But it wasn’t until the 1940s and the advent of the electronic computer that they actually built a machine that was used to construct mathematical tables. I’m confused...
You are confused because that is not the reality. As you can read on Wikipedia’s entry on difference engine, Scheutz built a difference engine derivative, sold it, and it was used to create logarithmic tables.
You must have read this while writing this article. It is prominent in the Wikipedia article in question and hard to miss. Why did you make this mistake? If it was a deliberate act of misleading for narrative convenience I am very disappointed. Yes, the reality is rarely narratively convenient, but you shouldn’t lie about it.
You are confused because that is not the reality. As you can read on Wikipedia’s entry on difference engine, Scheutz built a difference engine derivative, sold it, and it was used to create logarithmic tables.
You must have read this while writing this article. It is prominent in the Wikipedia article in question and hard to miss. Why did you make this mistake? If it was a deliberate act of misleading for narrative convenience I am very disappointed. Yes, the reality is rarely narratively convenient, but you shouldn’t lie about it.