Honoring Alan Turing, "Father of Computer Science"

alphadogg writes "Google's Vint Cerf and others are spearheading celebrations in Silicon Valley and the UK this month to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's birth. 'The man challenged everyone's thinking,' says Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, in an interview with Network World. 'He was so early in the history of computing, and yet so incredibly visionary about it.' Cerf — who is president-elect of the Association for Computing Machinery and general chair of that organization's effort to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Turing's birth on June 23 — says that it's tough to overstate the importance of Turing's role in shaping the world of modern computing. Turing's accomplishments included his breakthrough Turing machine, cracking German military codes during WWII and designing a digital multiplier called the Automated Computing Machine."

But will they say gay?

[Fwipp]

I wonder if they'll mention his persecution by the British government for being gay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_turing#Conviction_for_indecency [wikipedia.org]
How we reward our heroes in this world...

No, it was homophobia that killed him

[Relic of the Future]

Despite your implication, there is no "persecuted genius" (a /. reader wish-fulfillment dream for sure) story here. I mean, he was a genius, of that there is no doubt, and he was persecuted, but they weren't really connected. Even in his own lifetime his work was honored and well-received. Where the persecution comes in, is in the conviction for homosexual indecency, and having his security clearance (and thus, most of his ability to continue working) revoked, and being subjected to court-ordered chemical castration. But to know about that, you'd have to scroll up on the wikipedia page.

Something else to remember...

[mseeger]

Please also remember, that he was driven into suicide by the nation he protected because he just was who he was. He had done nobody harm but was convicted because others decided what was morally acceptable between consenting adults.

Remember the talent we lost to bigotry :-(.

Re:Fuck the British government

[dkf]

To be fair, that all happened 60 years ago and many of those rules (including the ones making homosexuality illegal) are long gone. So too are virtually all the people involved (and the ones still alive are certainly no longer in a position to do much about it). About the only thing we can do now is say that it was a terrible shame that he died so young, and celebrate what he did achieve.

Re:No, it was homophobia that killed him

[Kupfernigk]

I think destroying someone's career because of his sexual orientation counts as persecution in most modern societies.

Fuck Whom

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck them, and their stupid apology

The people who persecuted Turing are dead or so feebleminded by extreme age that I can guarantee they'll never bear any seriously responsibilities ever again. The people who did the apologizing didn't persecute him, any more than I have owned slaves kidnapped from Africa or you have broken treaties with the Sioux Nation.

But I guess you might say that makes the contemporary government's apology meaningless, thereby undermining all apologies and leading to a world full of cynical assholes who never believe someone else is sorry. Ok, fuck them for that.

Re:No, it was homophobia that killed him

[newcastlejon]

I think destroying someone's career because of his sexual orientation counts as persecution in most modern societies.

Indeed, but the question was whether or not he was persecuted for being a genius.
He wasn't; he was persecuted for being gay... or to be more precise committing the then-crime of "gross indecency".

Not Everybody Worships Turing, Sorry

[qbitslayer]

Some believe that everything that ails computing, from the software unreliability and low productivity crisis to the current parallel programming crisis, can be blamed on the computer industry's strange infatuation with Turing. When you have some time, ask yourself what Turing has done for parallel programming or software unreliability. Heck, Charles Babbage's analytical engine was a Turing Machine a century before Turing. Go figure.

Parallel Computing: The End of the Turing Madness [blogspot.com]

Re:But will they say gay?

[MrEricSir]

A few months ago the British government decided not to pardon Turing [bbc.com] for his "crime" of being gay.

Their reasoning for rejecting the pardon request seems reasonable:

"However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times."

So it seems that's been addressed by the British government recently. Even though full equality may be a few steps away -- and we shouldn't whitewash that fact -- it's also important to acknowledge that there was far more to Turing than his sexuality.

Re:Fuck the British government

[osu-neko]

Blaming Britain today for the unfortunate event is no different than blaming America today for their support of slavery and then segregation. Cultures change. We're really rather embarassed about it now.

I neither owned slaves nor supported segregation. I have nothing to be embarrassed about on that score. The fact that I was born (due to no conscious decision of my own) geographically near the locations in which other people once did these things seems like a really bizarre thing to be embarrassed about.

Re:But will they say gay?

[GodfatherofSoul]

I love the idea of leaving these illegal prosecutions on the books. It seems to inspire a false sense of closure when people are posthumously pardoned. About the only time it's tangibly relevant is when someone has a conviction on their records that blocks opportunities like employment.

Re:No, it was homophobia that killed him

[Shihar]

So I can then I assume from your comment that you will hold fast to your beliefs that only the intelligent should survive and will yourself refuse to breed? Shitty bigots like you are the reason why Turing died. If Turing had been living in Boston today, he would have merrily continued with his work, gotten married to someone he loved, and if it tickled his fancy, have had a kid. The kid could have been from his very own sperm if that is so fucking important to you. It is kind of hard to breed when if it leaks out that your partner has the wrong naughty bits, the government castrates you. I suppose you think the Jews that got dumped into gas chambers in Auschwitz are also assholes for not breeding?

The bigoted British government of the 50s robbed the world of Turing passing down a legacy, not his sexual orientation.

Father of the computer science ?

[Taco Cowboy]

I don't think Alan Turing qualifies as the "Father" of computer science

Long before Alan Turing, Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace had already done incredible things with the Difference Engine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Difference_Engine [wikipedia.org]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace [wikipedia.org]

No offence to Mr. Turing's fanbois, but we need to give credit to where the credit is truly due
 

Re:Father of the computer science ?

[marcosdumay]

Keep in mind that "computer science" is not the science of building computers, and you'll understand why Turing got the title.

Re:But will they say gay?

[Anonymous Coward]

Its important to note that, in 2006 The british labor government pardoned, all british servicemen in WW1 who were executed. I believe this was to do with them recognising that shell shock was largely not cowardice, but was in fact an illness.

So pardons are possible.

Re:Not Everybody Worships Turing, Sorry

[buglista]

What? A UTM is a mathematical model of a computer; yes, even your beloved parallel computers can't do anything fundamentally different to a UTM. The guy wasn't suggesting it as a programming paradigm, he was using it to prove things about Computability.