Alan Turing

Today is Alan Turing's birthday. If he had not been shamed to death in 1954, he would be 113 years old today. Even though he only lived to be 41 years old, the man did remarkable things during his brief tortured life. Some might even say that without his contribution to the war effort during WWll, the war would most assuredly have lasted longer and some might contend, the outcome might have been different. He was a hero of epic proportions who no one knew existed until recent years.

During WWll, British Intelligence was desperate to find a way to break the Nazi code used in their "Enigma" code machine. They were at wits end when along came Alan with his remarkable mind. He had been brought in as part of the team tasked with finding the answer. Turing proved his worth as a scientist and at the same time, pissed off almost everyone he had contact with. When he was called on his inability to play well with others, he proclaimed the whole program was doomed to fail; they would never find the answer, and it was a tremendous waste of his time.

He contended that if the project was handed over to him, he would find the answer. He, and the small group he headed, "Hut 8", finally created a code breaking machine that could decipher the supposedly impossible to break Nazi codes the Germans used to pass marching orders out to their military.

From many accounts of those who knew or worked with him, he was a difficult man to get along with. He suffered no fools. He had no filters. Whatever he was focused on was all there was. He had no time for the civil interactions of the English culture he found himself in. He had no tolerance of the mere mortals who surrounded him. He was not just an asshole, he was a very very gifted asshole, who most likely was the smartest man in any room he entered..

Not given any recognition in his lifetime, Turing is now considered by many as the the father of Computer Science as we know it. He was integral in creating the first working algorithms while also creating the machine that used those algorithms to break the German code. 

His efforts remained largely unknown until 2009 when the British government finally admitted to his efforts. Their claim was he remained anonymous for years because of the government's "war secrets act". But many, including myself, think the government was embarrassed by him. He was after all, a homosexual; not just any run of the mill homosexual, but an arrested, tried and convicted homosexual. In June of 1954 Alan Turing either killed himself, accidentally killed himself, or.......... ?

How much more could have Alan Turing helped mankind if he had not had to live in a culture that punished people for things they had no control over. The accomplishments he contributed to Computer Science would have just been a drop in the bucket of Human knowledge if he had not been ostracized and thrown under the bus of the social hypocrisy of that time. 

Alan Turing ....... You Rock dude. Sorry for the way you were treated.

Keep it 'Tween the Ditches ............................

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Found a nice tune that sings the praises of Alan Turing. It's a catchy, kinda techno tune. Enjoy.