Hi code_duck. It's actually code, not free association. Let me uncode: Ada Lovelace wrote what most consider to be the first programming code. She wrote notes for the Analytical Engine--Babbage's early computer. She was a visionary regarding design and specifically how society could collaborate with technology. In the recent discussions about all people learning to code, I responded to the simple comment "Ada," by pointing a bit more sharply to the inflection behind that comment. Ada the language, yes, but the concept of society at large and coding goes back as far as Lovelace herself. There is a current of comment going now too that suggests the need for a broad underlying knowledge base on the part of hackers/programmers. Lovelace had that educational background. Humanities, science, culture. The whole soup. I am sorry that you were offended by my comment. I hope this elucidation helps. --GuerraEarth

Thanks, I do think that posts formed of complete sentences go further to advance the conversation than single words and sentence fragments.

Hey. It was the "Ada" one-word comment that made me do it : ) Anyway, thank you for being a good sport, code_duck. HN readers are an incredibly good group of people. It's a luxury, having HN. As good as a Christmas stocking each and every day.