Video: Grace Hopper – Nanoseconds

What is a nanosecond? As you’ll see, it’s 11.8 inches. That doesn’t make sense, you say? One’s time and one’s distance? Allow Grace Hopper to clarify.

Grace Hopperwas a national treasure. She was an American computer scientist, United States Navy rear admiral, and one of the world’s first programmers, having started programming in the 1940s. She’s credited with logging the first ever computer “bug” (there’s a photo of it in the linked-to Wikipedia page — a moth that got stuck in a relay) This video from (I’m guessing) the late 70s or early 80s shows her irreverence and humour. The woman was a technology hero, and it is well worth the two minutes of your time to see this incredible woman.