(with apologies for the title – in my defence I was chanelling the spirit of Ian Dury at the time)
I enthusiastically signed up to Suw Charman-Anderson‘s Ada Lovelace Day pledge and now I have a dilemma: who do I blog about?
I’m wracking my brains to think of someone and am struggling. This in turn presents me with a second dilemma: do I suffer in silence or admit to my failure and ask for help?
I’ve opted to go for the latter. Can anyone help me?
If you want a direct heir to Ada Lovelace, try Barbara Liskov:
http://www.pmg.csail.mit.edu/~liskov/
Her contributions to the development of computer programming are immense.
In my day job I teach computer programming at university, and I use Barbara Liskov’s textbook for my MSc module. It’s one of three textbooks I am so happy with that I’ve felt able to use it directly rather than have to write my own notes.
The other two computer programming textbooks I’ve been really happy with were also written by women.
I think that underlines the need for the pledge, really 😉
* is listening to Woman’s Hour for inspiration and finding it wanting today *
There was a woman mentioned in the Metro “scientists who conquered the World (nearly)” thing the other day.
I think I know who I’m going to do, though. I have a favourite female scientist whose credit got stolen by men – Rosalind Franklin.
* sotto voce muttering about Crick and Watson *