Bob Schroeck said:

Although I haven't seen this one, I doubt it was picked at random.  "Laputa"
in "Gulliver's Travels" was a flying island, levitated by a huge magnet.
Given the title of the anime, it's hard to believe it's *not* a tribute to
Swift.  

In an interview, Miyazaki said it was, but I only have a text file of it...
I don't know where it was published.

And Swift deliberately chose the name, as part of the satirical level to the
Laputa section of the Travels.

Swift was satirizing the viewpoint of what were then called "Natural
Philosophers."  Today we call 'em scientists.  The Laputans were scientific
as all get out, even when it wasn't appropiriate.  For example, Gulliver was
given a set of clothes that were made for him from mesurements that were
taken with things like a surveyer's transit and subjected to lots and lots
of conversion calculations.  They were the worst fitting clothes he had ever
had.  One very odd thing.  The Laputans made very, very good telescopes and
Gulliver reports viewing Mars through one and seeing two small moons.
That's how many moons Mars actually has and they are quite small ones... the
odd things is that this was nearly fifty years before astronomers discovered
the moons of Mars.  It's generally accepted that Swift just made a lucky
guess.  (?)

Best,

Bob Barnes 
rbarnes@moscow.com 
Moscow, Idaho 

When opportunity comes, the trick is to CATCH the red hat.