Black Magic in a box

What struck me when researching about the early origins of computers was how skeptical they were about it, how they were almost expected it to simple fail or destroy anything around it. Not to say that they believed in magic, but that's what the common person must have thought was driving the first computer to work.
As it turns out, the machine that might have been responsible for the computer's development is the calculator. I know that others will say otherwise, but i see it as a separate machine to the computer, it is also a machine that can operate with minimal human influence.

Great events are only considered great by future generations

It is intresting to think that, as the way we are now, if the group called Luddites had gotten their way, our world would be quite diffrenet. Not to go off track with this thought, but dispite the way histoic people are protrade, they started with nothing more than an idea. This is when the older generation tells the younger generatin that they 'can do anything if only you believe'. I'm not saying that this isn't true, but the problem as i see it, is that the world is pretty right now, that there isn't opotunity for another great technoogy advance. That humans are just fine tunning the world till space becomes the better optionion.
But, 50 years ago, were there people who thought the same thing, who laughed at the invention ideas that people had, or did they live in a world where everyone could see room for improvement?

I'm trying to think of a machine that came before the computer, that was less complex but still help with it's development. BRB