h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Ada Lovelace - Mathematician and Computer Scientist - A87822561
Author: SashaQ - Badged - U9936370

My Entry for this month's Create Challenge, on 'the first computer programmer'.

Well done excellent entry very interesting, plenty of history

This is an interesting entry, Sasha. I knew very little about Ada Lovelace, and now I know some more.

The entry gives the impression that Babbage built the Analytic Engine and that Ada wrote programs for it. I believe that Babbage designed the Engine but never built it, and if this is the case it should be mentioned in the entry.

Describing the "Ada" computer language as a military language is slightly misleading. It was commissioned by the American Department of Defence, but it is a general purpose programming language. It is designed for extreme reliability and is used in places where the computer systems must not fail, such as in air traffic control.

A few minor points to do with word choice:

"the most accurate log tables and navigational tables ever before seen" - remove the word "before"

"The Mullaqa of Imru al Qays" -- in the entry you link to, it is spelled "Muallaqa" and the man's name is spelled "Wilfred" rather than "Wilfrid". Can you check these? If the other entry is wrong, we can get it changed.

"Laudanum" - there's no need for a capital letter on this.

"Even though she never really knew her father, as she was so young when Byron separated from Annabella, she became familiar with his poetry and had a portrait of him." - this reads oddly because it is after she died. Change it to "she had become familiar".

"Unlike the Difference Engine, which could carry out computations as long as they could be expressed in terms of addition and subtraction," -- there should be an "only" in there somewhere, as the Analytic Engine could also do this. Perhaps "only if they could be expressed".

This will be very good addition to the guide, first a couple quibbles;

>Her tutors included William Frend, who had taught mathematics to Annabella, and later the mathematician Mary Somerville1, and Augustus de Morgan,
professor of mathematics in London2.<

This is a bit ambiguous, it can be read either that Ada was taught by Frend, and later by Somerville and then de Morgan, or that all three were taught by Frend. I believe you intended the first, however it could by clarified by an additional word or two.


>for example Jacquard weaving looms and the dancing Silver Lady that Charles Babbage bought and showed off at his home.<

I would like to see a footnote about 'the dancing Silver Lady' as I have no idea what this is. (I could do a search, but it would be better if it was explained here)

>the Analytical Engine was to run off cards, enabling much more variety of computation to take place <

As I am old enough to know you mean 'punch cards' it would be good if you added the clarification at the first mention of them, after that the simple 'cards' will be fine.

Thanks again for offering this.



F S

Thanks Gnomon

Very good point about me not making it clear that the Analytical Engine was never built - I have amended the introduction and changed the case in the section discussing the Engine to hopefully clarify that it was theoretical rather than practical work.

I also found the Ada website, so I have amended the paragraph on the Programming Language

I changed the wording you suggested

Mullaqa was a typo so I changed that, but I did check up on Wilfred/Wilfrid before including his name - I found a mixture of both when I did a quick internet search, so I picked the most popular spelling... Another search today has shown me a photo of his autobiography and his Blue Plaque in London, which both have the spelling Wilfrid, so it looks like the other Entry needs amending

Thanks FS

I've tweaked the sentence about the tutors

I've added more detail about the Silver Lady and found a fantastic video of a similar automaton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOXqCuqDOiI

I was sure I'd written punched cards at least once, but I didn't, so I've added that in

I note here that the Muallaqa of Imru Al Qays Entry links to the unedited Entry about Ada Lovelace, so that will also need updating when an Edited Entry is available

Very nice, I like it. I thought I knew all about her, but while I knew about the computing & stuff, I didn't know that Lord Byron was her father! You really do learn something new every day.

This is interesting and informative. I'd heard of Ada Lovelace but didn't know much about her.

There are one or two sentences that could be clearer.
The sentence beginning 'she had been tutored' is a bit ambiguous. Did her education resume when she was in a wheelchair or on crutches?
I'd like to see a break in the sentence beginning 'Note B', after 'input'
In the same way, I'd like a break in the sentence beginning 'Note C', after 'sections'.

Just popping in to say, nice job! We needed this, so we can celebrate Ada Lovelace Day.

Thanks Jayne and Dmitri

Thanks MVP

I've added more detail to the paragraph about her illness when she was young

I tweaked the Note B paragraph, so hopefully that's better.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Well done SashaQ! I look forward to reading your next article.

<BB<

Congratulations.

Thanks everyone!