Alan Turing

[amateur51]

Entrapped - or just trapped? More than just a grammatical point, as the former implies he was set up whereas the latter suggests nothing more than carelessness or misfortune.

The story is that he was entrapped, I think

[Gordon]

Much in the way assembly-language programming is discouraged - and is well on the way to becoming a black art - in our own day.

By the way the Welsh composer Daniel Jones also worked at Bletchley Park (see Grove's). And some of his music we are told reflects his "metrical experiments, which were influenced by his understanding of patterns and symmetrical shapes in nature (he kept a microscope for noting plant structures)." Now that recalls does it not Turing's interests towards the end of his life in morphogenetics (the development of living things). I wonder whether they knew each other and if so whether they discussed the subject over luncheon. Daniel Jones is not mentioned in Mr. Hodges's fascinating Turing biography.

Thanks for that Sydney. I knew DJ had spent time at Bletchley but not the rest of it. [ I should have known, having a copy of Grove]. The music of DJ is well worth a listen particularly his string quartets - Chandos CHAN 9535 - despite his being from South Wales! Another claim to fame - he was born the day after Kingsway Hall was opened!

[amateur51]

Thanks for that Sydney. I knew DJ had spent time at Bletchley but not the rest of it. [ I should have known, having a copy of Grove]. The music of DJ is well worth a listen particularly his string quartets - Chandos CHAN 9535 - despite his being from South Wales! Another claim to fame - he was born the day after Kingsway Hall was opened!

Bachgen drwg!

[Gordon]

Bachgen drwg!

Gwir yw, mae'r rhan fwyaf o gyfansorwyr Cymreig yn dod o'r De!! Can't think of many Welsh composers from the North - Arwel Hughes from Rhos? His St David is worth a listen. I think his son Owain Arwel Hughes recorded it for Chandos a while ago - CHAN 8890.

[mercia]

a posthumous royal pardon

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25495315

[MrGongGong]

a posthumous royal pardon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25495315

Long overdue
I'm reminded of something that I heard Michael Portillo say on R4 the other day about how the British do the right thing but only after they have exhausted all other possibilities

[vinteuil]

I'm reminded of something that I heard Michael Portillo say on R4 the other day about how the British do the right thing but only after they have exhausted all other possibilities

.
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." - Winston Churchill

[Mary Chambers]

Can someone be pardoned when they have done nothing wrong? I suppose it's an admission that the conviction was wrong, which is something, but what about all the others who were also abominably treated? I feel sort of uncomfortable about this, but perhaps it's better than nothing. I may be misinterpreting the word 'pardon', but to me it implies sins forgiven. If there were no sins, how can they be forgiven?

[amateur51]

Can someone be pardoned when they have done nothing wrong? I suppose it's an admission that the conviction was wrong, which is something, but what about all the others who were also abominable treated? I feel sort of uncomfortable about this, but perhaps it's better than nothing. I may be misinterpreting the word 'pardon', but to me it implies sins forgiven. If there were no sins, how can they be forgiven?

I agree with Mary's analysis but I guess it's the best ending to a very sad and salutary tale.

The question that no-one seems to raise is: having done so much in his relatively short life, what else might Akan Turing have achieved had he klived a further twenty-five years, possibly in a stable nurturing relationship?

'Victimless crime' cries Peter Tatchell of Turing's punishment, and quite rightly. But what if the true victim were humankind?

[MrGongGong]

Can someone be pardoned when they have done nothing wrong? I suppose it's an admission that the conviction was wrong, which is something, but what about all the others who were also abominable treated? I feel sort of uncomfortable about this, but perhaps it's better than nothing. I may be misinterpreting the word 'pardon', but to me it implies sins forgiven. If there were no sins, how can they be forgiven?

Good point Mary

[french frank]

Can someone be pardoned when they have done nothing wrong? I suppose it's an admission that the conviction was wrong, which is something, but what about all the others who were also abominably treated? I feel sort of uncomfortable about this, but perhaps it's better than nothing. I may be misinterpreting the word 'pardon', but to me it implies sins forgiven. If there were no sins, how can they be forgiven?

You can be prosecuted and convicted for what was at that time a crime. New legislation doesn't imply that those previously found guilty automatically have their convictions wiped from the record.

[eighthobstruction]

Do they give posthumous peerages....??

http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/turing-statue.jpg

[amateur51]

Do they give posthumous peerages....??

http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-conten...ing-statue.jpg

A Nobel Prize even?

[Beef Oven!]

Can someone be pardoned when they have done nothing wrong?

Well, that takes us into the realms of book-burning and that's worse. I guess a pardon is the best outcome in the overall scheme of things.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Good point Mary