Alan Turing

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

an interesting take on his genius .... far more symppathetic than might be taken at first look ...

... and an odd resonance with the Ego Tunnel ideas of Mertzinger

Turing was born in 1912


he was martyred by the myopic and malign hypocrisy of our establishment; since many of them were actively gay it must be that it was that Alan was seen to be so that led to his terrorising ...

[Ferretfancy]

calum
The current small exhibition at the Science Museum paints a very sympathetic portrait, as of course does a visit to Bletchley Park. I was a gay teenager in 1953, and was very scared when I saw the terrible witchhunt that was going on under the evil influence of Sir David Maxwell Fife and others. There was nobody to talk to back then, as I certainly did not expect any understanding from my friends.
Later on,living independently, there was this constant need for concealment at a time when you could be arrested for standing outside a pub talking to friends. The police could always find an excuse. I was very fortunate, others were not.

There seems now to be some doubt as to whether Turing actually killed himself after the terrible ordeal he had suffered. The exhibition contains details of the autopsy, and there's little doubt that it was cyanide. However, he did have a corner of his flat that he used for chemical and photographic work, and he may have breathed cyanide fumes. Since he was virtually erased from history until recently, I doubt if the truth will ever be clear.

One very touching feature of the exhibition is some of the correspondence. Turing had concerning a school friend who died very young. Turing adored him, but his love was not returned. Nevertheless, they were very close friends and there are letters to his friend's mother which are very moving in their honesty.

Every time we open a mobile phone we owe Turing a debt.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i am glad you lived to see the end of that perdition ferretfancy

what caught my affection for Turing was reading how he developed the mathematics to describe the formation of patterns on cows' skins! what a marvellous intellect .... he really ought to be in Trafalgar Square as a tribute to his genius and its contribution to national survival; and as a testament to the suffering of many, which he exemplified, and its subsequent relief by Mr Jenkins ...

[amateur51]

calum
The current small exhibition at the Science Museum paints a very sympathetic portrait, as of course does a visit to Bletchley Park. I was a gay teenager in 1953, and was very scared when I saw the terrible witchhunt that was going on under the evil influence of Sir David Maxwell Fife and others. There was nobody to talk to back then, as I certainly did not expect any understanding from my friends.
Later on,living independently, there was this constant need for concealment at a time when you could be arrested for standing outside a pub talking to friends. The police could always find an excuse. I was very fortunate, others were not.

There seems now to be some doubt as to whether Turing actually killed himself after the terrible ordeal he had suffered. The exhibition contains details of the autopsy, and there's little doubt that it was cyanide. However, he did have a corner of his flat that he used for chemical and photographic work, and he may have breathed cyanide fumes. Since he was virtually erased from history until recently, I doubt if the truth will ever be clear.

One very touching feature of the exhibition is some of the correspondence. Turing had concerning a school friend who died very young. Turing adored him, but his love was not returned. Nevertheless, they were very close friends and there are letters to his friend's mother which are very moving in their honesty.

Every time we open a mobile phone we owe Turing a debt.

Yes people tend to forget what it was like back then. I was born at the end of 1951 but I very soon (around age 7) got a very clear idea that little boys like me who tended to gawp at male beauty had to develop strategies to ensure that no-one guessed what was going through your mind.

I enjoyed that exhibition too, Ferret and they give away a very nice booklet full of interesting photos & descriptions. I didn't know that Turing had tried to get married at one time while at Bletchley Park but the young woman wasn't very keen and Turing sensibly shelved the idea. Maybe he was just setting off a smokescreen - he wouldn't be the first.

There is speculation too about whether or not Turing displayed some form of autism. He was certainly very awkward socially and his guileless admission about his sexuality when confronted by the police may have been part of this too. His brain clearly did not work like other people's, thank goodness, and perhaps his social difficulties were an aspect of the same intelligence that created his pioneering work.

The story about Christopher Morcom, his school friend who died as a schoolboy, is very moving and well related in Andrew Hodges' excellent biography. As you say, Ferret the letter from Turing to Mrs Morcom is very moving.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Andrew-Hodges/dp/0099116413/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

[Northender]

I thought this gave Turing a fair hearing, if I can express it in that way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes people tend to forget what it was like back then.

Getting in rather late one night at the weekend, I caught on the 'Yesterday' channel some of a Channel 4 documentary about the witch-hunt that led to the Montague/Wildeblood trial and thence to the reform of the law. I see it's available in its entirety in five parts on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ErRkMdA1qc Gripping and scarcely-credible (but sadly true) stuff...

Some interesting insights re: Turing here: http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/scrapbook/spirit.html

[Gordon]

.... he really ought to be in Trafalgar Square as a tribute to his genius and its contribution to national survival ...

People like him don't get to places like that, they are reserved for military men and those that send others to war. However there is a larger than life size statue of AT at Surrey University in a very public place. Excuse presence of No 1 daughter getting her Masters, included for scale. See link here:

http://personal.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/D.Jefferies/turing/

[Northender]

There's also a modest statue in Sackville Park, Manchester.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Gordon No 1 D is fine by me and congrats to her on her achievement!

[Karafan]

Yes, Quite agree with the other posters.

Thankfully I was born in the sixties, so I never had the legal aspect of coming out to deal with. Dreadful that a man like him, to whom we all owe to a great extent our freedom and liberty (setting aside the technological innovations), can be hounded into taking his own life by narrow minded and hateful persecutors.

A quote from Hodges book "Enigma" resonates in my mind, stating Turing thought it "absurd to be ashamed of anything harmlessly enjoyed: be it parlour games or bedroom pleasures". Quite so.

[amateur51]

Gordon No 1 D is fine by me and congrats to her on her achievement!

Agreed Calum - a great photo Gordon and a great achievement Gordon's daughter

[Gordon]

...There is speculation too about whether or not Turing displayed some form of autism...

The same has been hinted at in the case of Dirac as a result of his social awkwardness and directness of expression.

[Gordon]

Thanks CDJ and A51 [or should I say diolch yn fawr!] we are proud of our little girl!! That photo was taken in March 2006 so she's moved on a bit now! No 2 didn't do badly either but that's another story.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Gordon even so; mine has just done it so feeling proud all round is easy and congrats to No 2!!

[Pianorak]

Breaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about Alan Turing. The play ran in London's West End beginning in November 1986 and on Broadway from 15 November 1987 to 10 April 1988. There was also a 1996 BBC television production (Wikipedia)