Podcast 368: Extending the legacy of Admiral Grace Hopper
In this episode, we talk with Quincy Brown, the head of programs at AnitaB.org and former computer science professor. This organization supports women in engineering and organizes the Grace Hopper Celebration, while providing scholarships, advocacy, and policy support for women in engineering.
Show notes
In 1987, Anita Borg, AnitaB.org’s namesake, saw how few women were at a “systems” conference. A few casual chats turned into the listserv, Systers, which continues to offer a place for women in engineering to meet and discuss.
Grace Hopper—that’s Navy Rear Admiral Hopper to you, civilian—was the first to devise a theory of programming languages that were machine-independent. She created the FLOW-MATIC programming language, which served as the basis for COBOL.
Quincy started in electrical engineering and learned FORTRAN. That experience with how computers operate on hardware helped her teach C++. The difference is like listening to vinyl vs. mp3s.
Should UX designers create technology that you need to adapt to or adapts to you? And will different generations create different interaction paradigms?
We’re out of lifeboat badges, so we summoned a Necromancer winner! Congrats to stealth who was awarded the badge for their answer to the question, Adding multiple columns in MySQL with one statement.
Tags: the stack overflow podcast
1 Comment
I assume you’re equating vinyl with FORTRAN and C++ with mp3’s. For what it’s worth, vinyl has better audio resolution than most pedestrian mp3’s, unless the bit rate is high enough. Or maybe you’re simply comparing vintages, in which case, you’re right; vinyl had a 30 year lifespan, and FORTRAN is probably doing better than that. CD’s only really lasted for 10 years. The jury is still out on MP3’s.
Kids and their shiny new things.
Vinyl (and tubes, or valves for those of you living in Britain) are undergoing a renaissance. Long live vinyl, COBOL and FORTRAN!