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Mother of Wi-Fi
Today, Emily shares a story of old Hollywood, multiple marriages, and a genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
Hedy Lamarr was a clever and complex woman. Although Hedy was a brilliant inventor and incredibly shrewd, during her life she was primarily known for her successful career as a glamorous icon of old Hollywood and many marriages. Out of the spotlight (or using it to her advantage), Hedy proved herself to be a progressive thinker, working to eliminate boundaries not just for herself but all women.
The innovation in Hedy was Inspired by her father. As a young child, he often spoke to her about the mechanics of machines and challenged her to think critically.
During WWII, Hedy and her friend and avant-garde piano composer, George Antheil designs and shared a patent for an invention that prevented signals transmitted over radio from being intercepted by the enemy. This secret communication system was designed with the purpose of blocking Nazis from intercepting Allied transmissions. This invention was called Frequency hopping. Rather than broadcasting over a single channel, messages would jump seemingly at random across many channels. As a nod to Antheil, their invention used 88 channels like the keys on a piano.
1997 Hedy and George Antheil received the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for their contributions to the field of spread-spectrum technology. Member of the awarding committee said this about the coveted award “Ironically, this tool they developed to defend democracy half a century ago promises to extend democracy in the 21st century.”
Hedy’s inventions were revolutionary and have led us to modern-day Wi-Fi. Despite being repeatedly underestimated, rejected, and patronized Hedy has shown us that you are the result of your effort, not what others are ready to accept.
Books we are currently reading:
• Ask for it: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins**
**as a note about American Dirt, this novel is about the experiences of a Mexican woman’s flight to the United States with her son. It is written by a woman who identifies as white, Latinx.
While we have enjoyed the novel and the conversations it has sparked we acknowledge the controversy of whitewashing and pandering language as well as the depth of racism within the publishing industry. We look forward to bringing you a recommendation of a novel written by a Latino author reflecting their own narrative. We hope to see Latino authors receiving the same financial support and media acclaim that has been received by American Dirt. Please send book recommendations to [email protected]
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By Morgan Langworthy and Emily Maghrak
5
1111 ratings
Today, Emily shares a story of old Hollywood, multiple marriages, and a genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
Hedy Lamarr was a clever and complex woman. Although Hedy was a brilliant inventor and incredibly shrewd, during her life she was primarily known for her successful career as a glamorous icon of old Hollywood and many marriages. Out of the spotlight (or using it to her advantage), Hedy proved herself to be a progressive thinker, working to eliminate boundaries not just for herself but all women.
The innovation in Hedy was Inspired by her father. As a young child, he often spoke to her about the mechanics of machines and challenged her to think critically.
During WWII, Hedy and her friend and avant-garde piano composer, George Antheil designs and shared a patent for an invention that prevented signals transmitted over radio from being intercepted by the enemy. This secret communication system was designed with the purpose of blocking Nazis from intercepting Allied transmissions. This invention was called Frequency hopping. Rather than broadcasting over a single channel, messages would jump seemingly at random across many channels. As a nod to Antheil, their invention used 88 channels like the keys on a piano.
1997 Hedy and George Antheil received the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for their contributions to the field of spread-spectrum technology. Member of the awarding committee said this about the coveted award “Ironically, this tool they developed to defend democracy half a century ago promises to extend democracy in the 21st century.”
Hedy’s inventions were revolutionary and have led us to modern-day Wi-Fi. Despite being repeatedly underestimated, rejected, and patronized Hedy has shown us that you are the result of your effort, not what others are ready to accept.
Books we are currently reading:
• Ask for it: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins**
**as a note about American Dirt, this novel is about the experiences of a Mexican woman’s flight to the United States with her son. It is written by a woman who identifies as white, Latinx.
While we have enjoyed the novel and the conversations it has sparked we acknowledge the controversy of whitewashing and pandering language as well as the depth of racism within the publishing industry. We look forward to bringing you a recommendation of a novel written by a Latino author reflecting their own narrative. We hope to see Latino authors receiving the same financial support and media acclaim that has been received by American Dirt. Please send book recommendations to [email protected]