He was born in London on 23rd June 1912. His was one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, and his contribution to the war effort during the second world war was greater than those of Churchill or Eisenhower, but instead of being knighted and feted, his post-war life was one of humiliation and torment, and so unbearable that suicide ultimately seemed the best option for him. His name was Alan Turing. He was a shy man with a severe stutter, and he became a brilliant mathematician. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, his main claim to fame was his pioneering work which led to the concept of the modern computer.
In the 1930s, he worked at Cambridge University where, in 1937, he wrote a paper called "On Computable Numbers". In this paper he described a hypothetical machine that could perform a calculation by running through a prescribed sequence of steps fed via a paper tape. In other words, a calculation could be done by running an algorithm or program. He imagined a machine whose function could be altered to perform any conceivable operation simply by inserting the appropriate tape. Turing called this hypothetical machine a "Universal Turing Machine" and every modern computer in existence uses this principle. Along with John von Neumann, Turing could be considered a founding father of the modern computer.
However, Turing's life was about to take an abrupt turn. In 1939, Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany, and Turing's academic career came to a sudden end when the British government invited him to become a cryptanalyst - a code breaker - at Betchley. He became the main intellect in the team that cracked the German Enigma codes. The Enigma provided the Nazis with secure communications, which was pivotal to Hitler's blitzkrieg strategy. The blitzkriegs (lightning war) were quick and co-ordinated attacks that required secure communications between large tank divisions, infantry and air force. Breaking the Enigma code meant that Allied generals were privy to the details of German plans, and was vital to the defeat of the Nazi war machine.
After the war, Turing eventually returned to academia, working on computer technology. But his life was to take a very dramatic turn. On 3rd February 1952, Turing was arrested for having a homosexual relationship with a nineteen year old unemployed Manchester man named Arnold Murray. The affair between the 2 men was private and it hurt nobody, but Turing was charged with the crime of "Gross Indecency Contrary to Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885". Under Section 11, it was illegal to commit any homosexual act - private or otherwise. Incredibly, private homosexuality was a criminal offence in Britain up until 1967.
Turing was found guilty and was given the choice of either a 2 year prison sentence or spending a year taking "organotherapy". He chose the latter (what kind of experience would he have had as a homosexual in prison) and it meant that he had to take estrogen which made him impotent and caused him to develop breasts. It was basically chemical castration and it was supposed to "cure" him of his homosexuality. If that wasn't enough of a cure, he was also required to see a psychoanalyst. In 1953 his probation was ended. On 7th June 1954, he committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide.
So ended the life of a war hero and a brilliant mind - at the age of just 42. What other great things would he have achieved for humanity had he lived a normal lifespan?
The kind of "morality-gone-mad" to which Turing was subjected is reminiscent of the Taliban, but even in the West today, such attitudes persist. U.S morals campaigner and Christian fundamentalist Jerry Falwell - one of the most influential men in the U.S - contributed the following pearl of wisdom:
AIDS is not God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.
I heard the news that Falwell died this week; I'm not gay but my first reaction was "good-riddance". He was a powerful man who was instrumental in getting George W Bush into the White House; a fundamentalist Christian who made insulting public comments against gays, abortionists, Jews, feminists and labour unions. Here's what he said after the September 11 attacks in 2001:
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen'."
Falwell is dead but there are plenty of people in the world who share his ideals and there is no shortage of people willing to step into his shoes. A real tragedy is that Alan Turing was a victim of human ignorance fueled by blind and irrational religions. Unspeakable acts have been committed in the name of Christ, but Jesus would never have condoned what happened to Turing, and he would have no respect for people like Falwell and Bush.
Thoughts about science, human nature and other stuff.
