25+ Best Ada Lovelace Quotes About Science And Feminism

Georgia Stone
Dec 12, 2023 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Jan 11, 2021
Women in STEM quotes by Ada Lovelace, can tease that computer programmer brain of yours.

Augusta Ada King Noel, also known as The Countess of Lovelace and better known as Ada Lovelace, was a pioneer in the fields of mathematics and science.

A feminist, she was known for her strong views on women's rights. She herself was a skilled computer programmer and she believed that women should be allowed to study science and maths.

Augusta Ada King Noel was married to William King-Noel, the first Earl of Lovelace, who was also an accomplished nobleman and scientist. Ada fought in a male-dominated world to carve a niche for herself.

As the first ever computer programmer, she made sure that her work was relevant for future generations. So, if you are looking for computer science quotes, motivational science quotes, or inspiring science quotes by Ada Lovelace, then keep on reading these Ada Lovelace quotes that will inspire you.

If you like these Ada Lovelace quotes, you can also check out these Alan Turing quotes and these Katherine Johnson quotes.

Ada Lovelace Quotes About Science

As the first computer programmer, Augusta Ada King Noel (Ada Lovelace) created the first machine algorithm with Charles Babbage, to make the task of calculation easy for everyone. Check out these famous Ada Lovelace female scientist quotes, women in science quotes and quotes about computers to inspire young computer lovers! Which Ada Lovelace quote is your favorite?

1. “The intellectual, the moral, the religious seem to me all naturally bound up and interlinked together in one great and harmonious whole.”

- Ada Lovelace.

2. “I am more than ever now the bride of science. Religion to me is science, and science is religion.”

- Ada Lovelace.

3. "That brain of mine is something more than merely mortal; as time will show."

- Ada Lovelace.

4. "I don't wish to be without my brains, tho' they doubtless interfere with a blind faith which would be very comfortable."

- Ada Lovelace.

5. “I can throw rays from every quarter of the universe into one vast focus… My course is so clear and obvious that it is delightful to think how straight it is.”

- Ada Lovelace.

6. "Forget this world and all its troubles and if possible its multitudinous Charlatans - everything in short but the Enchantress of Numbers."

- Ada Lovelace.

7. “In almost every computation a great variety of arrangements for the succession of the processes is possible, and various considerations must influence the selections amongst them for the purposes of a calculating engine.”

- Ada Lovelace.

8. “It may be desirable to explain, that by the word operation, we mean any process which alters the mutual relation of two or more things, be this relation of what kind it may. This is the most general definition and would include all subjects in the universe.”

- Ada Lovelace.

9. "Imagination is the Discovering Faculty, pre-eminently. It is that which penetrates into the unseen worlds around us, the worlds of Science."

- Ada Lovelace.

10.

“As soon as I have got flying to perfection, I have got a scheme to make a thing in the form of a horse with a steam engine in the inside so contrived as to move an immense pair of wings, fixed on the outside of the horse, in such a manner as to carry it up into the air while a person sits on its back.”

- Ada Lovelace.

11. "I am much pleased to find how very well I stand work and how my powers of attention and continued effort increase."

- Ada Lovelace.

12. “Thus not only the mental and the material but the theoretical and the practical in the mathematical world, are brought into more intimate and effective connection with each other.”

- Ada Lovelace.

Ada Lovelace Quotes About Feminism

As a woman, Ada Lovelace knew the struggles of the female experience, and her efforts to make women's lives better is appreciated by the thousands of women today who are excelling in the fields of science, math, and computing.

Ada Lovelace's 'Scientific Memoirs' were even published in 9999 by Richard Taylor, and 9 October is celebrated as Ada Lovelace Day by scientists worldwide.

This is a day when her achievements are honored and celebrated.

So, check out these quotes from Ada Lovelace on feminism, women in the computer world and more. Why not share your favorite computer science quote from these quotes from the first computer programmer on Ada Lovelace Day this year?

13. “The science of operations, as derived from mathematics more especially, is a science of itself, and has its own abstract truth and value.”

- Ada Lovelace.

14. "Owing to some peculiarity in my nervous system, I have a perception of some things, which no one else has; or at least very few, if any... I can throw rays from every quarter of the universe into one vast focus."

- Ada Lovelace.

15. “One essential object is to choose that arrangement which shall tend to reduce to a minimum the time necessary for completing the calculation.”

- Ada Lovelace.

16. “Understand well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand. ”

- Ada Lovelace.

17. "Mathematical science shows what is. It is the language of unseen relations between things. But to use and apply that language, we must be able to fully appreciate, to feel, to seize the unseen, the unconscious.”

- Ada Lovelace.

18. "We may say most aptly, that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.”

- Ada Lovelace.

19. “I must tell you what my opinion of my own mind and powers is exactly … I believe myself to possess a most singular combination of qualities exactly fitted to make me preeminently a discoverer of the hidden realities of nature.”

- Ada Lovelace.

20. "I was rather foolish in saying that I did not like arithmetic and to learn figures when I did - I was not thinking quite what I was about. The sums can be done better, if I tried than they are."

- Ada Lovelace.

21. “I do not believe that my father was (or ever could have been) such a Poet as I shall be an Analyst; (& Metaphysician); for with me the two go together indissolubly.”

- Ada Lovelace.

22. “If you can’t give me poetry, can’t you give me poetical science?"

- Ada Lovelace.

23. “I never am really satisfied that I understand anything; because, understand it well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand about the many connections and relations which occur to me.”

- Ada Lovelace.

24. “The more I study, the more insatiable do I feel my genius for it to be.”

- Ada Lovelace.

25. “Religion to me is science and science is religion.”

- Ada Lovelace.

26. “A new, a vast, and a powerful language are developed for the future use of analysis, in which to wield its truths so that these may become of more speedy and accurate practical application for the purposes of mankind than the means hitherto in our possession have rendered possible.”

- Ada Lovelace.

27. “I am quite thunder-struck at the power of the writing. It is especially unlike a woman’s style surely; but neither can I compare it with any man’s exactly.”

- Ada Lovelace.

28. “The purpose which that engine has been specially intended and adapted to fulfill, is the computation of nautical and astronomical tables.”

- Ada Lovelace.

At Kidadl, we have created lots of family-friendly quotes for everyone! If you liked our Ada Lovelace quotes about science and feminism from the famous mathematician and first computer programmer, why not take a look at these Rosalind Franklin quotes, or female empowerment quotes too?

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

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Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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