Calculating Ada: The Countess of Computing
Dr Hannah Fry tells the story of the remarkable life of Ada Lovelace - a 19th-century countess whose work helped give rise to the modern era of computing.
Ada Lovelace was a most unlikely computer pioneer. In this film, Dr Hannah Fry tells the story of Ada's remarkable life. Born in the early 19th century, Ada was a countess of the realm, a scandalous socialite and an 'enchantress of numbers'. The film is an enthralling tale of how a life infused with brilliance, but blighted by illness and gambling addiction, helped give rise to the modern era of computing.
Hannah traces Ada's unlikely union with the father of computers, Charles Babbage. Babbage designed the world's first steam-powered computers - most famously the analytical engine - but it was Ada who realised the full potential of these new machines. During her own lifetime, Ada was most famous for being the daughter of romantic poet Lord Byron ('mad, bad and dangerous to know'). It was only with the advent of modern computing that Ada's understanding of their flexibility and power (that they could be far more than mere number crunchers) was recognised as truly visionary. Hannah explores how Ada's unique inheritance - poetic imagination and rational logic - made her the ideal prophet of the digital age.
This moving, intelligent and beautiful film makes you realise we nearly had a Victorian computer revolution.
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Clips
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The true legacy of Ada Lovelace
Duration: 01:47
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Hannah Fry |
Producer | Nat Sharman |
Director | Nat Sharman |
Executive Producer | Andrew Thompson |
Broadcasts
- Thu 17 Sep 2015 21:00
- Fri 18 Sep 2015 02:30
- Wed 3 Feb 2016 20:00
- Mon 1 Aug 2016 23:00
- Thu 4 Aug 2016 02:00
- Wed 10 Aug 2016 03:00
- Tue 14 Mar 2017 23:00
- Thu 8 Feb 2018 23:00
- Fri 22 Jun 2018 00:20
- Thu 15 Aug 2019 00:45
- Fri 22 Jan 2021 14:0091热爆 Two except Scotland
- Tue 27 Sep 2022 00:00
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