Abstract

It’s the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ada Lovelace, the mathematician and computer visionary. She saw in mechanical computers possibilities far beyond the arithmetic manipulation of numbers.

We’re holding a hackathon, in which we’ll come together to work on projects celebrating Lovelace’s vision. We’ll get together to form teams, develop ideas, program and test, or to play games, drink tea, and socialise. The main event will include interesting talks and discussion groups relating to Lovelace’s work, to mathematics in general, and will conclude with each team presenting their work, if they want to. In the spirit of a hackathon, everybody should try to come along with their own ideas and projects on the day, based on their individual interests and skills.

The following projects and activities have been proposed already:

• Working towards building the Analytical Engine;
• Programming the Analytical Engine simulator;
• Computing with construction toys;
• Games, puzzles and a baking competition.