Top Ten Geek Girls

TurboPatrol writes "CNET have published a list of the Top Ten Girl Geeks throughout history. The winners include the elegant Ada Byron (the world's first computer programmer), Grace Hopper (invented the compiler) and Lisa Simpson (invented the perpetual motion machine — well, in the world of cartoons). Some of the entries are fascinating, for example Marie Curie apparently used to carry plutonium in her jacket pockets. Have they missed anyone out?" At least two entries on the list are stupid. I guess someone thought they were funny.

Comments

Plutonium? Unlikely

[91degrees]

Plutonium was created in the 1940's. Marie Curie died in the 1930's.

What is interesting, in a disturbiung way, is that Marie Curies workbooks that she used while discovering radium are still considered dangerously radioactive.

Hedy Lamar

[Hazrek]

Seriously, Paris Hilton and Lisa Simpson, but they snubbed Hedy Lamar? I mean seriously, how can you top a gorgeous movie star geek?

Hedy Lamarr (November 9, 1913 - January 19, 2000) was an Austrian/American actress and communications technology innovator. Though known primarily for her great beauty, she also co-invented the first form of spread spectrum, a key to modern wireless communication.

Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil received U.S. patent #2,292,387 for their Secret Communication System. This early version of frequency hopping used a piano roll to change between 88 frequencies and was intended to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect or jam. The patent was little-known until recently because Lamarr applied for it under her then-married name of Hedy Kiesler Markey. Neither Lamarr nor Antheil made any money from the patent. It had expired by the time the U.S. military barely began using this system after 1962. It took electronics technology a long time to catch up with the concept.

Lamarr's frequency-hopping idea served as the basis for modern spread-spectrum communication technology used in devices ranging from cordless telephones to WiFi Internet connections. In 1997, the two of them received an EFF Pioneer Award for the invention.

Now that's hot, Paris.

Where TF is....

[gr8_phk]

Sophie Germain was quite the math geek - even has a type of prime number named after her. Had to use a psedonym because women weren't supposed to be mathematicians back then. Clearly the folks who wrote the article didn't do any real research.

Re:Grace Hopper

[theAtomicFireball]

A woman invented COBOL? This does not surprise me. *ducks*

Actually, no, the article is wrong. Grace Hopper did many incredible things, but she didn't actually invent COBOL. She did, however, come up with the idea that computer programming languages could be designed that were more like English and, thus, be easier to use. I would say that is a much greater accomplishment. She also created a language called FLOW-MATIC that was a precursor to COBOL, and which strongly influenced the CODASYSL committe who created COBOL. So, COBOL was created by a committee (of men), but many of the basic concepts and ideas that are fundamental to most of the technology you use today was, in fact, invented by a pretty damn amazing woman.

Hedy Lamarr

[DaChesserCat]

She was originally married to a German weapons supplier. Consequently, she knew about things like tanks and torpedoes.

Came up with what we now call frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology, trying to make a torpedo which could be directed after launch, but couldn't be jammed.

Reasonably good actress. Brainy as all hell. Drop-dead gorgeous.

Now THERE'S a Geek Girl rolemodel who simply needs better publicity.

Paris Hilton? BAH! Asia Carrera!

[Vrallis]

Whoever put Paris Hilton on the list needs to be shot. If you want a REAL geek girl who also shows the goods go for (SFW), the self-described "nerd of porn."