5 Mindset Lessons From the World’s First Coder: Ada Lovelace
Long before billionaires engaged in the Phallus Space Race of 2021, there came one of the most astounding disruptors in the history of Tech. Widely thought of as the world’s first programmer, she would sow the seeds for every line of code ever written.
Looking back, what can we take from the Countess of Code: Ada Lovelace?
It was the summer of 1843, Franz Schubert had just dropped the hit “Die Schöne Müllerin” (a truly bangin’ poetry based song cycle). But swiping right across smooth surfaces and expecting luxury items to be delivered to your door just meant you were a crazy person. There was no code and so life sucked (well, maybe a little).
Relax, Winston. A 27 year old mathematics genius from London was cranking on the world’s first Quip tech doc: notes on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Her work provides valuable lessons that can be applied to programming and problem-solving today.
Let’s dive into five development concepts you can learn from A.L.
1. See the Forest and the Trees
Lovelace was able to see both the big picture and understand how each component of a system worked together. She wasn’t caffeined up to the eye-balls burning through Jira tickets like it was the last sprint of 1843. Instead, she understood the broader implications of her work.
This approach is useful when solving complex problems. It allows you to identify all the factors that contribute to the problem and come up with a comprehensive solution.
Ask yourself: “what is the implication of fixing this bug or building this feature on a user’s life in 5 years? Or in 35 years?”
2. Pick Your Obsessions
Charles Babbage designed but only partially built his Analytical Engine. Essentially this was the first programmable calculator. It would perform basic arithmetic operations. However, only with programming would it be able to solve more complex calculations, such as logarithmic and trigonometric functions.
It could not log into Twitter with 2FA, even though Charles was on the paid tier and hit it many times with a smoking pipe.
It was a precursor to that Android phone that folds, and although it was never actually completed, Lovelace’s dedicated focus on it laid the foundation for modern programming languages.
There isn’t time in your day or life to pursue EVERYTHING to the level of obsession. So choose wisely… but then go nuts!
3. Abstraction is Key
Lovelace created a system of symbols to represent complex mathematical operations, which she called “operations cards”. This system of symbols allowed her to represent complex calculations in a simple and abstract way, a way that could be understood and manipulated by the machine.
Abstraction made her work possible not only on a micro level, but also on a macro level. It allowed her to engage with smaller problems without being discourage by not having all the answers.
Shockingly, it would be another 94 years before the first digital computer came into existence! (The Atanasoff-Berry Computer was designed around 1937–1942).
In our new age of Chat GPT it’s interesting to look back on the world’s first coder’s thoughts on Artificial Intelligence:
“The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It can follow analysis; but it has no power of anticipating any analytical relations or truths.” — Ada Lovelace
#MLBurn
4. Go Further Together
Along with CB-Money (just one possible nickname historians cannot prove she didn’t use for Charles Babbage) Lovelace was able to make her greatest contribution.
Collaboration is still essential in development today, as it allows programmers to share knowledge and work together to develop more effective solutions. Where would the web be without React, Angular, Express.js or Django? More than ever it’s not only essential to work with others, but the majority of software wouldn’t exist without the past and present contributions of our peers.
Historians do agree that his nickname for her was “The Enchantress of Number”. Which would have been a cool social handle. Too bad.
5. Experiment, Innovate and F*** Up a Few Times
Lovelace was a creative thinker who wasn’t afraid to experiment and try new things. She understood that innovation required taking risks and exploring. Sometimes these ideas were crap. Like, a crazy-uncle’s-Facebook-post crap.
Par exemple: Throughout her life Lovelace was strongly interested in pseudoscientific fads, two in particular. Phrenology: measuring bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. As well as Mesmerism: the belief in an invisible natural force possessed by all living things. (Much like force-healing in The Rise of Skywalker these were complete nonsense.)
She also long attempted to come up with a mathematical model for how the brain gives rise to thoughts. Although it never panned out to anything it was still a more worthwhile effort than the last Star Wars.
The process of innovating new ideas isn’t an exact science. It’s a creative one. At times the best ideas come from being able to silence your strictly-rational-internal-voice.
Conclusion
Lovelace’s life was sadly far too short, only 36 years. However her achievements provide valuable lessons for programmers, problem solvers and phallus based rocket enthusiasts today.
Her obsession over the details, use of abstraction, collaboration and willingness to occasionally embrace bat-shit-crazy ideas, are all traits that can help you become a better developer and make awesome things!
