Alan Turing

Mathematician, cryptanalyst and the father of modern computing. He's probably responsible, more than any other single man, for the fact that we don't goose-step down Regent Street and gas our Jews. He cracked the Enigma Machine at Bletchley Park which let us read the Germans military communications and almost certainly won the war for us.

And how did a grateful nation reward him? Well read on.....

After the war he continued to work in pure research, always funded by the government, and churned out an impressive collection of acedemic papers. Life was good for him. And then, in 1952, disaster struck. What was, up until then, an open secret became public knowledge.

Alan Turing loved the cock.

He'd been robbed by a rent-boy and naively called the police to report the robbery. He explained to the officer what had happened - a rent boy had robbed him - and, to his complete astonishment, was arrested for being a player of the pink oboe.He might have been a genius but he had no common sense. What followed was just obscene.

He was tried and convicted of gross indecency and was given the choice of chemical castration or prison. He opted for the drugs. They also stripped him of his security clearance and banned him from any government funded research which meant that he couldn't work.

The drugs turned him from an athlete (he was a distance runner) into a fat, bloated wreck of a man. Eventually, in 1954, this gentle genius took his own life at the age of 42. Murdered for being gay.

What a fucking senseless waste of a life! Killed when he just entering the prime of life.

The British Government, like Stalin, seemed to believe that gratitude was a disease of dogs.....


Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 7:59, 11 replies)

You've mentioned this before, Legless...

And it was just as poignant and moving a tribute then.

Let's hope that while there are people such as yourself to educate us, that we will never forget such heroes, and that we eventually learn from our mistakes and petty prejudices.

And then perhaps his tragic death may not have been in vain.

*tribute click*
( Pooflake braces for an onslaught..., Tue 21 Apr 2009, 8:54, closed)

I hate computers .....
But I do love teh cock so I applaude your reminder of his greatness and his shoddy treatment at the hands of our government.
( girlinthehole, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 9:12, closed)

Beautifully written
Turing's contribution to the nation is almost incalculable, not only playing a significant role in cracking the Enigma code but also laying down the foundations of modern computing.

It's high time his statue was put up in Parlaiment Square IMHO.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Tue 21 Apr 2009, 9:14, closed)

Ah yes.
The almighty Turing- I do take a great deal of pleasure in reminding our more backwards friends in the Southern Bible Belt states that the computers that they are using to spout forth their bile and hate were in fact, invented by a gay man.

The wailing and gnashing of teeth that results is some small measure of justice I think for a great man.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Tue 21 Apr 2009, 9:17, closed)

:)
mind if I use that one next time I'm confronted by a redneck?
( admiral crunch holds the newsreader's nose squarely, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 15:47, closed)

I agree with the sentiments concerning Alan Turing
Alan, Turing was a remarkable mathematical genius, and should be hailed as the father of the computer as we know it. He was a man of the mind though, and had massive support to put his ideas into practical reality, Of course, the resources were there to solve mathematical problems with the Enigma and fish codes, which to an ordinary mortal would make your eyes bleed.

He was part of a huge team, that together solved the Axis codes. Perhaps the greatest idea was the organisation of Bletchley park itself. Bringing together Scientists, philosophers and engineers to solve a problem, and then using the inteligence in a controllled way. No other country was near Britain in the early phase of the war with this organisation of thinkers and doers.

My own hero is Dr R.V Jones, who worked in air intelegence, and is certainly one of those men, like Turing, who can be said to have saved many many lives.

Oh, and he liked a practical joke too.

Oh, and clicks, if this is appropriate.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 9:43, closed)

If it's any consolation
The Meerkans fucked Oppenheimer nearly as badly, for the terrible crime of suggesting that just maybe, dropping the atomic bomb he'd just developed on actual people might be a bit iffy, morally.

the fifties were a proud time in the history of science and democracy.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 10:05, closed)

I visited the Hiroshima atomic bomb museum
where they have a collection of interesting military articles which document the debates leading up to the decision to drop the A-bomb.

I forget the exact wording, so I'll paraphrase it, but one Top Secret memo, possibly from Oppenheimer and his buddies, stated:

"We, the scientific advisors to the US Military Command are united in our advice.

We wish to reinforce in the *strongest possible terms* that to drop an atomic weapon on Japan without first giving due warning will have grave consequences.

Our strongest allies will have due cause to be suspicious and concerned about our military capabilities which may, in turn, lead to a devastating arms race to build a new generation of nuclear weapons with the potential to cause unprecedented destruction"

An lo', they didn't listen and the Cold War began, bringing humanity to the very brink of self-annihilation. One wonders how often this sort of thing happens.
( chart cat has an itch, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 10:58, closed)

I suspect
An arms race was inevitable anyway. Probably better the cold war than the real war which would have taken its place.
(Richy_T hundreds if not thousands of dollars, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 15:50, closed)

Ah Yes
The forties and fifties. When giants walked among us and were brought down by pygmies.

Lets not forget the real star of the fifties. Senator Joseph McCarthy......

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 11:23, closed)

Ah, but Turing had style!
I have always been told to end his life, Turing dipped an apple in cyanide and took a bite ala Snow White. They found him fallen with a morsel of apple lodged in his throat, the beautiful man.

Just think what else he could have given us...
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Wed 22 Apr 2009, 3:49, closed)