Article ID: CBB005664962

The Lovelace–De Morgan Mathematical Correspondence: A Critical Re-Appraisal (2017)

unapi

Ada Lovelace is widely regarded as an early pioneer of computer science, due to an 1843 paper about Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, which, had it been built, would have been a general-purpose computer. However, there has been considerable disagreement among scholars as to her mathematical proficiency. This paper presents the first account by historians of mathematics of the correspondence between Lovelace and the mathematician Augustus De Morgan from 1840–41. Detailed contextual analysis allows us to present a corrected ordering of the archive material, countering previous claims of Lovelace's mathematical inadequacies, and presenting a more nuanced assessment of her abilities. Ada Lovelace wird generell als frühe Pionierin der Informatik angesehen. Dies vor allem wegen des 1843 erschienenen Artikels über Charles Babbages ‘Analytical Engine’, die, wäre sie damals gebaut worden, einen Allzweckcomputer dargestellt hätte. Allerdings gibt es beträchtliche Meinungsverschiedenheiten unter Historikern hinsichtlich Lovelaces mathematischer Kenntnisse. Dieser Artikel präsentiert den ersten Bericht von Mathematikhistorikern über die Korrespondenz der Jahre 1840–41 zwischen Lovelace und dem Mathematiker Augustus De Morgan. Detaillierte Kontextanalyse erlaubt es uns, eine korrigierte Anordnung des Archivmaterials vorzulegen, die bisherigen Meinungen über die mathematischen Unzulänglichkeiten von Lovelace entgegenwirkt und die eine nuanciertere Bewertung ihrer Fähigkeiten erlaubt.

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Authors & Contributors
Richards, Joan L.
Bont, Raf de
Jonah Dutz
Donal Murphy
Wang, Xiao-qin
Verburgt, Lukas M.
Concepts
Mathematics
Biographies
Controversies and disputes
Science and religion
Natural theology
Science and society
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
Places
Great Britain
Germany
France
Institutions
London Mathematical Society
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Oxford University
Cambridge University
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