Turing Complete
June 23, 2021 11:54 PM Subscribe
Britain's spy agency honours codebreaker Turing in giant artwork - "Britain's GCHQ spy agency has installed a giant multicoloured artwork to celebrate codebreaker and mathemetician Alan Turing, who helped turn the tide of World War Two against Nazi Germany but was persecuted for being gay." (previously)
"Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine."
New British 50 pound note with WW2 codebreaker Turing enters circulation - "Turing is best known in Britain for designing machines to decrypt coded messages during World War Two, and before the war his work laid the theoretical foundation for modern computer science. Later he made discoveries in developmental biology."
also btw...
New British 50 pound note with WW2 codebreaker Turing enters circulation - "Turing is best known in Britain for designing machines to decrypt coded messages during World War Two, and before the war his work laid the theoretical foundation for modern computer science. Later he made discoveries in developmental biology."
also btw...
I was thrilled to discover he was going to be on the new £50 note, he is the first LGBTQ+ person to be featured. One of my favourite YouTubers has a video on the note.
posted by ellieBOA at 4:37 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 4:37 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
He didn't even get a posthumous apology until the public demanded it. Hideous.
And that was only an apology, not a pardon. Another public call for a pardon was dismissed in...2012:
"A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence"
Not until the following year, 2013, was it granted. And now, less than a decade later, the British Government is parading him around as a symbol of the country's achievements.
The statement above, by the way, was issued by Tom McNally, a Liberal Democrat. Such views - that things were done rightly at the time and so thats that - denies the existence of truth and reconciliation commissions.
posted by vacapinta at 6:57 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
And that was only an apology, not a pardon. Another public call for a pardon was dismissed in...2012:
"A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence"
Not until the following year, 2013, was it granted. And now, less than a decade later, the British Government is parading him around as a symbol of the country's achievements.
The statement above, by the way, was issued by Tom McNally, a Liberal Democrat. Such views - that things were done rightly at the time and so thats that - denies the existence of truth and reconciliation commissions.
posted by vacapinta at 6:57 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
Nothing makes politicians and bureaucrats happier than an opportunity to give the appearance of doing the right thing.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Too little, too late. Not even a participation ribbon.
posted by tommasz at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 7:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
When your enemies co-opt your message, you're probably pretty close to winning. Remembering the struggle and the injustice is important. But, seeing governments trip over themselves to pretend they're on the right side of history seems like it's probably a good thing, going forward. Reminding people that it's too little and too late is definitely a good thing.
The Polish national government makes me sad. The response of EU leaders is a bit heartening. The frequency with which I find myself agreeing with Merkel in recent years is a little disturbing, but I'm not complaining.
posted by eotvos at 9:28 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
The Polish national government makes me sad. The response of EU leaders is a bit heartening. The frequency with which I find myself agreeing with Merkel in recent years is a little disturbing, but I'm not complaining.
posted by eotvos at 9:28 AM on June 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
There was a thought experiment of his I read as a young programmer. In it he proved that a deterministic computer could never be creative, and thus artificial intelligence is impossible. He also asserted that if a machine appears intelligent, well, that's good enough.
I was a young programmer in the 80s, my dad eschewed Nintendo in favor of a string of micros, accompanied by stacks of magazines with code listings in basic. I think it was my 13th birthday, I was given A Brief History of Time and another book called Artificial Life. I understood Hawking's book as much as a boy could without any physics. It was Artificial Life which led me to practical experiments. There was Conway's game of life, I hammered that out in Turbo Pascal. Pretty recursive fern fractals came soon after, taxing my humble x86. I think it was in the preface though, Turing's thought experiment, that proved to my devastated ambitions, it was not possible for a computer to be truly creative. But it could fool you!
That's all that I really knew about Turing for a long time. He was a Top Secret genius. All of this was kept from me. I learnt about enigma first, which made the next revelation yet harder. The poisoned apple.
I couldn't fucking understand it. I was raised homophobic, it was normal to be homophobic in my culture. I went to a catholic boarding school where homosexuality was taught as a sin comparable to rape and murder. This wall of ignorance and intolerance was taking a beating though. Musicians I admired were dying of AIDs, a boy at my school committed suicide. And they killed Alan Turing. His premature death wasn't insignificant in breaking the spell. What a waste. What a damned waste.
Alan surely had more to teach us, more insights to offer. Y'know what I'd really love to do? Show him my phone. I'd explain that its a computer, just like his idea. Then I'd show him photos I took this month of people who are proud of their sexuality, displaying that pride without shame.
What a waste. Perhaps his final lesson, too long unheard, is about the price of hate.
posted by adept256 at 9:58 AM on June 24, 2021 [18 favorites]
I was a young programmer in the 80s, my dad eschewed Nintendo in favor of a string of micros, accompanied by stacks of magazines with code listings in basic. I think it was my 13th birthday, I was given A Brief History of Time and another book called Artificial Life. I understood Hawking's book as much as a boy could without any physics. It was Artificial Life which led me to practical experiments. There was Conway's game of life, I hammered that out in Turbo Pascal. Pretty recursive fern fractals came soon after, taxing my humble x86. I think it was in the preface though, Turing's thought experiment, that proved to my devastated ambitions, it was not possible for a computer to be truly creative. But it could fool you!
That's all that I really knew about Turing for a long time. He was a Top Secret genius. All of this was kept from me. I learnt about enigma first, which made the next revelation yet harder. The poisoned apple.
I couldn't fucking understand it. I was raised homophobic, it was normal to be homophobic in my culture. I went to a catholic boarding school where homosexuality was taught as a sin comparable to rape and murder. This wall of ignorance and intolerance was taking a beating though. Musicians I admired were dying of AIDs, a boy at my school committed suicide. And they killed Alan Turing. His premature death wasn't insignificant in breaking the spell. What a waste. What a damned waste.
Alan surely had more to teach us, more insights to offer. Y'know what I'd really love to do? Show him my phone. I'd explain that its a computer, just like his idea. Then I'd show him photos I took this month of people who are proud of their sexuality, displaying that pride without shame.
What a waste. Perhaps his final lesson, too long unheard, is about the price of hate.
posted by adept256 at 9:58 AM on June 24, 2021 [18 favorites]
One of the things that really gets to me is the lost potential. How much more could he have accomplished, how much more life could he have lived, without the oppression?
In the legal industry I run into a lot of lawyers who justify oppression as the "rational choice", they think oppression is necessary to have a more effective and productive society. It's a hollow justification from hollow people, but Turing (amongst others) really puts the lie to it.
posted by LegallyBread at 10:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
In the legal industry I run into a lot of lawyers who justify oppression as the "rational choice", they think oppression is necessary to have a more effective and productive society. It's a hollow justification from hollow people, but Turing (amongst others) really puts the lie to it.
posted by LegallyBread at 10:12 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I guess I feel a little differently on this topic. I'd like to think that institutions (or certain aspects of them) can sometimes change for the better, and I'm not especially inclined to view this as merely cynical pinkwashing, especially given that the agency Turing worked for was a precursor to this one.
posted by treepour at 3:10 PM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by treepour at 3:10 PM on June 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'd like to think that institutions (or certain aspects of them) can sometimes change for the better
GCHQ is certainly making all the right noises about becoming an LGBT+ employer. But that's not the only issue here. Let's not forget, it was the rise of the Cold War 'security state' that led to gay men like Turing being regarded as a risk to national security. And what is GCHQ, if not an organisation dedicated to the perpetuation of that selfsame security state via data collection and surveillance on an ever more massive scale?
posted by verstegan at 4:55 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
GCHQ is certainly making all the right noises about becoming an LGBT+ employer. But that's not the only issue here. Let's not forget, it was the rise of the Cold War 'security state' that led to gay men like Turing being regarded as a risk to national security. And what is GCHQ, if not an organisation dedicated to the perpetuation of that selfsame security state via data collection and surveillance on an ever more massive scale?
posted by verstegan at 4:55 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
The irony is, Turing was acceptable to the state while he was valuable. MI-6 also tolerated queer spies. But it was the continuation of the secrecy post-war that did him in. If the work at Bletchly Park had been declassified after the war, Turing would have been a hero and if not untouchable, at least less so.
But because his contributions remained classified, no one knew who he was when he was tried for indecency.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:15 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
But because his contributions remained classified, no one knew who he was when he was tried for indecency.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:15 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you want, you can construct your own virtual Turing machines online and watch them execute.
posted by bertran at 10:04 PM on June 24, 2021
posted by bertran at 10:04 PM on June 24, 2021
Alan Turing was an astonishingly good mathematician who deserves all the posthumous public recognition he can get. His post-war persecution is also representative of the experiences of a large number of men, many of whom also committed suicide in what was effectively a moral panic. I am sure that the more recent government pardons they all received came about in large part due to the increasing public recognition of Turing’s contributions during the war which heightens the appalling way in which he was treated.
GCHQ is the largest employer of pure mathematicians in the UK and its work is built on the foundations of the Bletchley Park code breakers including Turing. It seems absolutely right that they should celebrate Turing. Public opinion in the UK is much, much less homophobic than it was even 10 years ago and central government organisations tend to want to be straightforwardly LGB friendly, by which I mean it’s not a cynical ploy or deliberate pinkwashing . (I cannot speak knowledgeably about trans people in central government except to say that the civil service as an employer tends to act in line with equality law which is less transphobic than the government itself.)
posted by plonkee at 11:45 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
GCHQ is the largest employer of pure mathematicians in the UK and its work is built on the foundations of the Bletchley Park code breakers including Turing. It seems absolutely right that they should celebrate Turing. Public opinion in the UK is much, much less homophobic than it was even 10 years ago and central government organisations tend to want to be straightforwardly LGB friendly, by which I mean it’s not a cynical ploy or deliberate pinkwashing . (I cannot speak knowledgeably about trans people in central government except to say that the civil service as an employer tends to act in line with equality law which is less transphobic than the government itself.)
posted by plonkee at 11:45 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
It’s unfortunate and saddening that the current homophobic Polish government is on the wrong side of history here — especially considering Polish contributions in creating the first decryption machines to break Enigma code*, laying the foundation for Alan Turing’s work at Bletchley Park. I suppose that makes two governments who used his knowledge when it was necessary — while doing what they could to destroy him, and his legacy, when it was not.
* There’s a recent book by Dermot Turing on how Enigma was broken by the combined efforts of the Polish, British and French. There’s something to be said about the current UK government and their nationalist tendencies creating an environment that’s not kind towards other EU citizens in the UK and how that affects the legacy of Enigma code-breakers — but that’s for another thread.
posted by romanb at 2:53 AM on June 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
* There’s a recent book by Dermot Turing on how Enigma was broken by the combined efforts of the Polish, British and French. There’s something to be said about the current UK government and their nationalist tendencies creating an environment that’s not kind towards other EU citizens in the UK and how that affects the legacy of Enigma code-breakers — but that’s for another thread.
posted by romanb at 2:53 AM on June 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
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Also the British government: who could have possibly done such an awful thing
The passive voice around Turing's horrific treatment by the British establishment always strikes me as an astonishing piece of historical spin. It's always couched in mysterious terms, like he was forcibly injected with hormones by nobody, so no one can be held accountable and the British government can carry on using his name and image to prop themselves up.
He didn't even get a posthumous apology until the public demanded it. Hideous.
posted by fight or flight at 4:22 AM on June 24, 2021 [44 favorites]