1
00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:17,340
Herald Angel: Anja Drephal studied
history, American studies, Japanese
2
00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:23,720
studies in Berlin and Tokyo in Graz and
also in Vienna and when I asked her she
3
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:30,310
said kind of everywhere. So, it's her
third talk on a Chaos Communication
4
00:00:30,310 --> 00:00:36,449
Congress. She was here three years ago and
two years ago and we are very happy to
5
00:00:36,449 --> 00:00:40,820
have her back - please welcome her!
applause
6
00:00:45,910 --> 00:00:51,516
Anja Drephal: Thank you! Oh I'm on -
that's good! I would have taken that
7
00:00:51,516 --> 00:00:57,469
screwdriver but - okay, it's too bad!
Well, thank you all for being here I hope
8
00:00:57,469 --> 00:01:04,420
you all having a good time so far. It's
day three and I'm having a good time. It's
9
00:01:04,420 --> 00:01:10,119
a very good Congress. This year
unfortunately it's been hard for some
10
00:01:10,119 --> 00:01:15,860
people to actually be here. It's been a
nightmare to buy tickets online. So in
11
00:01:15,860 --> 00:01:21,110
addition I'd like to welcome everybody
watching a stream from at home or Congress
12
00:01:21,110 --> 00:01:30,360
everywhere so thank you for watching!
Anyone of you watching this from at home
13
00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:37,960
or anyone of you who has some sort of cell
phone mobile device connected to the
14
00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:44,869
Congress Wi-Fi has actually been using
spread spectrum technology in the past
15
00:01:44,869 --> 00:01:53,759
couple days. But this is not a talk about
spread-spectrum technology. Oh, and I
16
00:01:53,759 --> 00:01:56,860
wanted to give a hint to the translations
team - in German, that's
17
00:01:56,860 --> 00:02:05,409
"Bandspreizverfahren" and... je suis
desolé, je ne sais pas what it means in
18
00:02:05,409 --> 00:02:11,540
French... So, this is not what I want to
talk about because I would never pretend
19
00:02:11,540 --> 00:02:17,440
to be an electrical engineer or a fully
trained computer scientist who is
20
00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:22,850
qualified to explain this very complex
technology.
21
00:02:22,850 --> 00:02:31,780
What I want to do is tell you a story,
give you a short 20 minute overview of a
22
00:02:31,780 --> 00:02:40,760
person, a remarkable person, who worked on
the development of spread spectrum
23
00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:48,919
technology about 75 years ago and until
recently was not recognized for her
24
00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:59,239
accomplishments. Let's say you are an
electrical engineer or you are a computer
25
00:02:59,239 --> 00:03:07,459
scientist and you want to learn about this
technology. I try to avoid saying it
26
00:03:07,459 --> 00:03:13,050
because it's such a tongue twister and I'm
gonna stumble over the spread-spectrum.
27
00:03:13,050 --> 00:03:20,150
So yeah, so you go to your library and you
find lots of big handbooks, handbook on
28
00:03:20,150 --> 00:03:26,030
spread-spectrum communication for example
and there you usually you have sort of an
29
00:03:26,030 --> 00:03:34,100
introduction with something like this
never mind if you can't read it right now
30
00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:40,230
I've uploaded my slides so you can look at
it later and I'll also explain anything
31
00:03:40,230 --> 00:03:47,310
that's important this is from an Austrian
handbook and of course it mentions a
32
00:03:47,310 --> 00:03:53,470
"Claude Shannon" in 1948 publishing a
mathematical theory of communication, a
33
00:03:53,470 --> 00:04:01,410
very important paper, and before that
actually it mentions in 1942 "Markey" and
34
00:04:01,410 --> 00:04:07,880
"Antheil" are patenting the first spread-
spectrum system ever.
35
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:13,530
So you're wondering who is "Markey" and
"Antheil"? Probably some guys at MIT,
36
00:04:13,530 --> 00:04:22,790
right? Working for the military in 1942,
developing secret weapons? It could be.
37
00:04:22,790 --> 00:04:27,185
So, ladies and gentlemen, this is Markey.
38
00:04:33,957 --> 00:04:39,970
Hedwig Kiesler born in 1914 in Vienna.
39
00:04:39,970 --> 00:04:46,710
She was a beautiful child, she was 16 when
she decided to quit school and become an
40
00:04:46,710 --> 00:04:55,910
actress, she started hanging around the
Sascha-Film studio in Vienna. She also
41
00:04:55,910 --> 00:05:02,570
stalked famous director Max Reinhardt
until he cast her in his play "The Weaker
42
00:05:02,570 --> 00:05:09,760
Sex". She had a couple more minor roles,
she played "Sissi", she played opposite
43
00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:18,370
Heinz Rühmann, and it was - oopsie - it
was Max Reinhardt who - promoting his play
44
00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:23,350
- coined the phrase "Hedy Kiesler is the
most beautiful woman in the world!" and
45
00:05:23,350 --> 00:05:30,851
the press picked it up very quickly. Here
she's again. Then when she was 18, she did
46
00:05:30,851 --> 00:05:37,480
something very daring: she starred in
Czech film called "Ecstasy". It's very
47
00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,530
interesting, please ask me about it or
watch it on YouTube. There was full
48
00:05:42,530 --> 00:05:52,900
frontal nudity and she faked the first on-
screen orgasm. The film was banned, the
49
00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:56,754
Pope denounced it and Hedy became famous.
50
00:05:59,990 --> 00:06:02,990
But then after "Ecstasy", surprisingly,
51
00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:11,240
Hedy stopped acting and she married: this
guy. She became the young trophy wife of
52
00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:19,030
Fritz Mandl. He was - at that time - the
third richest man in Austria. He was the
53
00:06:19,030 --> 00:06:24,877
owner of the "Hirtenberger ammunitions
factory", he was also an Austro-fascist,
54
00:06:24,877 --> 00:06:35,440
he supplied weapons to a lot of unsavory
individuals and organizations and - as his
55
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:40,250
beautiful young trophy wife - she was
supposed to be there at parties, at
56
00:06:40,250 --> 00:06:46,560
meetings with important industrialists,
weapons dealers, politicians and to just
57
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:52,600
stand there and look beautiful.
But she also listened when they spoke
58
00:06:52,600 --> 00:07:02,199
about developments, about German glide
bombs being tested and developed. She
59
00:07:02,199 --> 00:07:09,610
listened and she noticed. After a couple
of years, for whatever reason, I think
60
00:07:09,610 --> 00:07:15,338
Mandl was pretty controlling and then
jealous, for one reason or another, Hedy
61
00:07:15,338 --> 00:07:22,488
left him and used her "Ecstasy"-fame to go
to the US and get a contract at MGM in
62
00:07:22,488 --> 00:07:34,730
1937. Her first film in the US was
"Algiers" and this film established her
63
00:07:34,730 --> 00:07:45,150
fame, her new look, her hairstyle and this
very distant kind of unsmiling style that
64
00:07:45,150 --> 00:07:50,990
MGM had in mind for her and they also
promoted her as the most beautiful woman
65
00:07:50,990 --> 00:08:01,139
in the world. Critics usually agreed that
she could not act, but, oh my god, she's
66
00:08:01,139 --> 00:08:12,230
so beautiful, who cares? She... actually,
she was not just beautiful. She was also
67
00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:17,610
bored with acting, because usually,
working for a studio, you made like two
68
00:08:17,610 --> 00:08:22,673
movies a year, which took a couple weeks,
and the rest of the time, well, there was
69
00:08:22,673 --> 00:08:31,790
no Netflix. So, she didn't like to party
that much, she read, she painted and she
70
00:08:31,790 --> 00:08:43,828
always invented little gadgets at home.
And she also worried, of course, at that
71
00:08:43,828 --> 00:08:47,944
time. She worried about the war going on
in Europe. She had... She was an
72
00:08:47,944 --> 00:08:55,340
immigrant, after all. She had friends and
family still in Europe and, oh yeah, it's
73
00:08:55,340 --> 00:09:04,306
just a couple of... that's Clark Gable,
Jimmy Stewart, and then she was Delilah in
74
00:09:04,306 --> 00:09:15,660
"Samson and Delilah", Technicolor, yeah,
anyway she worried. And that's a fun tweet
75
00:09:15,660 --> 00:09:20,410
I found: "The feeling when you are 3,000
percent done with glam photo shoots and
76
00:09:20,410 --> 00:09:24,320
are inwardly planning a new radio
frequency system for torpedoes"
77
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,500
laughter
I like it.
78
00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:33,523
So that's what she started doing, because
she remembered what she had picked up. She
79
00:09:33,523 --> 00:09:39,130
knew about German bombs being controlled
by radio, she knew that Germany was using
80
00:09:39,130 --> 00:09:44,860
18 different frequencies for their glide
bombs and usually dispatching 18 bombs at
81
00:09:44,860 --> 00:09:49,930
a time so the enemy would have to jam
every single frequency and at least one
82
00:09:49,930 --> 00:09:57,460
would - you know - get through.
So especially in 1914, when Germany
83
00:09:57,460 --> 00:10:06,200
started sinking English ships in September
1940, 77 children who were being evacuated
84
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:15,946
to Canada died, she offered her knowledge
about weapons to the Navy. She thought
85
00:10:15,946 --> 00:10:22,100
about offering it, because she had an
idea. These German glide bombs they were
86
00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:29,320
radio-controlled. So why not make
torpedoes with radio control to increase
87
00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,810
their chances of hitting targets and not
just going in a straight line and maybe
88
00:10:33,810 --> 00:10:39,570
hitting something or not. Her second idea
was to use just really really short
89
00:10:39,570 --> 00:10:46,020
signals just split-second radio signals
between the ship, the torpedo and a plane
90
00:10:46,020 --> 00:10:55,870
overhead, in between longer intervals of
radio silence. And then her idea was
91
00:10:55,870 --> 00:11:01,500
changing the frequency of the split-second
signal, making it harder to intercept and
92
00:11:01,500 --> 00:11:07,560
jam. Let's check, she just said "Okay,
let's just use a lot of frequencies and hop!".
93
00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:14,370
She called it "frequency hopping".
But of course, the question is: how to do that?
94
00:11:14,370 --> 00:11:17,950
And here's where that second name
95
00:11:17,950 --> 00:11:25,910
mentioned in the patent comes in. This is
"George Antheil". He was from New Jersey.
96
00:11:25,910 --> 00:11:33,310
In the 1920s, he moved to Berlin and then
to Paris and became famous as an avant-
97
00:11:33,310 --> 00:11:40,000
garde composer and pianist. There's
another one...
98
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:46,050
His most famous composition was the
"Ballet Mécanique" in 1924, where he tried
99
00:11:46,050 --> 00:11:51,890
to synchronize 16 player pianos and he
also used airplane propellers and
100
00:11:51,890 --> 00:11:59,100
sirens... You can also watch it on the
internet. Listen to, it's crazy! It was
101
00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:06,150
the score for a movie, actually.
So, he knew about synchronizing mechanical
102
00:12:06,150 --> 00:12:14,220
instruments when he met Hedy in 1940 at
one of those Hollywood parties.
103
00:12:14,220 --> 00:12:19,600
And they started working together on their
secret communication system, which they
104
00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:28,860
proposed to the National Inventors Council
in 1941. Ah, here he is. There's... The
105
00:12:28,860 --> 00:12:36,530
tall one is Hedy and on the right is
George and the woman in the striped dress
106
00:12:36,530 --> 00:12:47,070
is George's wife. So their secret
communication system suggested using 88
107
00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:52,660
frequencies, because there are 88 keys on
a piano (it was just a little in-joke) and
108
00:12:52,660 --> 00:13:00,880
hopping between them, synchronizing the
sender, the transmitter, and the receiver
109
00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:07,050
and in addition using random signals on
three extra frequencies to just make some
110
00:13:07,050 --> 00:13:12,410
noise. So, you have 88 frequencies and
you're hopping on some with the signal.
111
00:13:12,410 --> 00:13:15,760
You're sending one signal there, one
signal here, and then you're sending
112
00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:23,330
random signals that don't mean anything
and if the enemy actually manages to
113
00:13:23,330 --> 00:13:29,170
intercept one of these frequencies, they
would be like just one "blip" and it
114
00:13:29,170 --> 00:13:32,889
wouldn't make any sense.
115
00:13:36,028 --> 00:13:39,950
What I want to just quickly
talk about is this.
116
00:13:39,950 --> 00:13:44,230
So this is what they
thought might happen.
117
00:13:44,230 --> 00:13:51,440
Here's an American ship going there
dispatching a torpedo that would usually
118
00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:55,950
go here.
Here's a German ship and it doesn't go in
119
00:13:55,950 --> 00:14:00,440
a straight line because it's trying to
evade the torpedo.
120
00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:07,390
Here's plane and the plane is watching and
messaging the ship that the torpedo needs
121
00:14:07,390 --> 00:14:12,940
to change its course and the ship is
messaging the torpedo "go left, go right,
122
00:14:12,940 --> 00:14:16,265
go left, go right, go left", and then -
boom.
123
00:14:19,399 --> 00:14:24,980
For synchronization between the sender and
the receiver they suggested using these
124
00:14:24,980 --> 00:14:33,660
paper ribbons with punch holes just like
in those mechanical pianos that Antheil
125
00:14:33,660 --> 00:14:35,948
used to be familiar with.
126
00:14:37,596 --> 00:14:44,250
Oh here's actually a notebook
that they used for the
127
00:14:44,250 --> 00:14:52,200
mechanism that was supposed to make the
sender and the receiver go off at the same
128
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:59,950
time, so they would be synchronized. The
New York Times picked it up and - like
129
00:14:59,950 --> 00:15:11,250
they said - the National Inventors Council
actually was positive, liked the idea and
130
00:15:11,250 --> 00:15:17,540
suggested that they should patent this.
The US patents office awarded them the
131
00:15:17,540 --> 00:15:25,860
patent but the Navy rejected it,
eventually. The Navy said it's too bulky,
132
00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:31,700
it's too big, we can't make this. But the
question is: Why?
133
00:15:31,700 --> 00:15:36,339
The Navy actually thought because they had
said they wanted to use these paper
134
00:15:36,339 --> 00:15:41,360
ribbons just like in a piano and they were
like: "We can't put a piano in a torpedo,
135
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:47,161
are you crazy? It's not gonna work!" In
fact it would have been much smaller, of
136
00:15:47,161 --> 00:15:53,970
course. And then there was the issue of a
Hollywood star, known for her beautiful
137
00:15:53,970 --> 00:16:01,260
face and a crazy composer inventing a
weapon system? I don't think so.
138
00:16:01,260 --> 00:16:07,839
Then again the timing was kind of bad
right after Pearl Harbor the Navy was in
139
00:16:07,839 --> 00:16:15,010
shock and busy fixing their existing
torpedo system. Because in 1942 about 60%
140
00:16:15,010 --> 00:16:20,670
of American torpedoes were duds. They
exploded too soon, they didn't explode at
141
00:16:20,670 --> 00:16:28,060
all, they went anywhere and so the Navy
was like "Okay, we got to fix this and we
142
00:16:28,060 --> 00:16:33,160
can't really develop anything new right
now." And then one point that I've been
143
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:40,320
thinking about is Hedy at that point was
still technically an enemy alien.
144
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:48,680
She wasn't naturalized until 1953. So there's
obviously always the question of loyalty,
145
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:54,899
I think.
Instead, she was... it was suggested that
146
00:16:54,899 --> 00:17:02,970
she should help the war by selling war
bonds, which she did very successfully.
147
00:17:02,970 --> 00:17:09,010
She sold seven million of... seven million
dollars of war bonds in one day which is
148
00:17:09,010 --> 00:17:12,201
in today's money about
100 million dollars.
149
00:17:12,201 --> 00:17:18,476
She also served cake at the
famous Hollywood Canteen.
150
00:17:18,476 --> 00:17:26,459
But her patent seemed
to have been forgotten.
151
00:17:28,093 --> 00:17:34,114
It ran out in 1959.
She never got anything from it.
152
00:17:34,114 --> 00:17:38,230
She never got any financial gain.
Nothing.
153
00:17:38,230 --> 00:17:43,080
But in fact, there was secret military
research on this topic.
154
00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,700
From the 1940s until the 1970s,
it was classified.
155
00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:56,019
The first time spread-spectrum technology
was used by the military was in 1962,
156
00:17:56,019 --> 00:18:03,330
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A system
called "BLADES" was installed in ships in
157
00:18:03,330 --> 00:18:10,289
the Caribbean and later also in the
Mediterranean Sea. And this system using
158
00:18:10,289 --> 00:18:17,580
frequency-hopping spread-spectrum was the
only one that could not be jammed at that point.
159
00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:20,720
Civil use of this technology came much
160
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:30,850
much later in the 1970s, 1980s when the
FCC started with a deregulation of
161
00:18:30,850 --> 00:18:38,109
frequencies and allowed civil use of
various frequencies in... let's say
162
00:18:38,109 --> 00:18:45,299
microwaves, later mobile phones,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc., etc., it actually
163
00:18:45,299 --> 00:18:53,789
started being used in the civil sector.
In the early 1990s Dave Hughes, who is
164
00:18:53,789 --> 00:18:59,669
known as an internet pioneer, came across
Hedy, researched her patent and lobbied
165
00:18:59,669 --> 00:19:04,661
for her recognition for the first time.
166
00:19:04,661 --> 00:19:08,735
He got her nominated for the Electronic
167
00:19:08,739 --> 00:19:18,149
Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award, which
she was awarded in 1997. She was 82 years
168
00:19:18,149 --> 00:19:26,539
old, she didn't leave the house anymore.
Her son went there and got that award on
169
00:19:26,539 --> 00:19:31,519
her behalf and supposedly she was very
happy about it that she finally got some
170
00:19:31,519 --> 00:19:36,619
recognition.
In the past 10 years especially in Austria
171
00:19:36,619 --> 00:19:43,600
there has been at last more recognition of
Hedy. There was an exhibition around the
172
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:50,159
country. The Austrian Republic awards the
Hedy Lamarr award for achievements by
173
00:19:50,159 --> 00:19:58,779
women in information technology. And
Vienna named a street after Hedy. Her
174
00:19:58,779 --> 00:20:03,950
birthday is now "Inventor's Day". In the
United States she was finally inducted in
175
00:20:03,950 --> 00:20:08,169
the National Inventor's Hall of Fame two
years ago.
176
00:20:08,169 --> 00:20:16,830
Well, I've been trying to speak just 20
minutes giving you an overview of this - I
177
00:20:16,830 --> 00:20:24,860
think remarkable - person who should get
much more recognition than she did.
178
00:20:24,860 --> 00:20:34,850
I think I've been a bit faster, actually -
that's good. I'm hoping that maybe I've
179
00:20:34,850 --> 00:20:42,090
been able to inspire some interest in this
person and maybe inspire as someone to
180
00:20:42,090 --> 00:20:48,013
read up on her or maybe watch her movies.
Sadly, she's been all but forgotten.
181
00:20:48,013 --> 00:20:55,984
Her career was... was big and very short. And
then she lived on for decades, she was
182
00:20:55,984 --> 00:21:02,580
forgotten, her inventions were forgotten.
So, I'm hoping that maybe you'd like to
183
00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:08,799
look at some sources, watch the movies you
could contact me. I have some... some
184
00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:17,429
really good books that I read on her that
I would recommend. And that would be good.
185
00:21:17,429 --> 00:21:27,629
That would... That would make me very
happy, because doing research on Hedy was fun.
186
00:21:27,629 --> 00:21:34,050
It kind of you kind of develop a
relationship to a person like that and I like her.
187
00:21:34,050 --> 00:21:39,982
She was she was considered
difficult, as a woman, as an actor,
188
00:21:39,982 --> 00:21:47,820
but I think she was considered difficult for
doing things that any man would have been considered:
189
00:21:47,820 --> 00:21:51,640
"Yeah, he's a strong guy and he knows
what he wants and he does what he wants!"
190
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,679
She was always doing things her own way.
191
00:21:54,679 --> 00:21:57,587
She came to America on her own, alone.
192
00:21:57,587 --> 00:22:03,029
She made her way. She was...
She was basically, you could say, she was a refugee.
193
00:22:03,029 --> 00:22:05,109
I mean, she came with a contract,
194
00:22:05,109 --> 00:22:10,690
but she couldn't go back. Austria was
gone, there was war. She always missed it
195
00:22:10,690 --> 00:22:15,679
and she had to make her own way. She had
to fight for a place in life and she
196
00:22:15,679 --> 00:22:23,059
always tried to find happiness.
Unfortunately, she didn't really find it.
197
00:22:23,059 --> 00:22:31,539
And so, in closing, before, we can have a
couple minutes for questions, I hope.
198
00:22:31,539 --> 00:22:37,200
I'd like to ask you to give
a hand to Hedy.
199
00:22:37,234 --> 00:22:49,134
applause
200
00:22:49,144 --> 00:22:51,229
Herald Angel: Thanks a lot, Anya, for this
201
00:22:51,229 --> 00:22:58,690
very nice talk. We have a couple of
minutes for questions and answers, so if
202
00:22:58,690 --> 00:23:08,210
you have something that you would like to
know, please feel free to go to the mics.
203
00:23:08,210 --> 00:23:10,729
There's something going on online I think.
204
00:23:10,729 --> 00:23:11,729
AD: Okay
205
00:23:11,729 --> 00:23:17,289
Questioner: Yes thank you. I would like to
know, are there any compatible stories,
206
00:23:17,289 --> 00:23:24,360
where non-technical people / persons
contributed to technology.
207
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,491
AD: I'm not sure
208
00:23:26,491 --> 00:23:28,730
Q: Is there another Hedy?
209
00:23:28,730 --> 00:23:32,289
AD: Oh another Hedy... I'm pretty sure
210
00:23:32,289 --> 00:23:41,179
there is. I can't come up with any example
right now, but... maybe someone does.
211
00:23:41,179 --> 00:23:45,320
Because there are so many people,
especially women, who are being overlooked
212
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:51,279
for what they're doing like she was. I'm
sorry, I can't really come up with any
213
00:23:51,279 --> 00:23:58,169
examples right now. But especially when it
comes to women, it's still, sadly, it's
214
00:23:58,169 --> 00:24:05,059
still so hard for women, to be recognized
in a technological field like a man would.
215
00:24:05,059 --> 00:24:12,950
This always... Maybe especially when
you're this pretty. Nobody thinks that
216
00:24:12,950 --> 00:24:18,929
there's anything behind this pretty face
and I know, I would... like, if anyone has
217
00:24:18,929 --> 00:24:26,629
an example that would be great? I'm sure
there's a lot of people who are another Hedy.
218
00:24:26,629 --> 00:24:32,960
HA: I think the person on microphone 2 was
nodding to that, but you have a question
219
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:33,960
there right?
220
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:39,489
Mic 2: Yeah, that actually kind of covered
my question. But I just... first of all
221
00:24:39,489 --> 00:24:46,109
wanted to thank you so much for doing this
talk and also maybe to sort of respond to
222
00:24:46,109 --> 00:24:49,090
you. I think, one of the things we could
think about is not only women but also
223
00:24:49,090 --> 00:24:55,269
people particularly in what we still call
"The Global South" who are doing amazing
224
00:24:55,269 --> 00:24:59,909
work that doesn't get recognized and - you
know - we come to conferences and there's
225
00:24:59,909 --> 00:25:06,029
oftentimes not a lot of communication
between developers in those places. So I
226
00:25:06,029 --> 00:25:08,860
think it's very likely that's where our
next Hedy Lamarr could come from.
227
00:25:08,860 --> 00:25:09,860
AD: Probably.
228
00:25:09,860 --> 00:25:11,049
Mic 2: So that being said I do have a
229
00:25:11,049 --> 00:25:16,289
question for you. Which is: What can
everybody here do to try to help avoid
230
00:25:16,289 --> 00:25:19,559
this? How can we think outside the box and
be reaching out
231
00:25:19,559 --> 00:25:25,490
to people and maybe uncovering hidden work
and sort of breaking the mold? Because
232
00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:29,109
that's what happened to her like, she got
stuck in this structure that existed.
233
00:25:29,109 --> 00:25:34,109
AD: By thinking outside the box I think.
234
00:25:34,109 --> 00:25:42,940
By supporting - not just girls - from an
early age, you know? To just not look at
235
00:25:42,940 --> 00:25:50,379
this gender stereotypes. You have a girl
and so "Yeah, she can't be interested in
236
00:25:50,379 --> 00:25:56,700
technology." You should just be open and
be open to anyone who's asking questions,
237
00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:59,399
who wants to learn and support that.
238
00:25:59,399 --> 00:26:04,010
Mic 2: It's really awesome to see so many
little girls here - yeah, thanks to all
239
00:26:04,010 --> 00:26:06,179
the parents who are doing that.
240
00:26:06,179 --> 00:26:11,469
applause
241
00:26:11,469 --> 00:26:13,539
HA: We have one more question online.
242
00:26:13,539 --> 00:26:18,959
Q: Yes thank you. Can you elaborate a
little bit on her formal education?
243
00:26:18,959 --> 00:26:22,200
Was there anything else than Normal School?
244
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:34,349
AD: Yes. Well, she was born in 1914.
She went... Typically a girl of her status,
245
00:26:34,349 --> 00:26:41,309
she was from a well-off family, her dad
was a banker, went to a girl's school,
246
00:26:41,309 --> 00:26:52,559
which she did. But as far as I've read up,
her dad actually supported her learning.
247
00:26:52,559 --> 00:27:03,990
He taught her a lot, he took her hiking,
he told her how technical apparatuses work
248
00:27:03,990 --> 00:27:08,590
and he always supported
her learning a lot.
249
00:27:08,590 --> 00:27:15,359
But then again, she had the typical formal
education of a girl of her age and status.
250
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:22,879
And when she was 16, she was at a
finishing school in Switzerland and she
251
00:27:22,879 --> 00:27:27,770
ran away, because she wanted to be an
actress. So I guess, it was not that challenging.
252
00:27:27,770 --> 00:27:30,932
it was nothing that really
interested her in that school.
253
00:27:30,932 --> 00:27:34,764
I'm guessing, girls
they learned how to be a good wife.
254
00:27:34,764 --> 00:27:41,490
How to, you know, know enough so
that you're not too boring for your future husband.
255
00:27:41,490 --> 00:27:45,570
That was the goal of educating girls.
256
00:27:45,570 --> 00:27:48,440
HA: We got another question on Mic 1.
257
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,279
Mic 1: I would like to thank you for this
258
00:27:51,279 --> 00:28:00,969
talk as well and for the intervention just
on microphone number 2. I would like to
259
00:28:00,969 --> 00:28:06,529
know what led you to researching Hedy's
life and how did you stumble upon this
260
00:28:06,529 --> 00:28:10,509
personality? Because as you said yourself
it's hard to, I mean, they're not
261
00:28:10,509 --> 00:28:16,179
recognized - how how do you find her at
all? Thank you.
262
00:28:16,179 --> 00:28:19,679
AD: So, how did I find her? I found her
263
00:28:19,679 --> 00:28:27,029
last year. I had never ever heard of her.
Never seen any of her movies. Somebody on
264
00:28:27,029 --> 00:28:34,059
Twitter, who I follow, posted a link about
her. Like an article online about her
265
00:28:34,059 --> 00:28:39,690
inventions. And I read that and I thought
"Wow... That's interesting! Who is that?"
266
00:28:39,690 --> 00:28:45,309
And then I just started googling her and
in the end I started buying all these
267
00:28:45,309 --> 00:28:49,820
books and reading and watching her movies
and I'm really happy about that because,
268
00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:56,350
as I said, I really like her.
So, yeah, Twitter.
269
00:28:59,660 --> 00:29:02,010
HA: , I think... There's someone at Mic 6. Yeah, I
270
00:29:02,010 --> 00:29:06,380
wasn't sure because you sat down again...
So please, ask your question now.
271
00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:10,100
Mic 6: I'm not sure, you said like, the
272
00:29:10,100 --> 00:29:15,019
name of the talk was "The Woman Behind Wi-
Fi" - can you explain the title and her
273
00:29:15,019 --> 00:29:18,659
position and what was made out of her
theory?
274
00:29:18,659 --> 00:29:23,659
AD: Yes, I chose that title, because a lot
275
00:29:23,659 --> 00:29:32,320
of articles... there's a lot of short
mentions of her online and they often
276
00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:40,019
stressed that she was one of the pioneers
of these technologies that eventually led
277
00:29:40,019 --> 00:29:48,081
to today's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. And
there's still always this discussion, when
278
00:29:48,081 --> 00:29:53,090
somebody says well yeah she invented Wi-Fi
(which I wouldn't say, because she didn't)
279
00:29:53,090 --> 00:30:04,919
but she was one of many pioneers working
on this technology the past decades and
280
00:30:04,919 --> 00:30:13,730
there's still always kind of misogynistic
backlash when somebody recognizes her
281
00:30:13,730 --> 00:30:21,049
achievement. Then people are always "Yeah,
it's so different Wi-Fi and spread-
282
00:30:21,049 --> 00:30:26,409
spectrum today from what she did and she
didn't really do anything, it's not that
283
00:30:26,409 --> 00:30:34,259
important!" and that's still today. And I
think it is important, what she did. She
284
00:30:34,259 --> 00:30:41,549
was ahead of her time. She thought about
something that scientists during that time
285
00:30:41,549 --> 00:30:51,840
could not grasp. It was possible her
patent was feasible and it's - to answer
286
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,809
your question - it's kind of a little
provocative, maybe, the title.
287
00:30:56,809 --> 00:31:05,499
Intentionally to just make you think about
"What exactly did she do?". Which is not
288
00:31:05,499 --> 00:31:06,590
that little, I think.
289
00:31:06,590 --> 00:31:12,419
HA: I think regardless of a provocative
title it was a really amazing talk and we
290
00:31:12,419 --> 00:31:15,977
would like to thank you one more time, Anja Drephal
291
00:31:15,977 --> 00:31:21,820
applause
292
00:31:21,820 --> 00:31:29,886
music
293
00:31:29,886 --> 00:31:46,000
subtitles created by c3subtitles.de
in the year 2017. Join, and help us!