Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist

Ada Lovelace is widely regarded as an early pioneer of computer science, due to an 1843 paper about Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which, had it been built, would have been a general-purpose computer. Her paper contains an account of the principles of the machine, along with a table often described as ‘the first computer program’. However, over the years there has been considerable disagreement among scholars as to her mathematical proficiency, with opinions ranging from ‘genius’ to ‘charlatan’. This talk presents an analysis of Lovelace’s extant mathematical writings and will attempt to convey a more nuanced assessment of her mathematical abilities than has hitherto been the case.

 

We begin with conversation and a light supper (donation $10.00).