Happy Birthday Alan Turing.

[Sallow]

The grandfather of the Modern Computer and cracker of the Enigma code was born 100 years ago today..

Alan Turing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Sallow]

Google has a nice tribute to him!

 

[waltky]

Turing's suicide in doubt...

Alan Turing: Inquest's suicide verdict 'not supportable'
23 June 2012 - Turing was found dead in his bed by his housekeeper

Alan Turing, the British mathematical genius and codebreaker born 100 years ago on 23 June, may not have committed suicide, as is widely believed. At a conference in Oxford on Saturday, Turing expert Prof Jack Copeland will question the evidence that was presented at the 1954 inquest. He believes the evidence would not today be accepted as sufficient to establish a suicide verdict. Indeed, he argues, Turing's death may equally probably have been an accident.

What is well known and accepted is that Alan Turing died of cyanide poisoning. His housekeeper famously found the 41-year-old mathematician dead in his bed, with a half-eaten apple on his bedside table. It is widely said that Turing had been haunted by the story of the poisoned apple in the fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and had resorted to the same desperate measure to end the persecution he was suffering as a result of his homosexuality.

But according to Prof Copeland, it was Turing's habit to take an apple at bedtime, and that it was quite usual for him not to finish it; the half-eaten remains found near his body cannot be seen as an indication of a deliberate act. Indeed, the police never tested the apple for the presence of cyanide. Moreover, Prof Copeland emphasises, a coroner these days would demand evidence of pre-meditation before announcing a verdict of suicide, yet nothing in the accounts of Turing's last days suggest he was in anything but a cheerful mood.

He had left a note on his office desk, as was his practice, the previous Friday to remind himself of the tasks to be done on his return after the Bank Holiday weekend. Nevertheless, at the inquest, the coroner, Mr JAK Ferns declared: "In a man of his type, one never knows what his mental processes are going to do next." What he meant by "of his type" is unclear.

More BBC News - Alan Turing: Inquest's suicide verdict 'not supportable'

 

[waltky]

Alan Turing gets pardon...

UK FINALLY PARDONS COMPUTER PIONEER ALAN TURING
Dec 24,`13 -- His code breaking prowess helped the Allies outfox the Nazis, his theories laid the foundation for the computer age, and his work on artificial intelligence still informs the debate over whether machines can think.

But Alan Turing was gay, and 1950s Britain punished the mathematician's sexuality with a criminal conviction, intrusive surveillance and hormone treatment meant to extinguish his sex drive. Now, nearly half a century after the war hero's suicide, Queen Elizabeth II has finally granted Turing a pardon. "Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. Describing Turing's treatment as unjust, Grayling said the code breaker "deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science." The pardon has been a long time coming.

Turing's contributions to science spanned several disciplines, but he's perhaps best remembered as the architect of the effort to crack the Enigma code, the cypher used by Nazi Germany to secure its military communications. Turing's groundbreaking work - combined with the effort of cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park near Oxford and the capture of several Nazi code books - gave the Allies the edge across half the globe, helping them defeat the Italians in the Mediterranean, beat back the Germans in Africa and escape enemy submarines in the Atlantic. "It could be argued and it has been argued that he shortened the war, and that possibly without him the Allies might not have won the war," said David Leavitt, the author of a book on Turing's life and work. "That's highly speculative, but I don't think his contribution can be underestimated. It was immense."

Even before the war, Turing was formulating ideas that would underpin modern computing, ideas which matured into a fascination with artificial intelligence and the notion that machines would someday challenge the minds of man. When the war ended, Turing went to work programing some of the world's first computers, drawing up - among other things - one of the earliest chess games. Turing made no secret of his sexuality, and being gay could easily lead to prosecution in post-war Britain. In 1952, Turing was convicted of "gross indecency" over his relationship with another man, and he was stripped of his security clearance, subjected to monitoring by British authorities, and forced to take estrogen to neutralize his sex drive - a process described by some as chemical castration.

S. Barry Cooper, a University of Leeds mathematician who has written about Turing's work, said future generations would struggle to understand the code breaker's treatment. "You take one of your greatest scientists, and you invade his body with hormones," he said in a telephone interview. "It was a national failure." Depressed and angry, Turing committed suicide in 1954.

Turing's legacy was long obscured by secrecy - "Even his mother wasn't allowed to know what he'd done," Cooper said. But as his contribution to the war effort was gradually declassified, and personal computers began to deliver on Turing's promise of "universal machines," the injustice of his conviction became ever more glaring. Then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology for Turing's treatment in 2009, but campaigners kept pressing for a formal pardon. One of them, British lawmaker Iain Stewart, told The Associated Press he was delighted with the news that one had finally been granted. "He helped preserve our liberty," Steward said in a telephone interview. "We owed it to him in recognition of what he did for the country - and indeed the free world - that his name should be cleared."

News from The Associated Press

 

[rightwinger]

Amazing that they would castrate a man who saved the lives of thousands and helped win the war

Shows the hatred towards gays

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Alan Turing gets pardon...

UK FINALLY PARDONS COMPUTER PIONEER ALAN TURING
Dec 24,`13 -- His code breaking prowess helped the Allies outfox the Nazis, his theories laid the foundation for the computer age, and his work on artificial intelligence still informs the debate over whether machines can think.

But Alan Turing was gay, and 1950s Britain punished the mathematician's sexuality with a criminal conviction, intrusive surveillance and hormone treatment meant to extinguish his sex drive. Now, nearly half a century after the war hero's suicide, Queen Elizabeth II has finally granted Turing a pardon. "Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. Describing Turing's treatment as unjust, Grayling said the code breaker "deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science." The pardon has been a long time coming.

Turing's contributions to science spanned several disciplines, but he's perhaps best remembered as the architect of the effort to crack the Enigma code, the cypher used by Nazi Germany to secure its military communications. Turing's groundbreaking work - combined with the effort of cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park near Oxford and the capture of several Nazi code books - gave the Allies the edge across half the globe, helping them defeat the Italians in the Mediterranean, beat back the Germans in Africa and escape enemy submarines in the Atlantic. "It could be argued and it has been argued that he shortened the war, and that possibly without him the Allies might not have won the war," said David Leavitt, the author of a book on Turing's life and work. "That's highly speculative, but I don't think his contribution can be underestimated. It was immense."

Even before the war, Turing was formulating ideas that would underpin modern computing, ideas which matured into a fascination with artificial intelligence and the notion that machines would someday challenge the minds of man. When the war ended, Turing went to work programing some of the world's first computers, drawing up - among other things - one of the earliest chess games. Turing made no secret of his sexuality, and being gay could easily lead to prosecution in post-war Britain. In 1952, Turing was convicted of "gross indecency" over his relationship with another man, and he was stripped of his security clearance, subjected to monitoring by British authorities, and forced to take estrogen to neutralize his sex drive - a process described by some as chemical castration.

S. Barry Cooper, a University of Leeds mathematician who has written about Turing's work, said future generations would struggle to understand the code breaker's treatment. "You take one of your greatest scientists, and you invade his body with hormones," he said in a telephone interview. "It was a national failure." Depressed and angry, Turing committed suicide in 1954.

Turing's legacy was long obscured by secrecy - "Even his mother wasn't allowed to know what he'd done," Cooper said. But as his contribution to the war effort was gradually declassified, and personal computers began to deliver on Turing's promise of "universal machines," the injustice of his conviction became ever more glaring. Then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology for Turing's treatment in 2009, but campaigners kept pressing for a formal pardon. One of them, British lawmaker Iain Stewart, told The Associated Press he was delighted with the news that one had finally been granted. "He helped preserve our liberty," Steward said in a telephone interview. "We owed it to him in recognition of what he did for the country - and indeed the free world - that his name should be cleared."

News from The Associated Press

Any country or company that suppresses their own talent because of who they go to bed with, or how they worship, or anything else, should be given the finger and left to it.

Trying eavesdropping on al-Qaeda chitchat without Arabs raised speaking those languages.
Yet th American Defense Department has on a number of occasions fired Muslim translators because they're Muslims. Ya, good luck training English speakers in Farsi guys.

 

[rightwinger]

Alan Turing gets pardon...

UK FINALLY PARDONS COMPUTER PIONEER ALAN TURING
Dec 24,`13 -- His code breaking prowess helped the Allies outfox the Nazis, his theories laid the foundation for the computer age, and his work on artificial intelligence still informs the debate over whether machines can think.

But Alan Turing was gay, and 1950s Britain punished the mathematician's sexuality with a criminal conviction, intrusive surveillance and hormone treatment meant to extinguish his sex drive. Now, nearly half a century after the war hero's suicide, Queen Elizabeth II has finally granted Turing a pardon. "Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. Describing Turing's treatment as unjust, Grayling said the code breaker "deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science." The pardon has been a long time coming.

Turing's contributions to science spanned several disciplines, but he's perhaps best remembered as the architect of the effort to crack the Enigma code, the cypher used by Nazi Germany to secure its military communications. Turing's groundbreaking work - combined with the effort of cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park near Oxford and the capture of several Nazi code books - gave the Allies the edge across half the globe, helping them defeat the Italians in the Mediterranean, beat back the Germans in Africa and escape enemy submarines in the Atlantic. "It could be argued and it has been argued that he shortened the war, and that possibly without him the Allies might not have won the war," said David Leavitt, the author of a book on Turing's life and work. "That's highly speculative, but I don't think his contribution can be underestimated. It was immense."

Even before the war, Turing was formulating ideas that would underpin modern computing, ideas which matured into a fascination with artificial intelligence and the notion that machines would someday challenge the minds of man. When the war ended, Turing went to work programing some of the world's first computers, drawing up - among other things - one of the earliest chess games. Turing made no secret of his sexuality, and being gay could easily lead to prosecution in post-war Britain. In 1952, Turing was convicted of "gross indecency" over his relationship with another man, and he was stripped of his security clearance, subjected to monitoring by British authorities, and forced to take estrogen to neutralize his sex drive - a process described by some as chemical castration.

S. Barry Cooper, a University of Leeds mathematician who has written about Turing's work, said future generations would struggle to understand the code breaker's treatment. "You take one of your greatest scientists, and you invade his body with hormones," he said in a telephone interview. "It was a national failure." Depressed and angry, Turing committed suicide in 1954.

Turing's legacy was long obscured by secrecy - "Even his mother wasn't allowed to know what he'd done," Cooper said. But as his contribution to the war effort was gradually declassified, and personal computers began to deliver on Turing's promise of "universal machines," the injustice of his conviction became ever more glaring. Then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology for Turing's treatment in 2009, but campaigners kept pressing for a formal pardon. One of them, British lawmaker Iain Stewart, told The Associated Press he was delighted with the news that one had finally been granted. "He helped preserve our liberty," Steward said in a telephone interview. "We owed it to him in recognition of what he did for the country - and indeed the free world - that his name should be cleared."

News from The Associated Press

Any country or company that suppresses their own talent because of who they go to bed with, or how they worship, or anything else, should be given the finger and left to it.

Trying eavesdropping on al-Qaeda chitchat without Arabs raised speaking those languages.
Yet th American Defense Department has on a number of occasions fired Muslim translators because they're Muslims. Ya, good luck training English speakers in Farsi guys.

We had this debate when we discussed gays in the military. Why chase away some of your best talent?

Turing was a genius who helped win the war. Think of this genius at the dawn of the computer age in the 50s and 60s? What could he have accomplished?

Instead, he gets hounded, spied upon, arrested and castrated.....all because we did not approve of his sexuality

 

[Sallow]

Alan Turing gets pardon...

UK FINALLY PARDONS COMPUTER PIONEER ALAN TURING
Dec 24,`13 -- His code breaking prowess helped the Allies outfox the Nazis, his theories laid the foundation for the computer age, and his work on artificial intelligence still informs the debate over whether machines can think.

Any country or company that suppresses their own talent because of who they go to bed with, or how they worship, or anything else, should be given the finger and left to it.

Trying eavesdropping on al-Qaeda chitchat without Arabs raised speaking those languages.
Yet th American Defense Department has on a number of occasions fired Muslim translators because they're Muslims. Ya, good luck training English speakers in Farsi guys.

We had this debate when we discussed gays in the military. Why chase away some of your best talent?

Turing was a genius who helped win the war. Think of this genius at the dawn of the computer age in the 50s and 60s? What could he have accomplished?

Instead, he gets hounded, spied upon, arrested and castrated.....all because we did not approve of his sexuality

He should have been awarded top honors.

 

[rightwinger]

Any country or company that suppresses their own talent because of who they go to bed with, or how they worship, or anything else, should be given the finger and left to it.

Trying eavesdropping on al-Qaeda chitchat without Arabs raised speaking those languages.
Yet th American Defense Department has on a number of occasions fired Muslim translators because they're Muslims. Ya, good luck training English speakers in Farsi guys.

We had this debate when we discussed gays in the military. Why chase away some of your best talent?

Turing was a genius who helped win the war. Think of this genius at the dawn of the computer age in the 50s and 60s? What could he have accomplished?

Instead, he gets hounded, spied upon, arrested and castrated.....all because we did not approve of his sexuality

He should have been awarded top honors.

His work on Enigma could not even be publicly acknowledged or rewarded. He was just another math geek who didn't fight in the war.