A picture of Margaret Hamilton, programmer for the Apollo space program, standing next to not one single microsoft error message or bluetooth problem.
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A picture of Margaret Hamilton, programmer for the Apollo space program, standing next to not one single microsoft error message or bluetooth problem.
@mhoye 1201
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On a more serious note, I didn't realize that Hamilton coined the term "software engineer".
Blame!
It is the cure,
cure anything
Throw the rudder down, throw the rudder down -
In 2017 Margaret Hamilton was inducted into the Computer History Museum's Hall of Fellows. On that occasion I was privileged to accompany her on a private, docent-guided tour of the Museum's public display.
She looked about the same as she does in these pictures from the 1960s, albeit a little grayer; a bright, diminutive grandma.
But she was very humble and human. At one point we rounded a corner into the Apollo section. Prominently in the front of the exhibit was a reproduction of your left-hand photo. Upon seeing it, Margaret stopped and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Is that me?"
@mralancooper @mhoye The kid and I are big fans…
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A picture of Margaret Hamilton, programmer for the Apollo space program, standing next to not one single microsoft error message or bluetooth problem.
@mhoye zero HN posters can imagine writing that much code without AI
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As Margaret explained it to me, NASA wanted the lunar lander's actual landing to be 100% automated with no manual override. She disagreed, and insisted on implementing an override. NASA didn't like the idea but Margaret just went ahead and wrote it.
Of course, on Apollo 11's final approach, the lander was headed for a field of giant boulders. Neil Armstrong used Margaret's code to override the computer and manually divert to the actual, safer, landing point.
@mralancooper @mhoye what a legend.
As I have written before:
Margaret E Hamilton
Her name is Margaret E Hamilton
She wrote 400,000 lines of code
Without one bug, without one bug -
In 2017 Margaret Hamilton was inducted into the Computer History Museum's Hall of Fellows. On that occasion I was privileged to accompany her on a private, docent-guided tour of the Museum's public display.
She looked about the same as she does in these pictures from the 1960s, albeit a little grayer; a bright, diminutive grandma.
But she was very humble and human. At one point we rounded a corner into the Apollo section. Prominently in the front of the exhibit was a reproduction of your left-hand photo. Upon seeing it, Margaret stopped and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Is that me?"
@mralancooper @mhoye she’s a genuine legend, what an amazing opportunity!
this may be of interest…
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As Margaret explained it to me, NASA wanted the lunar lander's actual landing to be 100% automated with no manual override. She disagreed, and insisted on implementing an override. NASA didn't like the idea but Margaret just went ahead and wrote it.
Of course, on Apollo 11's final approach, the lander was headed for a field of giant boulders. Neil Armstrong used Margaret's code to override the computer and manually divert to the actual, safer, landing point.
@mralancooper @mhoye There’s a great history of the debate in a book “Digital Apollo.” I would love to have heard her story!
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As Margaret explained it to me, NASA wanted the lunar lander's actual landing to be 100% automated with no manual override. She disagreed, and insisted on implementing an override. NASA didn't like the idea but Margaret just went ahead and wrote it.
Of course, on Apollo 11's final approach, the lander was headed for a field of giant boulders. Neil Armstrong used Margaret's code to override the computer and manually divert to the actual, safer, landing point.
@mralancooper @inthehands @mhoye what a great story!
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@mralancooper @mhoye There’s a great history of the debate in a book “Digital Apollo.” I would love to have heard her story!
@adamshostack @mhoye Thanks for the pointer. I just ordered the book.
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From the 1968 NATO Software Engineering conference (https://static.isthisit.nz/images/2022-08-nato-software-engineering/static/software-engineering-nato-1968.PDF) Djikstra was already seeing the need for change:
"I am convinced that the quality of the product can never be established afterwards. Whether the correctness of a piece of software can be guaranteed or not depends greatly on the structure of the thing made. This means that the ability to convince users, or yourself, that the product is good, is closely intertwined with the design process itself."
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As Margaret explained it to me, NASA wanted the lunar lander's actual landing to be 100% automated with no manual override. She disagreed, and insisted on implementing an override. NASA didn't like the idea but Margaret just went ahead and wrote it.
Of course, on Apollo 11's final approach, the lander was headed for a field of giant boulders. Neil Armstrong used Margaret's code to override the computer and manually divert to the actual, safer, landing point.
@mralancooper @mhoye and now i love her even more.
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@mhoye just look at her now
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Yeah. Grace Hopper, the women of Bletchley Park, the "hidden figures" of NASA like Katherine Johnson who did the math to put Glenn in orbit and Dorothy Vaughn who ran the computers (the movie is ok, but total white savior bullshit).
I want to see more women in charge of tech. I want more badass tech-sisters running things.
@tezoatlipoca @sarajw @mhoye so, more of those Theranos sociopaths?
it's not a gender question... -
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