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> whence your posts here I assure you, your imputation is incorrect. You provide useful historical context, the history of automata is fascinating but is not

by deepnet 10y ago

> whence your posts here I assure you, your imputation is incorrect. You provide useful historical context, the history of automata is fascinating but is not in any way counterfactual to Lovelace's primacy. Automata certainly inspired A.I. & robotics, both the pioneers & modern roboticists like Tilden's BEAM and Brook's Behaviour-based robots, exploring mechanical intelligence. Automata influenced early British Cybernetics ( e.g. Grey Walter's Turtles ) & thence the schools of Artificial Life. Daniel Dennet's influential Theory of Mind cites Vaucason's duck automata among others. I reiterate, if Babbage wrote a program we have no record today. Lovelace was capable of writing the program. Lovelace published one and that's what counts. Thus: Lady Ada Lovelace was the 1st programmer. Without clear and undisputable evidence to the contrary I shall side with Alan Turing on the matter, he cites both Lovelace & Babbage as inspirations.

mafribe 10y ago
your imputation is incorrect. You confidently assert that ... gender stereotypes in the 19th century, but magically believe they don't apply to you. What pixie-dust gives you that superpower? Babbage wrote a program we have no record today. This is silly. His computer are the evidence. You cannot build a computer without thinking about (and writing) programs. A master takes credit for nothing, and blame for everything. I remain convinced that Babbage 'used' Lovelace to popularise his ideas, and that Lovelace merely help him writing.
- deepnet 10y ago
  Which women do you think changed the course of technology ?
  - mafribe 10y ago
    None I'm aware of. That may change in the future, given that we now have a lot of female scientists. OTOH, given the statistically undeniable inability of highly educated women to procreate, society will probably soon revert back to the traditional model. BTW, you have not addressed the pixie-dust question.

by deepnet 10y ago

mafribe 10y ago

your imputation is incorrect. You confidently assert that ... gender stereotypes in the 19th century, but magically believe they don't apply to you. What pixie-dust gives you that superpower? Babbage wrote a program we have no record today. This is silly. His computer are the evidence. You cannot build a computer without thinking about (and writing) programs. A master takes credit for nothing, and blame for everything. I remain convinced that Babbage 'used' Lovelace to popularise his ideas, and that Lovelace merely help him writing.

deepnet 10y ago
Which women do you think changed the course of technology ?
- mafribe 10y ago
  None I'm aware of. That may change in the future, given that we now have a lot of female scientists. OTOH, given the statistically undeniable inability of highly educated women to procreate, society will probably soon revert back to the traditional model. BTW, you have not addressed the pixie-dust question.