Who is Ada Lovelace and Why is Google Celebrating Her Today?

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SUMMARY

Google's Doodle today celebrates Ada Lovelace, a significant figure in mathematics and computing. The discussion highlights the rarity of such tributes to mathematicians, contrasting it with the common recognition of figures like Isaac Newton. Participants emphasize the importance of acknowledging historical mathematicians and their contributions, including Archimedes' method of exhaustion in calculus. The conversation also touches on Newton's geometric proof of planetary orbits, showcasing the elegance of mathematical reasoning.

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Sudharaka
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Hi everyone, (Wave)

Have you noticed that today's Doodle is about Ada Lovelace. I think it's one of those rare occasions that Google celebrates the anniversary of a mathematician. :)

Kind Regards,
Sudharaka.

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Very cool! I couldn't see that yesterday but can now. You are ahead of me in international time is probably why. I'm going to tweet about this now :)
 
Most people don't acknowledge mathematicians. Most people don't even realize that Newton was one of two people who invented Calculus... all they know of are apples (Speechless)(Dull)... Very cool Doodle though! Thanks for sharing that!
 
alane1994 said:
Most people don't acknowledge mathematicians. Most people don't even realize that Newton was one of two people who invented Calculus... all they know of are apples (Speechless)(Dull)... Very cool Doodle though! Thanks for sharing that!
Well.. there was at least one more mathematician before Newton and Leibniz who discovered (some) calculus. Archemedes is credited for the method of exhaustion which he used, I guess, for calculating volumes of sphere and other geometrical shapes.
 
alane1994 said:
Most people don't acknowledge mathematicians. Most people don't even realize that Newton was one of two people who invented Calculus... all they know of are apples (Speechless)(Dull)... Very cool Doodle though! Thanks for sharing that!
And I think one remarkable fact about Newton which very few seem to be aware of is that Newton was able to prove that the planets go around sun in elliptical orbits without any calculus or even vector methods. His proof was purely geometric and I think it is one of the most elegant proofs anyone has ever come up with.
 
I'm sure Robert Hooke would have claimed to have thought of it first. (Giggle)
 

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