Thursday, May 08, 2008

Boole and Babbage

An interesting comment by Mary Everest Boole, George Boole's wife, on the relation between the ideas of Boole and of Babbage.

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The Preparation of the Child for Science By Mary Everest Boole

Mary Everest Boole (1832-1916) is interesting in her own right. She assisted Boole in the editing of his works (e.g., The Laws of Thought, before their marriage). Since women were unable at the time to teach degree courses or receive degrees, she was unable to teach, as she wanted; she became a librarian for a while at Queens College, and eventually moved into the teaching of children, where, she found, she excelled. Late in life she began to publish a series of important and influential books to teach children the basics of mathematics and science; these books included a number of innovative approaches, some of which can still be found in classrooms today. (Just one example: she invented curve stitching in order to help children learn geometry.)