Grace Hopper on computing history and future tech

Grace Hopper explains database identifiers using her Navy cap, recalling funny encounters at airports and customs where people completely misidentified her rank and age.

Why Grace Hopper Kept Her Navy Cap On

They demanded it online, but never looked at it.

Grace Hopper shares a trick she played by embedding access counters into database records, revealing that an entire file had never once been accessed.

The Secret Counter Trick That Exposed Data Hoarding

The crossover point where data costs more than its value.

Grace Hopper graphs the value of information against its maintenance cost on the chalkboard to show the exact crossover point where data should be archived.

When Storing Data Costs More Than It Is Worth

Grace Hopper points out that computer science fixates on hardware and software while ignoring raw data. She argues that data is the true raw material and information is the ultimate product.

Why Computer Experts Ignore the Most Valuable Asset

The very first computer bug was a real moth.

Grace Hopper shares the legendary story of finding a physical moth stuck inside the Mark II computer relays in 1945. She explains how it was preserved in a logbook and remains in a naval museum.

The Origin Story of the First Computer Bug

The most dangerous phrase in any workplace.

Grace Hopper explains why 'we have always done it that way' is the most damaging excuse in computing and demonstrates it using her counter-clockwise office clock.

The Most Dangerous Phrase in Tech

It is much easier to apologize than to ask permission

Grace Hopper explains why doing what needs to be done and apologizing later is the most effective way to innovate, humorously noting how she plays up being an elderly woman when caught.

Grace Hopper on Asking Forgiveness Instead of Permission

A nanosecond is exactly 11.8 inches of wire

Grace Hopper explains how she asked engineers to cut a piece of wire representing the maximum distance electricity travels in one nanosecond at the speed of light.

What a Nanosecond Actually Looks Like

Grace Hopper reveals a 984-foot coil of wire to physically show how long a microsecond is compared to a nanosecond.

Grace Hopper Visualizes a Microsecond

Don't build a bigger computer. Get another computer.

Using early American logging history as an analogy, Grace Hopper makes the classic case for distributed computing rather than building single massive machines.

Why You Do Not Grow a Bigger Ox

[01:21] Why Grace Hopper Kept Her Navy Cap On
[08:44] The Secret Counter Trick That Exposed Data Hoarding
[11:45] When Storing Data Costs More Than It Is Worth
[17:03] Why Computer Experts Ignore the Most Valuable Asset
[17:56] The Origin Story of the First Computer Bug
[23:42] The Most Dangerous Phrase in Tech
[28:53] Grace Hopper on Asking Forgiveness Instead of Permission
[41:44] What a Nanosecond Actually Looks Like
[42:38] Grace Hopper Visualizes a Microsecond
[45:26] Why You Do Not Grow a Bigger Ox

Grace Hopper on computing history and future tech

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