Dragaera

Female Role Models (was: Favorite NON-fiction)

Frank Mayhar frank at exit.com
Wed Jan 29 07:48:42 PST 2003

Casey Rousseau wrote:
> Grace I haven't heard of either.

Admiral Grace Hopper.  Helped invent COBOL, among many, many other things.
The thing I best remember her for is, when discussing the possible speed
of computers, she pointed out that "this (holding her hands about one foot
apart) is a nanosecond."

In other words, light travels about a foot in a nanosecond.  This is an
extremely cool thing to know.  And the only reason why I'll miss the
English measurement system when it finally goes. :-)

She was the Grand Old Lady of computing.  There aren't many heroes in my
field, but she was one of them, along with Alan Turing and a very few
others.

> Then again I wasa Math major, not CS.

Heathen!
-- 
Frank Mayhar frank at exit.com	http://www.exit.com/
Exit Consulting                 http://www.gpsclock.com/