Hardware Hack Night & Fixit Clinic : Remembering Grace Hopper
First person to write a computer compiler, total role model and awesome woman, SudoRoom gives a toast to Grace Hopper.
Although Grace was born into a well-to-do family, she worked her butt off to teach others and grow as a person. She could have led a chill life at the country club (and nothing against people who do!), but she pushed herself to get a P.h.D in math (1934) at a time when most women were intent on Mrs. Degrees. (Interestingly enough, the Harvard Gazette notes that prewar American women made up more math PhDs than in the postwar backtracking, when women focused more on becoming mothers and housewives).
Grace was a kickass teacher who was very concerned that her students could write well:
Unlike most math professors, she insisted that her students be able to write well. In her probability course, she began with a lecture on one of her favorite mathematical formulas and asked her students to write an essay about it.
These she would mark for clarity of writing and style. “I’d cover [an essay] up with ink, and I would get a rebellion that they were taking a math course not an English course,” she recalled. “Then I would explain, it was no use trying to learn math unless they could communicate it with other people.”
Throughout her life, she excelled at being able to translate scientific problems — such as those involving trajectories, fluid flows, explosions, and weather patterns — into mathematical equations and then into ordinary English. This talent helped to make her a good programmer.
Grace Hopper, Computing Pioneer (Walter Isaacson)
HACK ON ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING
○ Projects: can range from building course materials for teaching local kids electronics to a robotic arm that draws, to light projection art, to people building their own microchip boards! We provide the space, tools and peer learning – you bring your project and enthusiasm!
○ Group Sewing: Learn to do simple mending or get help with technical fabric and textile projects. In addition to regular machines our Sewing Lab features heavy-duty industrial sewing machines and sergers. Our in house sewing guru CC has worked for Academy or Art College, Tesla, SuitX, and Zipline and has vast sewing machine repair and maintenance experience; bring your own machine to tune up for tip-top operation and sew alongside others.
○ General Repair: Fix it Clinic’s weekly Oakland residency: bring your broken, non-functioning things – electronic gadgets, appliances, computers, toys, sewing machines, fabric items, etc.– for assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. We’ll provide workspace, specialty tools, and guidance to help you disassemble and troubleshoot your item. First-time repairers and “Fixing Families” are heartily invited. Learn more at https://www.fixitclinic.org/