The other night I watched Codebreaker, a documentary based on the life of mathematician, Alan Turing, widely considered to be the the father of computer science. I didn’t know anything about his life. In fact, I didn’t really know much about his work either, other than references to the Turing test for AI.
Turns out his life was really fascinating and tragic. This documentary is available on streaming through Netflix and I encourage you to watch it if you haven’t already seen it.
During WWII, Turing worked with a group of like-minded folks at Bletchley Park to crack German ciphers, specifically the aptly named Enigma Machine. His work was pivotal in the war, and he should have been treated like a hero. Instead, his British government persecuted him for his homosexuality (which was then illegal) and forced him to make a decision: go to prison or allow himself to undergo “treatments” for “chemical castration”. He chose the chemical castration because they told him it was reversible.
He underwent “treatments” for a year to decrease his libido. He had trouble concentrating, and he probably experienced other negative side effects, such as gynecomastia. His suicide was poetic—he ate an apple poisoned with cyanide, leaving behind no letter. The apple said it all.
It’s sickening to think of what such a man could have accomplished had he lived. The documentary painted a portrait of a sensitive and highly self-aware man, sometimes difficult but mostly charming and charismatic.
I watched this trailer to The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing:
Turing seems here to be characterized as the stereotypical autism-spectrum idiot savant, not unlike Sherlock. I know allowances are supposed to be made for movies, but I wonder if even just for the sake of character Turing’s portrayal could have been more nuanced. Of course, I’m jumping the gun here. I haven’t seen the movie yet. (Just like me to criticize a movie before seeing it!) In truth, I can’t wait to see it. Especially since I love Benedict Cumberbatch, even if this does prove to be Sherlock II.
Have you or are you planning on seeing The Imitation Game?
Diotima's Ladder 
Definitely (and I need to see Codebreaker, too)! I got into computer programming back in the late 1970s and took to it like the proverbial duck to water. It ended up being my career (as well as a major hobby). I think of the discovery of computer programming as my “third re-birth”.
http://logosconcarne.com/2012/09/10/my-life-3-0/
As such, Turing is one of my heroes! (Along with Lady Ada Lovelace and Admiral Grace Hopper, especially the latter to whom we own the term “computer bug”… the first recorded computer bug was literally a moth caught in some relay contacts.)
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You should definitely see “Codebreaker”. I only wish they had explained things a little bit more in depth. I don’t know anything about computers (I can barely manage to use one) and this would have been fascinating to me.
So funny about the bug! I just thought it was a metaphor taken from illness or from bugs being generally annoying.
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The term had been around hardward geeks, but she popularized it. There’s a photo of the moth and her journal entry on her Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper
I also love her visual demonstration of a nanosecond. She would hand out foot-long pieces of wire (11.8 inches, actually) which illustrated how far light traveled in one nano-second (one-billionth of a second). Amazing woman!
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Fascinating! I was somewhat aware of some amazing codebreaking that altered the course of the war, but your article provided lots of interesting historical background, not to mention the heart-wrenching personal issues that are always enmeshed in historical events.Can’t “Like” the topic, but your article is certainly enlightening!
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Thanks so much! The documentary gives proper emphasis on how important this man was. Apparently Churchill said that Turing made the single biggest contribution to Allied victory. Not to mention all that came in “computing machines” later! He was incredible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_machine
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Codebreaker is a great film. Turing’s treatment reminds me of the disgraceful way the government treated another homosexual who ought to have been a national hero, Sir Roger Casement, who exposed the human rights abuses in the Congo.
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I definitely plan to see ‘The Imitation Game’ when it becomes available for streaming. Somehow, I’ve managed to completely miss the existence of ‘Codebreaker’ until now, but I see that it’s on Netflix, so it’s definitely on my soon to watch list.
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I think you’ll enjoy it. And you’ll know a lot more than I about the computer side of things, so you won’t be as irritated I was when they left out the details. That’s my one gripe with the documentary (plus the repetition at the beginning…I think you’ll notice). Other than that, it seemed like a realistic account of the man. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of it and “The Imitation Game”.
I hope the shoulder’s progressing?
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I’ll swing back by and let you know after watching Codebreaker.
The shoulder is better. Thanks! Blasted rotator cuff.
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Thank you for this! I’m definitely going to see the Cumberbatch treatment, but I didn’t know about Codebreakers – now I know what we’re watching at my house tonight!
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Hope you like it!
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The Numberphile YouTube channel has a couple of neat videos explaining how the Enigma works and the flaw Turing used to crack it:
And:
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I’ll have to watch them later when I have a better internet connection. Thanks for sharing these!
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Turing might have been demonized and driven to suicide, but at least this guy used the power of nepotism to become a hero. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Forbes-Sempill,_19th_Lord_Sempill
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Ironic that Turing actually kept his secrets very well according to the documentary—unlike this bloke.
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It’s evidently all about where you come from, not what you do.
The Striver would be pissed. 😉
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