Probably an eclectic collection of random images, which are connected in so far as I think them rebloggable.
The Mostly Human Human
“If knowledge can create problems, it’s not through ignorance that we solve them.”
-Isaac Asimov
Happy National Science Fiction Day! Celebrate by reading the great writers that follow in Asimov’s genius footsteps, including the wonderful Octavia E. Butler,
Today would have been the 197th birthday of Ada Lovelace, the woman generally considered to be the worlds first computer programmer.
Lovelace (1815-1852) was born Augusta Ada Byron, the only legitimate child of Annabella Milbanke and the poet Lord Byron. Her mother, Lady Byron, had mathematical training (Byron called her his ‘Princess of Parallelograms’) and insisted that Ada, who was tutored privately, study mathematics too - an unusual education for a woman.
In 1844 a paper was published by an author known only as A.A.L. It described the Analytical Engine, a hypothetical machine designed by a mathematician called Charles Babbage.
In the paper A.A.L. described a set of commands that would enable it to handle complex operations and equations.
It wasn’t until twenty years after her death that A.A.L was revealed to have been Augusta Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron.
Although Babbage’s machine was never actually built, the commands Lovelace created for it is widely considered the worlds first computer program.
It calculated Bernoulli numbers. You can read the program here. The paper is here; the program is in note G.
You have the scene arrange itself — as it will seem to do—
With ‘I have saved this afternoon for you’…”
(Source: proustitute)
Me: …and then just copy and paste it into the editor box.
Client: How do I copy and paste?
Me: Select the text and press Ctrl-C, click the editor box, and then press Ctrl-V.
Client: WOW! This would’ve made my life so much easier at university!
