22 JULY 2000, Page 51

No. 2148

`Sir,' Charles Babbage, the 'father' of the modern computer, once wrote to Tennyson: In your otherwise beautiful poem The Vision of Sin' there is a verse which reads — 'Every moment dies a man, Every moment one is born.' It must be manifest that if this were true, the population of the world would be at a standstill ...I would suggest that in the next edition of your poem you have it read – 'Every moment 11/16 is born.' The actual figure is so long I can- not get it on to a line, but I believe the figure 11/16 will be sufficiently accurate for poetry.

You are invited to write a letter in the same spirit of pedantry on Babbage's behalf to another famous writer. Maximum 150 words. Entries to 'Competition No. 2148' by 3 August.