Raggie

The story of the unusual scientific alliance in 19th-century Britain, between Ada Byron Lovelace, a young aristocratic lady and Charles Babbage, an eccentric mathematician, mechanical engineer, philosopher, and inventor. The program tells the story of the unusual scientific alliance in 19th-century Britain, between Ada Byron Lovelace (1815-1852), a young aristocratic lady with a zealous interest in mathematics, and Charles Babbage (1791-1871), an eccentric mathematician, mechanical engineer, philosopher, and inventor. Highly talented, of wealthy background, and ambitious, Babbage wants to move British science, not to mention British society as a whole, forward. One of the imperfections of his time that particularly frustrates him is the high error rate in the calculation of math tables. To remove the human error factor Babbage plans to find a new method that can be used to calculate mechanically. In 1822 he begins with what he calls the Difference Engine, a huge machine to compute values of polynomial functions. Although the attempt at making the Difference Engine eventually crumbles, Babbage starts designing a different, more complex machine - called the Analytical Engine - that can be programmed using punch cards. The development of the Analytical Engine takes an unexpected turn when in 1834 Babbage's controversial undertaking arouses the interest of a young woman: Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace and the only legitimate daughter of the romantic poet Lord Byron. —Films for Thought