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New Research Explodes Myths About Ada Lovelace (ox.ac.uk)
Two mathematics historians investigated the Lovelace-Byron family archives (which are available online) to confirm the early mathematical prowess of Ada Lovelace for two scholarly journals. Slashdot reader bugs2squash shares a post from the Oxford Mathematical Institute:
The work challenges widespread claims that Lovelace's mathematical abilities were more "poetical" than practical, or indeed that her knowledge was so limited that Babbage himself was likely to have been the author of the paper that bears her name. The authors pinpoint Lovelace's keen eye for detail, fascination with big questions, and flair for deep insights, which enabled her to challenge some deep assumptions in her teacher's work. They suggest that her ambition, in time, to do significant mathematical research was entirely credible, though sadly curtailed by her ill-health and early death.
Ada Lovelace died in London at age 36.
Ada Lovelace died in London at age 36.
I don't know why academia idolizes her. In her later years, she had an affair which was an open secret with a man outside of her marriage and was a well known gambler. Her first "algorithms" were for large bets that she subsequently lost. Finding herself in heavy levels of debt, she had to run back to her husband to bail her out.
On her death bed, she whispered something to her husband that caused him to leave her in her last hours. Her "supposed" lover also burned all of the letters she had sent him.
Because none of that has fuck-all to do with her skills in the mathematics?
Even in a bet - she would have known the odds of losing.
"Woman can't be famous scholar, because she likes a bit on the side"? Really?
Go look at Hawking's personal life, nobody questions that.
Agreed, I think people get too involved in the gender politics and they completely miss the beauty of a relationship where the sum of two minds joined together become greater than it's parts. This constant barrage of gender politics of women do this better and men do that better rubbish must stop. The reality is when a man and a woman work together we become so much more than just what our gender. All this wall building between the sexes that Universities are pushing is just horrendous and naive to say the least. People are going to never have the chance to experience the beauty of surrendering part of yourself to another and experiencing 4 arms one mind two bodies.
Well and beautifully said.
And may I add: Equality of the sexes is a given, it shouldn't even be a question. Equal and fair treatment, likewise. But the preaching of hatred and divisiveness that goes on in some gender studies curricula serves neither women nor men.