Thanks to the publicity of Ada Lovelace Day, I have a new obsession. For those of you who don't know, Ada Lovelace was the daughter of Lord Byron (the Romantic poet, y'know). Her mother didn't want her to turn out anything like dear old dad (incestuous, moody man-ho), so she immersed her in math and sciences. She turned out quite the mathematician. Eventually, Ada ran into Charles Babbage, who invented something like the computer way back in the 19th century day. Ada invented something like programming.So, today I ran into this comic book style history of Babbage and it warmed the cockles of my heart that Ada is there, presented as a lot more witty and level-headed (and maybe a bit more visionary) than Babbage. And it's on the BBC site... maybe someone will read it... maybe someone will care... maybe a girl will do math and think it's awesome sauce.
As for me, my radar is permanently on the alert for weird 18th and 19th visions of future technology. For example, the other day I ran into Erasmus Darwin's idea for a steam car and submarine in The Economy of Vegetation. And then of course there's the early 19th C. The Mummy! by Jane Loudon: it's got neon, rubber air mattresses, space travel, telegraphs, robots, air conditioning, and women in pants, to name a few things. And I don't know why these things amuse me so much. But every time I spot one when I'm reading, I practically jump out of my seat.
I think I'm going to have to go steam punk. Even though it won't be the same, as anachronism and prescience are not the same thing.
Bah!
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