Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day on October 8, 2024

Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who is considered by many to be the first computer programmer. She was a big believer in imagination being a part of the discovery process. Her curiosity and her intellect allowed her to make many friends and connections to pursue her interests. She was a pioneer in the field of computer science, a true visionary and a personal hero.

The Analytical Engine might act upon other things beside 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.

She met Charles Babbage at eighteen years old and was fascinated by his analytical engine.  In her published notes on an article she was translating about the analytical engine, she made her mark on computer science. In it, she not only published an algorithm we now understand as the first published computer program. She saw potential in the analytical engine beyond calculating, she believed it could one day be used to perform any number of tasks such as make music.

Imagination is the Discovering Faculty, pre-eminently . . . It is that which feels & discovers what is, the REAL which we see not, which exists not for our senses. Mathematical science shows what is. It is the language of the unseen relations between things . . . Imagination too shows what is . . . Hence she is or should be especially cultivated by the truly Scientific, those who wish to enter into the worlds around us!

She also believed that imagination was key to unlocking new discoveries. She saw a duality between science and imagination, and how they work together in any new advancement. Science allows us to see what is there and imagination what can be; both are necessary to progress.

A new, a vast, and a powerful language is developed for the future use of analysis, in which to wield its truths so that these may become of more speedy and accurate practical application for the purposes of mankind than the means hitherto in our possession have rendered possible.

It is truly incredible and inspiring how someone living two hundred years ago could see the implications of the analytical engine. She saw it as a powerful tool, not only for what it was but also for what it could be. She saw how programming is essentially a language you use to communicate with a machine.  She foresaw how such communication could speed up how quickly we can analyze data leading to powerful new discoveries. In 1980, a programming language, Ada, was created for the US Department of Defense and it is still in use today.

I am never really satisfied that I understand anything; because understand it well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand about the many connections and relations which occur to me.

More than anything, she has been an inspiration to always be reaching, to always be learning, to always be curious. We are a work in progress and that can propel us forward. She is an example of how curiosity can allow us to not only grow in our skills but it can also allow us to see connections between disciplines that are not usually connected together. She saw as much beauty in numbers as she did in poetry.

She saw a future where machines could be used to make those connections more easily. We are living in that future.