Technology and social development up to now, it is not difficult to find that modern people's lives have been closely linked to computers and their derived science. Algorithms, data, code... The post-90s and post-00s seem to naturally understand these terms, and even become the "natives" of the Internet.
So, in the torrent of the history of science and technology, who typed the first line of code? Who was the first programmer in history? How did the whimsy of using programs to run computers come about? For these questions, the Commercial Press's new book, Edda Lovelace: The First Programmer in History, should give a full answer.
Edda Lovelaces: The First Programmer in History, by Christopher Hollins, Ursula Martin, and Adrian Rice, translated by Ke Zunke and Shan Wen, August 2021 edition of the Commercial Press.
As a child, Ida had developed a great interest in mathematics
The book is divided into nine chapters, the first of which provides an overview of the scientific advances of Edda Lovelace's time, especially the strong atmosphere of mathematical learning, which provides a footnote to her mathematical talents; the second to the ninth chapters review Edda's upbringing, from her mathematical childhood, to her academic exchanges with her mentors and peers, and finally the process of writing the first program and its impact on future generations. The author presents a large number of archives, important communication materials, mathematical models and drawings, etc., for us to outline the short and brilliant life of the first programmer in history, Edda Lovelace. There are also a large number of mathematical principles and formulas in the book, but the translator uses accurate and poetic language to integrate it into the specific plot, making the seemingly difficult mathematics approachable. Therefore, when reading, readers can use it as a biography of a person, or as a mathematical popular science book, enjoying the mystery and wonder of mathematics.
Edda Lovelace, born in London in 1815, daughter of the Romantic poet Byron, has been interested in mathematics since childhood. Although she later became a distinguished countess, she was not satisfied with the lady's social interaction, but had close contact with scientists. Even in the first half of the 19th century, when the status of women could not be compared with today, Ida still used her own efforts to write her own pen in the history of science. Her first set of "programs" was published in 1843. She is often referred to as "the first programmer".
The biggest feature of the author's biography of Ida is not simply to narrate Ida's personal experience according to the timeline, but to place her in the era at all times, and to consider the reasons and significance of the emergence of female scientists at that time with a historical perspective.
The title of the second chapter of the book is "Mathematical Childhood." Before that, the authors depicted an era of science, which could even be called the "age of mathematics." At that time, not only the scientific elite, but also more and more ordinary people, both men and women, were keen to learn new ideas. In particular, the status of mathematics is increasing, and people are gradually aware of the importance of mathematics and its role in the study of natural and social phenomena. Young people who have had the opportunity to receive an education have studied algebra, solved simple equations, or been exposed to geometry during astronomical observations.
Ida grew up in such a mathematical era. As a child, the "bright and cheerful" Ida had developed a great interest in mathematics. At the age of five or six, under the guidance of her tutor, "she can already do the summation of five or six lines of numbers, and the calculation process is methodical and accurate." At the age of ten, she began consulting the "rule of three numbers" (i.e., the equivalence relationship) in correspondence with her mother. At the age of twelve, Edda became exposed to Euclidean geometry and "found it very interesting". While she admits to being "a little afraid of the theorems," she is also determined to "do my best to overcome them boldly." The author proves with many details that Edda is a smart, curious and tenacious child, and she is destined to continue to learn more advanced mathematics and enjoy it.
Growing up, in a pleas for help to her mother's friend Dr. William King, Eda expressed her desire to take pure math courses, including arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Because she was not satisfied with the usual learning methods of the time, she prepared for the exam by memorizing parts of Euclidean geometry by rote. Edda also became acquainted with Mary Somerville, probably the only woman in Britain at the time who could make money from mathematics and one of the first female members to be inducted into the Royal Astronomical Society. Even after their marriage, Eda and Somerville maintained correspondence for a long time. The author mentions these people, although it is to show the excellence of Edda, but in that era, even if Edda had wealth, status and independent ideas, accompanied by a husband who supported her, and even had close contact with the male and female scientific elite of the same era, she was still subject to the expectations of society and family at that time, and had to rely on friends to obtain a science education.
Portrait of Edda Lovelace
What is the most worthy place to write about and record about Edda?
Male scientists of Edda's contemporaries, especially her two teachers, Augustus de Morgan, known today for his "de Morgan's Law", and Charles Babbage, who invented the "analytical machine", were much more famous than Edda. So, in this context, what is the most worthy place to write and record about Edda? The author's point is that Edda Lovelace's mathematical achievements demonstrate her scientific commitment to excellence and her commitment to solving problems and solving major problems from the basic principles.
Edda's correspondence with her teacher, de Morgan, clearly documented the difficulties Ida encountered in the initial basic mathematics and how she learned in the process of overcoming them. Edda sometimes feels that "all my time is in vain" and has complained that some equations are "complete nonsense" But she eventually learned how to learn: learn slowly, learn from mistakes, and have a realistic judgment of her abilities. The author analyzes that from the beginning, Edda has a thirst for knowledge, positive energy, and even a little hasty, "I really wish I could learn a little faster." But after de Morgan's guidance, Edda finally understood that he should take it slow.
As his mathematical knowledge grew, Edda was even able to point out the mistake of his teacher de Morgan, whose hypothesis about the "principle of eternity of equivalent forms" was highly flawed. What makes the author think that it is most divine is Edda's questioning of the "principle of eternity", which successfully predicts the formulation of the "quaternion" and thus promotes the development of "vector". From this, she has been able to discover mathematical problems that even experts ignore. Of course, some of the research cannot be attributed to Edda, but her initial astonishing predictions all show extraordinary insight.
Edda also discussed with de Morgan several articles on "series", "operation", "indifference", and "Bernoulli number", all of which showed her increasing mathematical knowledge and extraordinary understanding. The issues discussed in the letter would later become the subject of Edda's only published work.
Probably inheriting her father's poetry, Edda's mathematical research was full of imagination. In exploring the theory behind the rainbow, she has been able to think "Is it because the viewer's eyes are right in the center of the circle where the rainbow arc is?" Edda even considered writing mathematical poetry: "It's a unique form of poetry, probably more philosophical and advanced than anything else in the world." In a letter to her mother, she said: "I suppose you will not agree with me to write any philosophical poems, and you will say that it is simply counterintuitive!" Where is there a poetic philosophy, a poetic science? This passage is very famous and fully reflects the breadth of Edda's mathematical thinking.
Edda's best-known achievement: programming analytical machines
In the seventh chapter of the book, the author details Eda's process of programming the analytical machine. This is also Edda's most well-known achievement.
Another of Edda's mentors, Charles Babbage, wanted to create a new type of computer, the analytical machine. Its principle is consistent with the basic operation and operation of today's computers. That is, the analytical machine should be a mechanical general-purpose computer that Alan Turing calls, programmed through punched cards.
In a lecture, Babbage introduced the principles of the analytical machine to the European continent. The Italian scientist Luigi Menabrea wrote a French-language scientific report, Introduction to the Analytical Machine. Edda and Babbage translated the article together. The article consists of 66 pages, of which 41 pages of notes were completed by Edda. Annotations are marked with the letters A through G, the most famous of which is "Annotation G", which describes how the analyzer is programmed by calculating Bernoulli numbers. This process is represented by a huge number table.
This table of numbers is considered "the first computer program", and Ida gives a more precise description: "This table implements all the continuous changes in the parts of the machine during the operation". In other words, this table is what today's computer scientists call "execution tracking." If there was a "program" at that time, then the "program" of the analyzer should consist of a punch card, thus ensuring the continuous operation of the machine. The translation of Introduction to the Analytical Machine not only highlights Edda's dedication to mathematical details, but also reflects her imagination in thinking about larger pictures.
The author also acknowledges that Edda's essay was inevitably high and low in that era. But nearly two centuries later, the article is easy to read. It covers algebra, mathematics, logic, and even philosophy, with an introduction to the invariant principles of general-purpose computers, a detailed description of the so-called "first computer program", and an overview of data, cards, memory, and programming practices.
The number table in Edda Lovelace's "Annotation G" "Graphical analysis machine calculates Bernoulli numbers", i.e. "the earliest computer program".
Regrettably, less than a decade after writing "Note G", Edda Lovelace died young at the age of 36 due to illness. Admittedly, she did not achieve anything profound in her life—never made any major mathematical or scientific discoveries. But as the letters and manuscripts in this book show, Edda's insight and understanding of mathematics was almost unique to the women of that era. In this way, Edda's poem "Rainbow" may be the best portrayal of her life: "A hidden light never goes out, with the purest color, through the clouds!" ”
Thus, at the end of the book, while regretting that Eda did not achieve more, the author is more praising her achievements and asking the reader a question worth reflecting on: Why are there so few talented women in that era who have the opportunity to achieve? I believe that every reader who reads "Edda Lovelace: The First Programmer in History" will have their own answer to this question.
Author 丨 Sun Siqing
Editor 丨 Chongming
Proofreading 丨 Liu Jun