From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FORGED_GMAIL_RCVD, FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,669a55b97e33b430 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,domainid0,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII Path: g2news2.google.com!postnews.google.com!i18g2000prf.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail From: Gene Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Happy Birthda Ada Lovelace Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:17:23 -0800 (PST) Organization: http://groups.google.com Message-ID: <3bded47c-a656-4a2f-8d10-45ce74a88124@i18g2000prf.googlegroups.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: 74.44.132.117 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: posting.google.com 1228969044 4060 127.0.0.1 (11 Dec 2008 04:17:24 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:17:24 +0000 (UTC) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: i18g2000prf.googlegroups.com; posting-host=74.44.132.117; posting-account=-BkjswoAAACC3NU8b6V8c50JQ2JBOs04 User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.648),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe) Xref: g2news2.google.com comp.lang.ada:3925 Date: 2008-12-10T20:17:23-08:00 List-Id: On Dec 10, 11:20=A0am, John McCormick wrote: > On December 10, 1815, Anna Isabella (Annabella) Byron, whose husband > was Lord Byron, gave birth to a daughter, Augusta Ada. =A0Ada's father > was a romantic poet whose fame derived not only from his works but > also from his wild and scandalous behavior. =A0His marriage to Annabella > was strained from the beginning, and Annabella left Byron just a > little more than a month after Ada was born. =A0By April of that year, > Annabella and Byron signed separation papers, and Byron left England, > never to return. > > Byron's writings show that he greatly regretted that he was unable to > see his daughter. In one poem, for example, he wrote of Ada, > > =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 I see thee not. =A0I hear thee not. > =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 But none can be so rapt in thee. > > Byron died in Greece at the age of 36, and one of the last things he > said was, > > =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Oh my poor dear child! My dear Ada! My God, could I but h= ave > seen her! > > Meanwhile, Annabella, who was eventually to become a baroness in her > own right, and who was herself educated as both a mathematician and a > poet, carried on with Ada's upbringing and education. =A0Annabella gave > Ada her first instruction in mathematics, but it soon became clear > that Ada's gift for the subject was such that it required more > extensive tutoring. =A0Ada received further training in mathematics from > Augustus DeMorgan, who is today famous for one of the basic theorems > of Boolean algebra, which forms the basis for modern computers. =A0By > the age of eight, Ada also had demonstrated an interest in mechanical > devices and was building detailed model boats. > > When she was 18, Ada visited the Mechanics Institute to hear Dr. > Dionysius Lardner's lectures on the "difference engine," a mechanical > calculating machine being built by Charles Babbage. =A0She became so > interested in the device that she arranged to be introduced to > Babbage. =A0It was said that, upon seeing Babbage's machine, Ada was the > only person in the room to understand immediately how it worked and to > appreciate its significance. > > Ada and Babbage became good friends and she worked with him for the > rest of her life, helping to document his designs, translating > writings about his work, and developing programs to be used on his > machines. =A0Unfortunately, Babbage never completed construction of any > of his designs. =A0Even so, today Ada is recognized as being the first > computer programmer in history. That title, however, does not do full > justice to her genius. > > Around the time that Babbage met Ada, he began the design for an even > more ambitious machine called the "analytical engine," which we now > recognize was the first programmable computer. =A0Ada instantly grasped > the implications of the device and foresaw its application in ways > that even Babbage did not imagine. =A0Ada believed that mathematics > eventually would develop into a system of symbols that could be used > to represent anything in the universe. =A0From her notes, it is clear > that Ada saw that the analytical engine could go beyond arithmetic > computations and become a general manipulator of symbols, and thus it > would be capable of almost anything. =A0She even suggested that such a > device could eventually be programmed with rules of harmony and > composition so that it could produce "scientific" music. =A0In effect, > Ada foresaw the field of artificial intelligence over 150 years ago. > > In 1842, Babbage went to Turin, Italy, and gave a series of lectures > on his analytical engine. =A0One of the attendees was Luigi Menabrea, > who was so impressed that he wrote an account of Babbage's lectures. > At age 27, Ada decided to translate the account into English, with the > intent to add a few of her own notes about the machine. =A0In the end, > her notes were twice as long as the original material, and the > document, "The Sketch of the Analytical Engine," became the definitive > work on the subject. > > It is obvious from Ada's letters that her "notes" were entirely her > own and that Babbage was acting as a sometimes unappreciated editor. > At one point, Ada wrote to him, > > "I am much annoyed at your having altered my Note. =A0You know I am > always willing to make any required alterations myself, but that I > cannot endure another person to meddle with my sentences." > > Ada gained the title Countess of Lovelace when she married Lord > William Lovelace. =A0The couple had three children, but Ada was so > consumed by her love of mathematics that she left their upbringing to > her mother. =A0For a woman of that day, such behavior was considered > almost as scandalous as some of her father's exploits, but her husband > was actually quite supportive of her work. > > In 1852, Ada died from cancer. =A0Sadly, if she had lived just one year > longer, she would have witnessed the unveiling of a working difference > engine built from one of Babbage's designs by George and Edward > Scheutz in Sweden. =A0Like her father, Ada lived only until she was 36, > and, even though they led much different lives, she undoubtedly > admired Byron and took inspiration from his unconventional and > rebellious nature. =A0At the end, Ada asked to be buried beside him at > the family's estate. > > ---------------------------------------------- > Ada Lovelace biography material excerpted from "Programming and > Problem Solving with Ada" by Dale, Weems, and McCormick, published by > Jones and Bartlett, 2000 > > The film "To Dream Tomorrow" from Flare Productions,www.flarefilms.org, > tells the story of Ada Lovelace and her contributions to computing. > It is a great film for Ada enthusiasts. =A0See if you can find the error > in the inscription on her tomb. John, Thanks for this! I am about mid-way through Toole's "Ada - Enchantress of Numbers" http://www.amazon.com/Ada-Enchantress-Numbers-Selection-Description/dp/0912= 647094 It's fascinating. More to the point, we're acquiring through commission a lifesize bust of Ada by Tracy H. Sugg. See http://tracyhsugg.com/gallery.php for some of her work. I'm curious if the readers here know what interest there might be in editions of the piece if they were available in the $3500 range (white clay, not bronze as the pictures; bronze jumps the price to the $8k range). E.g for university computer science and upscale industrial spaces. As best I can tell there exists no similar item available for sale. Thanks.