Wonderful Women Of The World: Ada – The Enchantress of Numbers
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 16th, 2010
We rely on our computers big time. In fact I always say, as many of you probably do too, “How did we ever get along without them?” Lots of paper and a lot of white out, plus many trips to the library :). But do you really know how the computer came about?
A few weeks ago I saw an interesting movie called “Conceiving Ada”. Ada was known as the “Enchantress of Numbers”. Born in the early 1800′s Ada Augusta Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, was a woman fascinated with mathematics and science, a woman who shunned the traditional roles that the Victorian era pushed her to lead.
Her brilliance and daring personality drove her, and her vision inspired her to not only to write what is now known as the first computer language, but she predicted its use in music, poetry and art as well. Pretty amazing…
So this week I want to honor Ada Augusta Byron King, as a Wonderful Woman of the World. Without her remarkable vision and insight that far exceeded an understanding of the technology available in her lifetime, we may not have the computer today.
“The redeeming gift of humanity is the ability for each generation to recreate itself.”
~Ada Augusta Byron King
Intrigued? Here’s a little more about Ada:
Born: London, England, December 10, 1815
Died: London, England, November 27, 1852
Analyst, Metaphysician, and Founder of Scientific Computing
Ada Byron was the daughter of a brief marriage between the Romantic poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabelle Milbanke, who separated from Byron just a month after Ada was born. Four months later, Byron left England forever. Ada never met her father (who died in Greece in 1823) and was raised by her mother, Lady Byron. Her life was an apotheosis of struggle between emotion and reason, subjectivism and objectivism, poetics and mathematics, ill health and bursts of energy.
Lady Byron wished her daughter to be unlike her poetical father, and she saw to it that Ada received tutoring in mathematics and music, as disciplines to counter dangerous poetic tendencies. But Ada’s complex inheritance became apparent as early as 1828, when she produced the design for a flying machine. It was mathematics that gave her life its wings.
Lady Byron and Ada moved in an elite London society, one in which gentlemen not members of the clergy or occupied with politics or the affairs of a regiment were quite likely to spend their time and fortunes pursuing botany, geology, or astronomy. In the early nineteenth century there were no “professional” scientists (indeed, the word “scientist” was only coined by William Whewell in 1836)–but the participation of noblewomen in intellectual pursuits was not widely encouraged.
One of the gentlemanly scientists of the era was to become Ada’s lifelong friend. Charles Babbage, Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge, was known as the inventor of the Difference Engine, an elaborate calculating machine that operated by the method of finite differences. Ada met Babbage in 1833, when she was just 17, and they began a voluminous correspondence on the topics of mathematics, logic, and ultimately all subjects.
In 1835, Ada married William King, ten years her senior, and when King inherited a noble title in 1838, they became the Earl and Countess of Lovelace. Ada had three children. The family and its fortunes were very much directed by Lady Byron, whose domineering was rarely opposed by King.
Babbage had made plans in 1834 for a new kind of calculating machine (although the Difference Engine was not finished), an Analytical Engine. His Parliamentary sponsors refused to support a second machine with the first unfinished, but Babbage found sympathy for his new project abroad. In 1842, an Italian mathematician, Louis Menebrea, published a memoir in French on the subject of the Analytical Engine. Babbage enlisted Ada as translator for the memoir, and during a nine-month period in 1842-43, she worked feverishly on the article and a set of Notes she appended to it. These are the source of her enduring fame.
Ada called herself “an Analyst (& Metaphysician),” and the combination was put to use in the Notes. She understood the plans for the device as well as Babbage but was better at articulating its promise. She rightly saw it as what we would call a general-purpose computer. It was suited for “developping [sic] and tabulating any function whatever. . . the engine [is] the material expression of any indefinite function of any degree of generality and complexity.” Her Notes anticipate future developments, including computer-generated music.
Ada died of cancer in 1852, at the age of 37, and was buried beside the father she never knew. Her contributions to science were resurrected only recently, but many new biographies* attest to the fascination of Babbage’s “Enchantress of Numbers.”
Readers: FYI…from what I have been reading, a new film about Ada is about to be released, starring Zooey Deschanel playing the Enchantress of Numbers. Speaking of films, did any of you check out Enemies Of The People? I would love to hear your opinion.
Thoughts? Comments on anything? Blog me.
Zen Lill: Happy Birthday!
Yancy, Larry: I don’t have any photos of Zen Lill. When ZL sends me photos and asks me to post them, I do. Instead of accusing me of being jealous, why don’t you direct your question to her? Perhaps she’ll tell you.
Peace out…
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 16th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Thanks Mischa!
I’m up early bc I had a flash of brilliance re: my lifechanger project due to unfold hopefully end of month, this month (I hope, have been some minor setbacks, not to worry though…) : )
The day is already in play, I came home last night to a Buddha fountain with a lit up lotus flower bubbling water and glowing on my back deck : ) very Zen indeed…that was followed by raspberry white chocolate cheesecake and then a videotaping of me singing Shakira’s Waka Waka (this one for Africa) : ) its hilarious and I may just post it on youtube for evryone else’s amusement, my dance moves had my kid in stitches and her laugh makes me laugh : ) I also received a military jacket with a fur collar in an olive green that matches my eyes as pointed out by the giver, love it…!
Yancy and Larry, trust me, Ms Mischa has nothing to be jealous of, my GF has a very hot bod and face of her own and I’d say between us we probably cover a good percentage of male fantasies : ) spinner/strapper, petite/Amazonian, dark hair/enchanting light eyes and blondie/dark and penetrating olive eyes, good smiles all around and we both have seriously long legs based on height ratios – so nah, no reason at all for jealousy. All that and more inportantly (if you are a female) we’re both high in IQ AND EQ, how do you like them apples? tee hee…and….hmmm, I did mention that my computer crashed last week and my pics are currently all only in my iPhone camera roll marked ‘private’ bc that’s what they are ; ) and until I can get someone to help me sync my phone without deleting all of my pics that is where they will stay.
Ok, well I was promised brekkie in bed by a certain eleven year old but she’s sleeping and I’m hungry so i’ll sign off for today.
Horace, thank you for getting me : ) I appreciate that. We all have egos and I try to keep mine at bay, and being a typical Libra chickie that I am I see all sides of almost every situation, it’s all about balance (or passion) and perspective (and not always wanting mine to ‘win’ over anyone elses bc we all have a point), therefore the best way to contribute is to speak from the heart and hope to be understood (for a moment).
On my birthday : ) I would like to say that while I have often said that going to the gym over the past several years has saved my life which it did and does in many ways, now I’ll say that this blog has served that same purpose at trying times in my life also, I keep what’s private and personal off blog and so if I seem here to be some blathering blond to some of you, well I would suggest that maybe…you should think again. I’d say more but that would be blowing my own privacy : )
Luv, Zen Lill
October 16th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Oh duh, love the story of Ada, love the saturday dedication to women of the world also : ) – ZL
October 16th, 2010 at 10:26 am
How a Top Brain Doc Protects His Own Brain from Cancer
Keith Black, MD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
A large study that examined data over a 20-year period found that the incidence of brain tumors had increased by 200% in older adults.
In people age 19 years and younger, brain tumors now are the second most common cause of cancer deaths after leukemia.
But is brain cancer really on the rise — or simply more likely to be detected? A noted expert explains the latest research — and tells what he does to protect his own brain…
IS THE INCREASE REAL?
CT scans are an important tool for diagnosing brain tumors. Before they were introduced in the 1970s, many patients with tumors might have been misdiagnosed as having strokes or other neurological diseases.
The increased use of CT scans — along with MRIs and brain biopsies — may have caused an apparent increase in brain tumors.
Using research that took into account better imaging technology, scientists at the National Brain Tumor Registry concluded that the incidence of new tumors has remained stable.
The National Cancer Institute Brain Tumor Study actually found a slight decrease in the incidence of brain tumors between 1990 and 2002.
However, the data is murky. There does appear to be an increase in brain tumors in some populations, but it still is unclear if this is due to better diagnostic tests or other factors.
We know that secondary brain tumors (those that originate in other parts of the body before spreading to the brain) are about five times more common than primary tumors (ones that originate in the brain and tend to stay in the brain) — in part, because many people with cancer now are living long enough for the cancer to spread to the brain.
About 30% of those who die from breast cancer are later found to have evidence of brain cancer. With lung cancer, about 60% will be found at autopsy to have had the cancer spread to the brain.
REDUCE THE RISK
Primary brain cancers are relatively rare, accounting for about 2% of all cancers. Each year, about 19,000 Americans are diagnosed with a primary brain cancer.
Sadly, only about one-third of patients with brain or other nervous system cancers survive more than five years.
Brain tumors are difficult to treat. Surgery isn’t always possible or effective, because these tumors tend to grow rapidly and invade large areas of brain tissue.
Unlike other blood vessels in the body, those in the brain are selective in what they allow to pass. This so-called blood-brain barrier makes it difficult to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to brain tumors.
The causes of brain cancer are largely unknown, but there are some clear risk factors…
Dental X-rays. Most dentists routinely use X-rays during checkups. The danger: Radiation scatters and can potentially irradiate — and damage — brain cells.
Even low-dose X-rays may increase the risk for gliomas (a type of brain tumor) and meningiomas (tumors that develop in the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord).
I tell my dentist, flat-out, that I don’t want X-rays. An occasional X-ray probably isn’t harmful, but no one should get them routinely.
Air pollution. At Cedars-Sinai, we’re doing a study now to look at the association between air pollution and brain cancers.
We see molecular changes in the brains of rats after three months of exposure to air pollution that are similar to the changes we see just prior to the development of brain cancer.
Electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, cellular antennas and the like.
A Swedish study found that the risk for brain cancer is 250% higher in those who used a cell phone for up to an hour a day for 10 years.
This is controversial. Other, shorter-term studies have found no risk from cell-phone use. But we know that it typically takes 20 to 30 years before toxic exposures lead to cancer.
Cell phones haven’t been around long enough to know what the long-term consequences might be.
My advice: Use a wireless earpiece when talking on a cell phone. If you don’t use an earpiece, hold the phone as far away from your head as possible. The amount of radiation that reaches the brain drops significantly with distance.
Caution: Children have thinner skulls than adults. It’s easier for electromagnetic radiation from cell phones to penetrate a child’s skull and reach the brain.
It’s possible that even low levels of electromagnetic radiation can produce cancer-causing changes in brain cells. Children and young adults should always use an earpiece.
Hot dogs and other processed meats usually contain nitrites, substances that have been linked with brain tumors.
I like a hot dog as much as anyone, but moderation is important. Also, whenever possible, buy nitrite-free hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats.
Heating plastic in the microwave.
There isn’t direct evidence that using plastic containers in the microwave can increase brain tumors, but we know that the vinyl chloride in some plastics is a risk factor.
Personally, I don’t use plastic containers or cover foods with plastic wrap in the microwave.
Pregnant women should be especially careful. We’ve found in animal studies that adult females exposed to vinyl chloride or other carcinogens might not develop brain tumors themselves, but their offspring face a much higher risk.
Personal interviewed Keith Black, MD, chairman of the department of neurosurgery and director of Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
A former professor of neurosurgery at UCLA, he was named the Ruth and Raymond Stotter chair in the department of surgery and was head of the UCLA Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program. He is author, with Arnold Mann, of Brain Surgeon: A Doctor’s Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles (Wellness Central).
October 16th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Zen Lill,
I would like to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
I hope all is well with you. I haven’t been reading the blog so I do not know what is going on in your life, but I wish you the best of health and happiness for another year.
I haven’t forgotten you.
HOWIE
October 17th, 2010 at 6:54 am
So if you really are Howie where is my man? What have you done with him?
Linda
October 17th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Nice to see you are back Howie. You remind me of the advice that we should always remember other people’s birthdays.
Oh and Michelle, yours are have a dog, and attend Class reunions.
Also you compliment others a lot. I like that.
Jack
October 17th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Greetings to you, Howie. I do hope you are well.