Category Archives: History

Babbage brain.

Brains… brains… scientist brains… No! Really, I have seen a real human brain in a tank! Remember that post about Ada Lovelace? Well this brain is Charles Babbage’s right side of cerebellum! Wow! Isn’t it cool and/or slimy?

It was at the Science Museum in London. We went to the museum on Thanksgiving with one of Mum’s friends.

Charles’s son, Henry, donated it for dissection and examination. That is, cut apart and looked at. Ew again! Sorry if this brain talk is being a bit too gross. Hmm. Let me go get my notes. Hey! I am back! And my notes say that a guy called Horsley dissected it in the 1990s so he could examine it for what made Babbage so smart! He did this to a few other scientists brains too! Ok I will stop now before I get too gross even for myself!

Babbage's Brain
This is THE BRAIN. Mum took the photo.

Ada Lovelace Peoography Y’all!

So now (since it is Ada Lovelace day) we emerge into the world of Ada Lovelace! Eh? Not interesting? Well it is to me! Ada helped make it possible to have programs like this blog!

Ada Lovelace was only (!) 8 or 9 years old in Victorian times when she started studying “flyology”. After a (pretty long) while she started dreaming up things like flying people! After that she said that she would make a bird-like mail carrier and someone could be riding it! She then started calling herself “carrier pigeon”.

Ada kinda had a rough childhood after that because her mother brought some friends from the continent. Ada called them the three furies. She called them that because they liked to spy on her! Ada then grew up shut in her room while studying!

Then, way later in her life Ada helped Charles Babbage write the book Menebrea! Menebrea in fact was named after Luigi Federico Menebrea because he inspired Babbage when creating the analytical engine! An analytical engine is basically an old computer for numbers.

Also, Ada described herself as a fairy in her letters to Babbage! The letters were getting romantic even though Ada was already marred! Ada obviously wanted a kinda “two marriages” sort of thing.

BONUS FACT: Babbage studied at Cambridge!

 

Ada really is awesome! She helped lay out the path for the phone in moms pocket! Yay Ada Lovelace!!