Month: October 2011

Today (Oct. 7) is Ada Lovelace Day, in commemoration of the 19^th-Century British mathematician who collaborated with Charles Babbage to create the early mechanical computer the Analytical Engine by writing algorithms. Because of this she is often called the first ‘computer programmer’. This Day aims to raise of the profile of women in science, technology, engineering and maths, who are still underrepresented in these professions.

See my previous post of Lovelace quoted in this year’s Venice Biennale here

AND read Sydney Padua’s highly irregular , wild and wonderful webcomic about Ada’s life & times. This series has been running for over 2 years and has been hailed one of the best webcomics on the net. The amount of effort and artistry that goes into this work is truly inspiring.

Ada Lovelace Day is about giving heroines the credit they deserve, so why not visit the site FindingAda and share your story about a woman whether an engineer, a scientist, a technologist or mathematician who has inspired you to become who you are today. I’m nominating Prof. Jane Plant, one of Britain’s most eminent scientists, who offered scientific proof of dairy-free diets as a cure and prevention for breast cancer. Her first book Your Life in Your Hands was groundbreaking, daring as it did to challenge the status quo. I cannot recommend this book (and her subsequent ones) highly enough, particularly if you have a history of this hideous disease in your family. It changed the way I eat and gave me hope for a future free from disease