There is a school photograph of Alan Turing, the famous mathematician, along with the other boys in his term. There, along with Turing, is my own father, aged, I think, 13. I have been reflecting on both men. One, my father, was desperate to be successful and even famous. The other was shy and reclusive, finding it difficult to make friends. Eventually he took his own life, aged 42. The first was a sportsman, a school rugby hero, but one that never did become famous; the second, a genius, is now hailed as the father of the computing age, revolutionizer of logic, cryptology, information technology, artificial intelligence, and even biology.
My father did speak of Turing, but was never a close friend. He would have been surprised to learn that this year the world of science is celebrating the life of his famous, introverted schoolmate.
I am more than glad indeed that Turing is at last recognised for who he was and the contribution he has made to science, to our victory over Nazi Germany, and the way we live now.
One of my so called ‘hobby horses’ is the anger and frustration I feel at the way fellow humans have treated people like Turing and Oscar Wilde – both geniuses. At the time, their gender orientation seemed to be far more pertinent to people than their genius. Both men died as a result of this homophobia; Oscar, as a broken man, banished in France, and Turing at his own hand. How many others I wonder.
.We should be ashamed fo ourselves.
(I have , however read an article which castrs doubt
Continued from the last comment!)
I have read an article which castes doubt on the alleged suicide of Turing. The writer say that the evidence for suicide was weak and that Turing may have died because of an accident involving chemicals he was using for some experiments he was performing.
(New Scientist)