Posted by Kim on October 15, 2013, 12:33am
This is going to sound like the intro to some kind of bizarre romantic comedy, but bear with me -- I promise you everything I'm about to say is 100% true (and 100% awesome).Ada, The Countess of Lovelace, born in December of 1815, was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron and his wife Anne Isabelle Byron. But she would never truly know her famous father. He left when she was a mere one month old.
Ada and her mother came to view her father's flair for the dramatic as a sign of insanity. He was, after all, wildly irresponsible, tempesteous, and so fun at parties we can only imagine the earth-shattering hang overs and startling realizations he must have suffered on subsequent mornings.
So her mother raised little Ada on a strict diet of science, math and logic, to help her avoid developing the same sort of "poetic madness."
Ada spent her childhood designing fanciful machines, including - read this closely now - a steam powered flying machine. HELLO airships! So now we know for sure, even the Victorians were into them.
As a young adult, Ada befriended Charles Babbage, a man absolutely obsessed with the concept of a machine he referred to as "the Analytical Engine." The Analytical Engine was a machine intended to expand human consciousness by solving complex math problems humans couldn't follow with their feeble meat brains. Babbage imagined that one could encode a mathematical algorythm (such as calculating orbits of planets, for example) on a series of punch cards, which could then be fed into the machine. And the machine would spit out an answer.
Is any of this sounding familiar, yet? It should. Though this machine was never built, it was one of the critical documents that inspired Alan Turing's work on the very first modern computers over 100 years later.
Where does Ada come into play, here? Though Babbage envisioned the Analytical Engine, and even created diagrams explaining how one might build it, Ada came to understand this theoretical machine so well that she was able to publish a collection of algorythms designed for use with this theoretical machine, making her the first computer programmer in history. She was 27 years old when she published the first known computer programs. In that same article, she also accurately predicted many future uses for computers, including using them to create music. Babbage himself never imagined that his engine could do anything more than crunch numbers.
Friends described Ada Lovelace as "The Enchantress of Numbers". One of the projects she aspired to was creating a mathematical model for how the brain gives rise to thoughts and nerves to feelings, which she called "A calculus of the nervous system." She was both fashionable and smart as a whip, often exceeding her male colleagues in her command of complicated mathematics.
Although Ada's life and achievements were cut tragically short at the age of 36, she's left a legacy of inspiration for people the world over, and her fingerprints are everywhere in the conveniences of our modern world.
Today is Ada Lovelace day, an international day celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and math. It is a day for sharing stories of women who have inspired you in these fields. Who has inspired you?
Comments
My mom, Lynn Sparling. She's an atmospheric physicist and works tirelessly every day to further increase our understanding of climate change and alternative energy. Wind energy research is her true passion; she's been working for years to gather data and conduct experiments along the Chesapeake Bay, hoping that maybe someday we'll have wind turbines out there. She is ferociously geared towards her goals and harnesses an insane energy that sometimes borders on the maddening. 
You guys all have such great answers!
Every once in awhile my family has played the game "Quick! Name 10 female physicists/engineers/biologists" and it can be surprisingly difficult.
Every once in awhile my family has played the game "Quick! Name 10 female physicists/engineers/biologists" and it can be surprisingly difficult.
Ada Lovelace is amazing, stars in my eyes, etc. I've looked up to her almost as long as I've had an interest in computers.
Mary Shelley - the first science fiction writer! - and Mary Wollstonecraft (Shelley's mother, and one of the founding feminist philosophers of the West) are another two ladies that I hold in high esteem.
Mary Shelley - the first science fiction writer! - and Mary Wollstonecraft (Shelley's mother, and one of the founding feminist philosophers of the West) are another two ladies that I hold in high esteem.
TheLily
October 15, 2013
8:07am
I remember last year when I learned about Ada I was so excited. Even though she wasn't really in line with my Reading Poetry class, my prof talked about her quite a bit when we read Byron, probably more so than Byron himself.
As for who inspires me, I can't say for sure and I'm not sure if it counts, but I'd say some of the Ancient Greek Philosophers. I admire them for not only being philosophers in a time when Philosophy was a little bit of every science known at the time, but also women in a time when they weren't typically thought of as people. They get kudos for being respected enough to be read and listened to.
As for who inspires me, I can't say for sure and I'm not sure if it counts, but I'd say some of the Ancient Greek Philosophers. I admire them for not only being philosophers in a time when Philosophy was a little bit of every science known at the time, but also women in a time when they weren't typically thought of as people. They get kudos for being respected enough to be read and listened to.
I'd like to say that Amy Carmichael and Betty Greene inspired me, as they were missionaries that listened to their unusual calling to help people. Amy Carmichael founded an orphanage in India; Betty Greene was one of the first few Christian female pilots (I believe), and I love reading about their adventures.
Otherwise, I'd agree with Highjinx about Marie Curie being another inspiration. Her being a scientist and all and my deep-seated love for biology.
Otherwise, I'd agree with Highjinx about Marie Curie being another inspiration. Her being a scientist and all and my deep-seated love for biology.
That is so cool. 
For some reason, Amelia Earhart has always been a favorite of mine. Not just the neat mystery of 'where did she vanish', but the whole idea of a woman stepping up to the plate like she did and doing what people thought she couldn't do is just...awesome
For some reason, Amelia Earhart has always been a favorite of mine. Not just the neat mystery of 'where did she vanish', but the whole idea of a woman stepping up to the plate like she did and doing what people thought she couldn't do is just...awesome
Marie Curie is one of my favorites, as well as Elizabeth Blackwell (First female medical doctor in the USA), and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (German biologist that is just... crazy amazing.)
captianTACO
October 15, 2013
8:03pm