Alan Turing is the most interesting person to me in the history of computer science at this time. I say at this time, because the history of computer science is very new to me and I am not familiar with many of the people that were involved in it’s history.
He is the most interesting to me, because of the legal case brought against him for being homosexual, the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, and the confidential nature of his code-decryption work for the British government.
It is only 63 years later and gay marriage is now legal in Britain and the United States. At the time, Turing was charged with a crime just for being homosexual and was required to undergo hormonal treatment to reduce libido, but which actually made him impotent. That seems like such an extreme punishment for something that is not considered a crime today. The black and white nature of laws troubles me. People in more recent times have been sentenced to life in prison for drug offenses. Any law that heavily punishes people for nonviolent crimes is morally unjust to me. I wish these unjust laws would be abolished quicker. Why should it take 60 years to change laws that demonize harmless individuals?
His death is interesting, because he was only 41, and there is speculation about whether it was accidental or a suicide. He achieved a great amount in a relatively short lifetime. His death was due to cyanide poisoning, but an apparatus he had for gold electroplating means he could have inhaled cyanide accidentally or he intentionally ingested it with an apple that was found with him. It is very interesting to me that his mental state at the time will forever remain a mystery; was he profoundly despaired by his legal case and subsequent hormonal treatment or was he just careless with potentially deadly chemicals?
Without studying in detail his work toward deciphering German ciphers during World War II, it seems apparent by his colleagues’ admiration and the length of time some of his papers were kept confidential that he contributed substantially to the war-time decryption efforts. Not being very well versed in math, I find it hard to fathom the mathematical intricacies it would require to break any code that was designed by Germany’s smartest military scientists.
While reading about his decryption work, it surprised me to learn of his athletic prowess. He occasionally ran the 40 miles to London for high-level meetings. I have read a few books by modern-day Ultramarathoners (Dean Karnazes and Pam Reed). Modern day ultramarathons seem to range from 50 - 100 miles, regularly, but they are technically any distance over the standard marathon. I thought ultramarathons were a relatively new development, so I was surprised to learn that their history in England goes back to the Victorian Era (1837 - 1901).
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