011 at 8:11:00 AM GMT+1

    great man..
    nice piece of art and work...

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  12. Commission StreamerDecember 5, 2011 at 6:55:00 AM GMT+1

    shot is perfectly taken
    nice work

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  13. Local SEO CrusherDecember 5, 2011 at 6:56:00 AM GMT+1

    classy shot...
    Some historic monuments are mysteries

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  14. Non Stop Traffic FormulaDecember 7, 2011 at 10:58:00 AM GMT+1

    just awesome

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  15. Cross Channel MojoDecember 7, 2011 at 10:59:00 AM GMT+1

    best is what can we only say

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