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Alan Turing was a mathematician & cryptographer who was a leading code-breaker in the team that decrypted Nazi Germany’s Enigma machine during WWII. He inspired modern computing & what became AI.

Instead of being hailed as a genius & hero, Turing was convicted as a homosexual & forced to endure chemical castration. He died by suicide at 41 in 1954.

The British government didn’t apologize until 2009 & Queen Elizabeth II finally pardoned him in 2013. #history #science

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

You forgot to mention about "Turing Test", cause that's what I know him for.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I've thought how if Britain had not "locked down" all the work from Bletchley under official secrets act, and had not persecuted Turing, Britain could have been Silicon Valley. But no.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

@chirpbirb visited his memorial during UK trip (in Manchester)
I cried.
Also saw the one at Bletchley Park. Cried harder. They had plaques discussing it and I knew it all but it’s gut wrenching every time I remember the details.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Whereas as of a few years ago Turing is on our highest value banknote.
Ironically, today’s Chief Cashier of the Bank of England who signs all those banknotes happens to be a woman from Alan’s Cambridge college.

That doesn’t excuse the hypocrisy and bigotry, it just shows it takes 50 or 60 years for the UK to admit a mistake.

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Pardoned him ???
For what ??????
Not fitting in in smallminded society ??
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

even better - he’s now on the £50 note, along with his equations to define a Turing machine (as others have described in replies)
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

…..image the additional lives lost / mangled had it not been for Turing & his team….hero & genius indeed
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

the Turing test for AI was his brain child, now, le that sink in ...
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

The significance of his work as a cryptologist and mathematician was unknown (classified) He was judged as a homosexual and deemed worthless by the authorities of the time. Judgement based on ignorance and prejudice immoral. How are the judges judged?
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

It's amazing that the Security Services didn't suggest legalising "Gayness" years ago. Just imagine how many Soviet blackmail attempts would have been foiled! "Do az ve ask or ve tell people you are gay!" "They already know!" "Oh. Shitzki!"
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

And he was played in a movie by Benedict Cumberbatch, the most delightfully named actor ever.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Alan Turing inventor of the Turing Test and the Turing Machine. Code Breaker at Bletchley Park during WWII.

On the eve of WWII Turing and other members of the secret service of UK and France travelled to a forest in Poland. The group met with officers of the Biuro Szyfró (crypto office) and where handed over the crypto analysis of enigma by Marian Rejeweski together with the Bombas (bombs) enabling the later success of Turing.

After WWII UK sold „unbreakable“ enigma

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Interesting! Do you have a link to the British Governments formal apology? I am interested in the wording.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

another cool fact about his time at blechly they actually employed thousands of code breakers, with nearly all of them being women.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Not to mention his work was considered top secret even after the war ended… so no recognition until after his death. So sad!

#AlanTuring #Hero #WWII

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Actually, the idea of his death being a suicide has been in question since his death and based on the excellent and regularly updated biography The Enigma Alan Turing by Andrew Hodges it is highly unlikely it was anything but an accident.

Hodges puts forth in his updates that based on interviews and evidence that Turing was careless with dangerous chemicals at times and spells out that his death was an accident. His work has convinced me.

Highly recommend the book

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

It's estimated that as a direct result of his work that WWII ended FOUR years early & saved FOUR MILLION lives. Now that's a war hero.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Sad. But they made a cool movie about him, "The Imitation Game", streaming on Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video, Amazon's FreeVee, etc. See Trailer here:
https://youtu.be/nuPZUUED5uk?feature=shared
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

If you are in Germany and of course if you happen to be in Paderborn, visit the world biggest Computer Museum, it is called #HNF. There is a crypto tour to understand famous people (Alan Touring), crypto tools (e.g. the Enigma) and the stories behind.
#hnf
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

How they could justify such treatment of the brilliant man who broke the Enigma code is beyond me! He saved their country!
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

"decrypted Enigma during WWII" is a phrase I would not fully agree with.

Enigma was first decrypted by Polish military intelligence before the war. And info was shared with French and British counterparts.

What Turing's team did during WWII was decrypting newer versions of Enigma based on that info and improving tools.

They also broke Lorentz code which was more complicated and important as being used in high command. Colossus, one of the first computers, was done for it.

in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

“Convicted as a homosexual” is a sentence I can’t quite wrap my head around. And to think, a segment of society wants to return to those halcyon days. #SickPuppies
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

We are (fortunately!) living in a representative democracy. I.e., we are electing representatives to take over representative duties, including government.
If hose representatives are scared by the electors* from doing the RIGHT thing - why elect them?
And, worse: If not, what else?
(* they say)

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