Why Don't We Call It Computer Adarithm?

At one time, the world had gender parity among computer programmers. And the female half of the first two coders, Ada Lovelace, in 1843 ushered in the age of the general-purpose computer by putting these prophetic words into print.

The Analytical Engine might act upon other things besides number…{, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations, and which should be also susceptible of adaptations to the action of the operating notation and mechanism of the engine…} Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent.

Augusta Ada Byron, daughter of poet Lord Byron and later Countess of Lovelace, recognized her friend CharlesBabbage’s Analytical Engine as the first programmable general-purpose computer capable of more than just math. Numbers could represent other things.

By including detailed steps to program the Engine to solve a number of problems, she became the first person in history to publish a computer algorithm.

So why does the word for a finite sequence of well-defined, unambiguous, computer-implementable instructions derive from Latinizing the name of Iranian mathematician al-Khwarizmi? Yes, his translated books were widely read in Europe in the late Middle Ages. One of them, Algoritmi de Numero Indorum (Latin for Algoritmi on the Numbers of the Indians) made “Algorism,” his name in English, the word for performing arithmetic with decimal numbers. Very different from computing by machine, though.

Why don't we call it an Adarithm? Did her gender deprive Ada of this honor? Let’s look at the path this early inspirational woman in tech took to become the first published computer scientist.

Days of Our Lovelace

As a woman far ahead of her time, Ada’s private life packed enough drama for her own reality TV show. In 1815, Lord Byron expected a “glorious boy” and showed his disappointment about a girl. Readers of Cyberspiracy know a similar story. He didn't love his kid, although he did name her Augusta after his half-sister and supposed lover. His Lordship separated from his wife within months.

Illnesses haunted Ada from early childhood on. Headaches affected her vision. Measles left her paralyzed. Despite her ailments, she developed her mathematical and technological skills in a time that barred women from higher education. Her main tutor, another noted woman in tech, researcher and author Mary Somerville.

Like any twelve years old with dreams, Ada reached for the stars. She wanted to fly and methodically pursued her passion. To construct wings, she investigated various materials like paper, oilsilk, and feathers. She examined the anatomy of birds, memorializing her efforts in an illustrated book, Flyology. A steam-driven flying horse, anyone?

With her talents, a teenage Ada befriended other noted British thinkers.

• Scientist Michael Faraday, who researched electromagnetism.
• Author Charles Dickens, who wrote classics like A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist.
• And, most important, the “father of computers” Charles Babbage, who bestowed upon her the titles “Lady Fairy” and “Enchantress of Number.”

Popular at Court, Ada flirted with scandals. Her liberal views of extra-marital relationships led to rumors of affairs worthy of a modern-day soap opera.

1835 she married William, 8th Baron King. Herself a descendant of the Barons Lovelace, her title was revived three years later when they were made Earl and Countess of Lovelace.

Of course, like most programmers, she loved games. And like any hacker worth her random salt, she looked for cheats. But disastrous results from her mathematical model to bet on horses left her thousands of pounds in debt to the gambling syndicate she'd formed with male friends.

Fortunately for her, mob-ruled Las Vegas came along 100 years past her time. She only suffered the embarrassment of admitting her losses to her husband.

Poetical Science

Ada deeply believed that intuition and imagination were critical to effectively applying mathematical and scientific concepts. She wove together an imaginative mix of different fields into what she called “poetical science.” It led her to examine how individuals and society relate to technology.

I may remark that the curious transformations many formulae can undergo, … {the unsuspected and to a beginner apparently impossible identity of forms exceedingly dissimilar at first sight, is I think one of the chief difficulties in the early part of mathematical studies. }I am often reminded of certain sprites and fairies one reads of…

Italian engineer and future Prime Minister Luigi Menabrea's description of the Analytical Engine led to her article. To womansplain her insights to other scientists who had yet to grasp or care for the complicated technology, she spent nine months on a translation. More familiar with the machine, she corrected some errors and expanded on the design. Her own appended notes, including the algorithms, quadrupled the length of the text.

The bigger picture that Babbage failed to see excited Ada, the potential of a “computing machine” beyond pure calculations.

For example, she pursued the relationship of math and music until the end of her short life. What would she say today now that artificial intelligence (AI) finished a composition based on Beethoven’s draft of a tenthsymphony? Particularly, since another of her notes seems to dismiss AI.

The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.

The First Adarithm

So, why didn’t Ada’s pioneering work in computing immortalize her instead of al-Khwarizmi? A number of conspiracy theories spring to mind.

First, Lady Lovelace’s name doesn't appear at all in the September 1843 edition of Taylor's Scientific Memoirs. She called herself “Translator” on the title page and signed her notes with her initials “A.A.L.” Female authors continue this gender-neutral practice to this day (Can you say 50 Shades of Coding?). So the boys got all the credit, but let’s face it, “Menabrithm” and “Babbagrithm” are mouthfuls.

Moreover, Babbage wrote most of the algorithms she published, as evidenced by his personal notes and letters. Technically, Ada is the world’s second programmer.

But yours truly has uncovered a much more fanciful tale. For Ada met Doc Brown during his time travels and borrowed his DeLorean to make her own trip Back to the Future. While flying over Washington, DC, she found its most mathematical building, the Pentagon, irresistible. The programmers there fell for her charm and intellect and named their new object-oriented programming language after her. They also added one of the earliest government Easter eggs, a message hidden in an electronic medium. The number of the Department of Defense Military Standard for ADA, MIL-STD-1815, matches her birth year.

Such honors so flattered Lady Lovelace that upon returning to her time, she rejected any use of her name for other programming terms to not bias them toward her language.

As an aside (and shameless plug for my novels), on her trip Ada also became an avid reader of Cyberspiracy. Don't belief me? I have incontrovertible proof. Why else would she call her daughter Anne Isabella by the nickname Annabella? Don't give me the lame excuse that she got it from her mother Annabella Milbanke Byron when my explanation is so much more fun and exciting. That’s my story and I'm sticking to it. At least until the next Ada Lovelace Day. The second Tuesday in October has become a celebration of the contributions of women to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

If you want more inspiration (and fun and excitement), check out www.Cyberspiracy.com,.