Understand Well As I May
Understand Well As I May
This sculpture celebrates the recognition of the punch card as a tool for programming. This radical application of existing technology was the innovation of Ada Lovelace (1815 - 1852) who is quoted as saying "Understand well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand." M+R aim to inspire new generations of innovators to think broadly about the possibilities of reimagining technology. The solidity of the artwork represents both strength of character and the power of creative thought. The sculpture is a literal interpretation of a punch card (a piece of stiff paper that holds digital data represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions). Punch cards are now seen as the birth of computer programming.