Even computers were born from a woman
No wonder, it’s “motherboard”, not “fatherboard”
“The more I study, the more insatiable do I feel my genius for it to be”
The term “tech engineer” — like all engineer terms — is strongly related to a male-dominated profession. Although as the time went by the roles of women in our society has significantly risen, but this stigma still has strong presence in this millennia. However, do you know something interesting about it? The first programmer in the world, was a woman. Without her works, it can be said, the computer algorithm we know today wouldn’t be sitting comfortably on its desk as it is now.
The name is Ada Lovelace, a lady that was born from a British aristocratic couple, Lord George Byron and Annabella Milbanke in 1815. At that time, her father was longing for a boy and fell in disappointment when she was born. Thus, it was no surprise that Ada had never had close relationship with her father. Additionally, when Ada was just months old, she was taken out of home by her mother because of her father’s immoral behaviour at home.
Being the only child with a single parent, Ada was raised to have a sharp, critical mind. Therefore, although she had everything that any woman would love to have — wealth, nobility, luxury, and access to education — , she didn’t spend her life in a total bourgeoisie way.
As the time went by, she grew as a brilliant and smart woman. To fall in love with mathematics was surely not the ideal lifestyle for the most Victorian ladies. This unorthodox lifestyle has led her to be famously known by the intellectual society, like Andrew Crosse, Michael Faraday, to author Charles Dickens. However, the ultimate turning point was her meetings with “The Father of Computer”, Charles Babbage.
“Mathematical science shows what is. It is the language of unseen relations between things. But to use and apply that language, we must be able fully to appreciate, to feel, to seize the unseen, the unconscious.” — Ada Lovelace.
Together with Babbage, she developed a machine that was called Analytical Engine. Specifically, she worked on the algorithm that can make Analytical Engine able to calculate series of Bernoulli numbers. Lovelace became the first person which realised, that a machine could have greater ability than doing a simple calculation. And because of her finding, the embryo of “motherboard” was born. It kinda explained why it wasn’t named “fatherboard” at the first place.
It all began in 1842, when Lovelace and Babbage visited Italy to speak about their machine, Analytical Engine, in a seminar at University of Turin. In that event, she met Luigi Menabrea, a young Italian engineer that soon to be The Prime Minister, to translate his work.
However, what Lovelace did was beyond expectation. She added new elements into her work that invented a more complex, new work. The elements were known as the Note G diagram, where Lovelace carefully explained the algorithm that was used by Analytical Engine to calculate Bernoulli numbers.
Eventually, Note G is arguably considered by modern historians as the embryo model of the computer we know today. That makes Note G to be acknowledged as the first computer algorithm, and Ada Lovelace as the world’s first programmer.
“Understand well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand.” — Ada Lovelace
The story of Ada Lovelace has aged well. It is needless to say, that the socio-political situation in Victorian era and what we’re experiencing today has distinctive difference. In the first quarter of 21st century, the shift in stigma surrounding gender inequality between men and women has became clearer. Various campaigns to redefine the role of women in our society are getting more constantly voiced out. And no surprise, young female tech engineers are popping up all over the world now.
Even so, there are still many prospective Indonesian female tech engineers who do not have access to obtain facilities for an education in digital technology.
Reflecting to this phenomenon, a joint force between Binar Academy, Citibank, and Kitabisa has been assembled to empower more women through digital competence learning. This collaborative movement aims to give as many opportunity for Indonesian women by establishing special scholarship. The scholarship will cover transportation expense from candidates’ hometown to Yogyakarta, housing and living cost during the academic process, and technical facilities (e.g. laptop and smartphone for testing purpose).
If you are one of the women with high spirit of learning and need a hand to support your education, take advantage of this opportunity as possible by immediately register to Binar Academy.
Selamat hari Kartini, wanita Indonesia!
Binar Academy is a non-formal academy to revolutionize education and transform companies digitally.
We believe that education and collaboration is the most important key to become big in these days.
We provide several services to transform your company digitally by providing the human capital, technological knowledge and business advisory.
We are also a full scholarship tech academy where we teach students to build an app within 8 weeks.
Further inquiries? Visit us at www.binar.co.id or drop an inquiries at info@binar.co.id
