Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace revolutionised the world with their combined talents in mathematics and engineering foreshadowing the work of Turing and others that paved the way for the modern computer. It is extraordinary what they could achieve with cogs and transmissions and shows the power of imagination to overcome the limitations of our technology. Somewhere out there the modern day Ada and Charles are working to transcend our own limits, maybe among the Cipher Challenge community. If you want to know more about the pioneers, head over to http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/adalovelace/. It is full of fascinating insights and beautiful illustrations.
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