WI:Ada Lovelace lives past 1852

In OTL Ada Lovelace died in Nov. 1852. Likely from cancer. Lets say in an ATL she never develops such a disease and lives to a rip old age (like her 80s/90s). How would her continued presence change things in her TL, such as Charles Babbage's work, or world events in general (with a focus on England).
 
Lots of possibilities here. Not sure how likely any of them are though. The navy was already getting tired of Babbage at this point. Maybe Lovelace could have convinced him to sit down and just finish one of his machines for once. The British navy with better tide charts and artillery tables would be even more impressive, but militarily wouldnt play a huge role unless the splendid isolation got butterflied away. Which could happen, but commerce is what the Empire really cared about. And on that front the engine could have started the automation of shipping ledgers, inventory and maybe even taxation almost a century early.

Culturally the impact is potentially even more interesting. If computer programming is seen from the very beginning as a female job, like nurses or telephone switchboard operators, then verious organization might hire women as the 'natural' operators, maybe even on board ships in the navy if they come with difference engines, which they might by WW1. And, when the home computer roles around it is seen as the domain of the woman of the house. All of online geek and nerd culture could start with a heavy female bias. "There are no men on the Internet."

Each step is a bit of a stretch though.
 
Thank you GC! I like the idea of a female internet culture. :)

But if Babbage did finish a single design with Ada's advice how soon could they theoretically finish it? Within the 1850's or into the 1860's?

Also I'm wondering if Ada could of had any influence to help get Babbage more funding. Did/would she hold any political influence as a countess? I don't know that much about British culture during that era.
 
The novel The Difference Engine is of course the go to source for this idea. Its a fun read. Lord Byron was Lovelace's father and in the book he becomes the leader of the Radical Liberals and win parliament. If Byron doesnt die in Greece that might be a way to secure funding for Lovelace.

Somewhat tangential to this, Byron was close friends with Mary Shelly of Frankenstein fame. If Shelly and Lovelace knew each other they might prove to be quite the cultural force. Together they may come up with Turing's idea of artificial minds.
 
I think the problem is that unless Babbage actually finishes his machine much of Lovelace's work is theoretical and will remain so. For Lovelace to become more influential than in OTL the POD really need to be be the completion of Babbage's machines even if they're used for nothing more than census records at first.
 
The novel The Difference Engine is of course the go to source for this idea. Its a fun read. Lord Byron was Lovelace's father and in the book he becomes the leader of the Radical Liberals and win parliament. If Byron doesnt die in Greece that might be a way to secure funding for Lovelace.

Somewhat tangential to this, Byron was close friends with Mary Shelly of Frankenstein fame. If Shelly and Lovelace knew each other they might prove to be quite the cultural force. Together they may come up with Turing's idea of artificial minds.

You and I seen to be on the same track because I asked this question for a TL I'm considering in which Shelly(as well as a few other people I'm considering) lives longer as well! Its been a while since I finished The DE, but like you said the POD is much more different that simply having Ada not get cancer so I'm not sure about what ideas I can transfer from that book into another TL. But putting Ada and Shelly together is a delicious idea!:rolleyes:
 
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