April 28, 2018 Saturday
Bedtime Story
Note D of Ada Lovelace - Part 4
Last night though I did not point it out
then, was the end of Note B of Lady Ada which was frankly speaking wasn’t
really mathematical though it was laced with lots of numbers and sketches that
gave an appearance of mathematics.
In it, we were very broadly introduced to
the analytical functioning of the engine; by analytical she means how the
programs encoded in the different types of punching cards would interact with
the vertical columns of discs and carry our operations of mathematical
functions.
She restricted herself totally to the
analysis of the engine and not to the mechanics of it, not explaining exactly
how these various elements would be set to enable the engine for what it was
meant to be.
This terminates the Note B of Ada Lovelace
and again like Note A is rather easy to grasp if you care to take just a little
bit of intellectual effort.
Note C was covered much earlier and it had absolutely
nothing to do with mathematics; as a matter-of-fact, it was largely historical
describing the association of the punched with weaving loom industry.
We had left Note D on the night of March
31, 2018 when Lovelace was talking about the working of the Variable-cards and
then introduced the idea of primary office and the secondary office.
It is in the Note D wherein she takes the
specific mathematical example used by Menabrea, that is, two equations of the
first degree with two variables and arrive to the solutions of x and y.
Just to recall, let me list out those two
equations and their solutions:
mx + ny = d
m’x + n’y = d’
We deduce 
or x = (dn’-d’n)/(n’m-nm’)
or x = (dn’-d’n)/(n’m-nm’)
And y for an analogous expression
Tonight we shall return to Note D from
where we had left it for Note B on March 31, 2018 and in case you need to
recollect what was stated in Note D, you simply have to seek the bedtime story
of this particular night and read it through.
“Every Variable thus has belonging to it
one class of Receiving Variable-cards and two classes of Supplying
Variable-cards.
It is plain however that only the one or
the other of these two latter classes can be used by any one Variable for one
operation; never both simultaneously, their respective functions being mutually
incompatible.
It should be understood that the
Variable-cards are not placed in immediate contiguity with the columns.
Each card is connected by means of wires
with the column it is intended to act upon.
Our diagram ought in reality to be placed side
by side with M. Menabrea’s corresponding table, so as to be compared with it,
line for line belonging to each operation.”
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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