Women behind Eniac

TL;DR -- As the computer gets more power, attention, credit, and misuse, there will be a continual need for good information (whose veracity and provenance can be established) plus some historical framework with which to guide judgmental requirements. This post looks at early computer work and women who were involved. Several sites are referenced which are exemplary in their effort at telling the tales. 

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The recent issue of IEEE's Spectrum had an article about early compiler work done by Grace Hopper. We had an earlier post about Hopper's computing work (von Neumann; Hopper) in which we looked at the issues involved with programming the computer. In earlier days, this activity was done in what is considered machine language which is highly detailed due to the need to focus on specifics of getting the input in to the computer, getting it to do something, and then return results. Progress over the years involved stepping back from the machine level and trying to control the computer with higher-order languages. 

The Spectrum article was titled "From punch cards to Python" and featured one of the early compilers that Hopper worked on. There were other methods used before punch cards, but we can defer looking at that. Also, algorithms were the main theme from the beginning. The women were involved with early development such as a sort method that Hopper picked up for her algorithm. Before looking at other women (Betty Holberton -- more below) who worked with Hopper, let's follow one of the links that was in the Spectrum article.

It is at the Hidden Heroes site with the title of Grandma COBOL: How Grace Hopper made computers more human. COBOL was an early language which was used for business computing and is still in use. Python is a modern language that has found use in machine learning. Over the intermediate decades, there were many other languages created. 

Machine learning? It has been a hot topic for two years now and has been mentioned in many of our posts as we discuss technology. A recent trend deals with having a machine "co-pilot" development of a program which can be used to represent what AI might bring to the table and serve as a foil for discussion of things that relate to progress and people. Again, we defer that topic as it will be an ongoing one since there are no simple answers. 

Now, we will look at another link that was in the Spectrum article. The title of the article was "The Women behind Eniac" which provides information about Betty Holberton who was in the group at UPenn who were doing mathematical calculations for the Army. 

That brings us to the last topic which is a comment about the work at the Engineering and Technology History Wiki which is a good example of positive contributions via the internet and has been in operation since the aughts (2008 or so).  

Note: John has a special interest as he worked on two projects with Sperry Univac. The first dealt with wafer-scale integration, in the early 1980s. The second set the basis for continuing work until the present time: Knowledge Systems Center. Expect more posts on the ladies and these themes related to technology. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/31/2025

03/31/2025 -- The IEEE article mentions earlier work that influenced Hopper's decisions. This is a common mode of operation that needs attention in the modern world of hype. 

Finally, DNA?

TL;DR -- Since 2013, we have been studying material and collecting supporting information. Too, we have read results far and wide. This approach is an example of technology being used many times from a pure marketing thrust. We do need a balance of business and science. However, we never had this figured out in our cultures; the computer, especially with GenAI brought in, exacerbates potential problems. The strategy to manage that consists of mature processes and models. And so, let's open this can of worms and look at it regularly. 

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In 2013, when we were newbies of three years, we started to get queries about DNA, in particular, specific questions about the Gardners of which there are many (Gardners & Gardners). This list has post that were on the topic of DNA.

03 Apr 2015   Richard III and Gardner

14 May 2016  DNA and genealogy  

31 May 2016  Admissibility

04 Jan 2017    DNA, again

07 Dec 2018   DNA in use

29 Jun 2019    Back to DNA

24 May 2020  Major players

04 Jun 2020    Back to DNA, II

Of late, we have reason to get back to this topic. The post from 14 May 2016 has a list of pointers to other blogs and sites that provide necessary information pertaining to the DNA projects, the technical concerns, the mathematical modeling, and especially the computational support that is involved with this type of analysis. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/17/2025

03/17/2025 -- 

Independence and Kansas City

TL;DR -- Trails were and still are in the sense of leaving tracks on the landscape (several places along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. And, now the Interstate Highway system with all of the national, state, and local roads. And, going further, even now dirt roads as tracks. Sometimes converted railroad tracks. 

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With all that is going on in the world, and in the U.S., it is time to look back at the past. In 2020, we got the opportunity to spend time looking at the interior of the country which is huge. In terms of time, we had a frontier century (post has copy of photo of Lawrence, KS by Gardner). We got to learn about the trails and the cities that cropped up (theme of this post). We determined that there was a lost generation or two (Boone was real; officer in the US Revolution; Longhunter; traipser of land (all the way past KC with time spent in western MO) in the movement that came to fore as we looked at the upcoming 250th of the US under the auspices of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Doing applications for some requires lots of additional work. 

Before 2020, we had looked at the trails and those earlier like Jedediah Strong Smith. Gardner, KS was seen as a hub of traffic and activity. Also, we had looked at both land and sea traffic to the left coast (Old LA and the US - as in Los Angeles, CA - in particular, Bunker Hill West, where the culture went back to New Spain and then through several cultural shifts to the current canyons of high rises).

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Now, to the theme. We saw a video of a talk about the trails and how they came into Kansas City and left. It was of the first part of which there will be another. We mentioned Gardner, KS where 3 Trails split. The Oregon went over the Wakarusa River into the Lawrence area and then up to Nebraska. Even in that trek, the rigors of getting people and goods across the land was obvious, especially trying to get over waterways which were boons and banes (mostly the latter for many). 

The talk: How Independence & Kansas City Became Trailheads for the Oregon/California/Santa Fe Trails, Part 1. The following image came from the talk. On the map (a modern map showing some roads), Independence, MO (where Pres. Truman came from) is on the upper right. Gardner, KS is on the lower left. 

Indepencence, MO
Gardner, KS

In the top middle, notice Wesport which is on the Missouri River. After a little bit of time, impatient travelers (read, young men off to the coast with gold fever) realized that they could take the river up past St. Joseph, MO (famous for the Pony Express) and then a little further north, they could head west in Nebraska. While doing that, they would meet travelers coming up from Gardner, KS. But, they would have cut several days off the journey. 

OCTA, sponsors of the research and talk

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Notice that this is about the early times. The railroad came into play after the Civil War. 

Generations? By this time, say before the Civil War, we were to the 8th generation from the start of New England. The Revolution was mostly of the 5th generation. 

Cultures? As we have noted, there were the News: Spain; France; England; Sweden; ... The left coast allows us to look at the first; Quebec, Canada is representative of the second; we had both a North and and a South for the third; and so forth. 

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KC? MO and KS. Missouri and Kansas. We need to look at the area a little further. It's known for beef and barbeque. Well, cattle came up from TX to be shipped east to the hungry easterners. Too, the breadbasket founded itself on the rich lands of the area. Boone, as said, was there early. It's sister city in MO, St. Louis, was the administrative and bureaucratic and entertainment hub. See early Missouri, for instance. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/17/2025

03/17/2025 -- 

 

What's in a photo

TL;DR -- A comparison of an old and a new photo in the context of Boston which is coming up on its 400th year allows us to establish a necessary discussion with respect to technology of the sorts that seem to foster hype thereby interfering with proper engineering and science. 

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We saw two photos on Facebook in a post by the Lost New England (see the two photos) group which has been looking at former times in New England through old photos. 

Aside 1: We have been doing this with regard to what was called Bunker Hill (west) in Los Angeles. It's the upper northwest part of the DTLA area bounded by the modern freeways which are a gift of the 20th century. The  writer of this post lived in two areas on that hill back in 1963 which was before the modernization efforts started. 

The image to the right is a snippet from the combination of the two photos. The hazy top part is from the 1840s as an example of early photo-graphy. It required a long exposure time, but the content shows that it had been done right after a snow which would have decreased traffic. 

The lower part is recent. In both cases, this is the King's Chapel Burying Ground of Boston which took burials from the time of John Winthrop (who was interned there) up to the early part of the 20th century. 

The text of the FB post mentions that the photographer was Dr. Samuel Bemis and that the photo now is in a collection at J. Paul Getty Museum which is in Los Angeles, CA. 

Aside 2: Photos of early Los Angeles can come from several places. The collection at the Water and Power organization has been organized with an index. This post (Old L.A. and the U.S.) covers some of the themes of interest. For instance, regular coach traffic (wheeled vehicle pulled by horses across the country) regularly went from St. Louis (MO) to LA (CA) and SF (CA) via the southern border. That effort was driven by New England families, hence our effort. Too, it represents technology through time. That route ceased with the onset of the U.S. Civil War. Traffic went up north. In 20 years post the Civil War, the railroad had made progress in tying together the left and right coasts. 

Now, getting back to the photo and its comparison at two points in time, There is a lot to say and study. A comment on FB has been copied here (see below). However, as we pause before going on, there was work to list those whose body was interned, with John Winthrop on the list. We have other familiar names and will use this list for future posts. 

• Boston 400 blog -- King’s Chapel is Boston oldest burying place. The site was part of Isaac Johnson’s estate. Johnson was an esteemed early settler, who was the first to be interred on the site in September 1630. Early graves and tombs were scattered randomly throughout the grounds, with no formal pathways.  In the early in the 19th century, the City of Boston arranged headstones in rows and made paths to make the site more accessible to the public. Like the majority of Boston’s burying grounds, it has always been under municipal control and not affiliated with any church.

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This shows an event from a period of time, where all involved are phenomenal. ... Unlike a photo wannabe from an event on heated mineral formed into circuitry which we can call buckets of mineral bits which create virtual bits (multiply so - and across the framework of Ma Nature's world - doing lots of different types of pollution that through time are choking us and reality, too) that form more virtual bits which waff, essentially, so as to influence us in ways not all known, at this time. 

Even millions and zillions of these wannabe photos brought into a video cannot capture even a mere piece of the reality shown here. 

Further, bringing these buckets, now minituarized into some encapsulation of minerals and plastic (Kant's a priori and synthetic - a bit) which Asimov and others dreamt of cannot replicate what was lost, namely "essence", cognitively for us (but, it's there, folks) - which is of time and space, and, guess what? time-space or space-time. Which we all know.

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That is a reference to the technology arguments that we will be making with respect to the basis of machine learning and its wonders. They deal largely with applied mathematics being used as it ought have been for decades. The computer brings new advantages that we can discuss. It does not come to life and get the "smarts" associated with living beings. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/09/2025

03/09/2025 -- 

 

250 Years of Liberty

TL;DR -- The 250th lookbacks demonstrates modern technology and how it will allow better assessment of past events, especially with respect to people and their families. The massacre at Boston is an example. John Adams established a U.S. milestone, thereby getting some fame, though the initial reactions were not favorable. 

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We have had several posts on the upcoming 250th which has been in focus for a while in terms of planning and reporting activity leading up to the event associated with Lexington and Concord. Planning started more than a decade ago, with groups such as the Daughters of the American Revolution.  

Another example event was the Boston Tea Party the 250th of which was in 2023. Given that we are one year from the Declaration, we will have regular reports of events from those times that got the U.S. going. At the same time, we will continue our focus on the post-Revolution activity leading to the expansion of the interior the U.S., especially the interior and the west (left) coast. 

Today, we will point to a couple of Facebook Groups which recently provided information about the Boston Massacre. 

• 250Years America's Founding - This post (Judgement of Death) covers the Boston Massacre which was an event in 1770 that was confictual. Some Brit soldiers fired on people. John Adams (cuz) was appointed as defense. John wasn't popular for a bit. He and Abigail (cuz) left Boston so as to have some peace. Ah, America at its best. 
• 250YearsofLiberty - This site has posts pertinent to the Revolution. Lots of things have happened to this day. We, then, have several years before peace came to be. The topic now is the Boston Massacre (Wikipedia) which happened March 5th. 

Concurrent with the Revolution, there will be continual reflection on towns coming into being 400 years ago. Coming up next year will be the movement from Cape Ann to what became Salem. We will relook at the upcoming timeline for communities in the area in a future post. 

The bloody massacre
Paul Revere (engraving)

Remarks: Modified: 03/17/2025

03/17/2025 -- Used Wikipedia for the image source. FB (Meta) is flaky. To the max. 

Women's History Month, 2025

TL;DR -- March is the month to look at the women's history in all of its aspects. 

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March 8th is International Women's Day this year. StreetsofSalem put together a walking tour of houses for to look at Salem women's history. Houses in the tour are associated with these families: Crowinshield; Emmerton; Peabody; Saltonstall; Adams; and more. 

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March is Women's History month in the U.S. and many other parts of the worlds. We have had a post for this the past three years. 

• Women's History Month, 2024
• Women's History Month, 2023 
• Women's History Month, 2022

The prior posts have a list, current at the time, of material from other sites and this blog. 

The Bohrs

We have had several posts over the past year which focused on a woman. Here are a few. 

• Mary Gardner Bolyston -- Considers a couple of threads that lead up to the generation of John and Abigail Adams who featured in the time of the U.S. Revolution. 
• von Neumann, Hopper -- Given some of the recent controversy related to GenAI and computer software, this post looks at the view of two pioneers in the field, one of which was Admiral Grace Hopper. 
• Lady Science -- In our research, we ran into a blog that has a focus on women in science. One example is Margrethe Nørland Bohr who worked with her husband in the early days of quantum research. 

Since we have a technology focus, coverage of work by women will be mostly technical. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/08/2025

03/08/2025 --