This method of computing successive terms of a polynomial actually has an interesting place in the history of computers; the basic principle is the same as that

This method of computing successive terms of a polynomial actually has an interesting place in the history of computers; the basic principle is the same as that used by Charles Babbage's difference engine. Wikipedia article on the difference engine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine Just for fun, a difference engine built with Legos: http://acarol.woz.org/ http://acarol.woz.org/