How the father of computer science decoded natures. This is a rerelease of a book that was first published in 1983 and largely researched during the 10 years prior to that, so it first came out in a very different time than todaya time when world warii secrets were still being somewhat protected, and when the details of a homosexual mans life were still not easy to explain to the average audience without giving offense. Alan turing scribd scribd read books, audiobooks, and more. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. I want to know more about bletchley, and i did in fact download an audiobook on the topic, but ill probably concentrate on paper books. Alan turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation hed done so much to save. The moment of publication was no accident, for two reasons. An introduction by leading turing expert jack copeland provides the background and guides the reader through the selection. Alan mathison turing obe frs was an english mathematician, computer scientist, logician. I read it when it first came out in 1983, and immediately formed the ambition to write something similar about ludwig wittgenstein. As a lecturer in computer programming, i feel better equipped to do my job. This article about a biographical or autobiographical book on scientists is a stub. On june 7, 1954, alan turing, a british mathematician who has since been. More importantly, he was brave enough to admit his homosexuality in the 1950s.
Celebrity is an imperfect measure of significance, and politicians do not confer scientific status, but obamas choice signalled that public recognition of alan turing had attained a level very much higher than in 1983, when this book first appeared. On computable numbers, with an application to the entscheidungsproblem by a. Although the subject of this paper is ostensibly the computable numbers. Ive been fascinated by the computer science pioneer alan turing ever. Alan turing s extraordinary ideas about thinking machines have earned him status as a modern hero. Unlike b and a, who talk about theirs, c does not seem to have a body. Alan garner my hero alan turing mathematics people in science. Computing machinery and intelligence by alan turing. Now, alan turings nephew, dermot turing, has taken a fresh look at the influences on alan turings life and creativity, and the later creation of a legend. Alan turing a selection of books e books available in trible library. The imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch, is opening in wide release later this fall, bringing the tragic story of alan turing to the movies. Alan turing mini biography ebook by ebios rakuten kobo. Alan garners collected folk tales is published by harpercollins childrens books. List of books and articles about alan turing online.
I have little new to add and must join all of the others here in saying that andrew hodges alan turing. This is both a biography of alan turing and an alternative history of ww2 and it handles both brilliantly. Even by the eccentric standards of cambridge university in the 1930s, alan turing was a mess. Discover the best alan turing books and audiobooks. Alan turing this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book. Benedict cumberbatch as alan turing in the imitation game, 2014. His work and impact can serve as both an instructional and an inspirational text. Turings ace report of 1946 and other papers, and morphogenesis. This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar. Remembering and representing alan turing jstor daily. Alan turing was a british mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, computer scientist and philosopher. Alan turings extraordinary ideas about thinking machines have earned him status as a modern hero.
Advanced english reading alan turing and the enigma machine. Alan turing site maintained by andrew hodges including a short biography alanturing. See all books authored by alan turing, including a. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general purpose computer. Turing s farsighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for artificial intelligence. R e v i e w s the centenary edition, 2012 turings rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. A guided tour through alan turings historic paper on. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific genius. Its subject, the british mathematical genius who contributed to the cryptanalysis of the nazi enigma code and to the beginnings of the computer, was not an easy subject. Alan turing, born a century ago this year, is best known for his wartime codebreaking and for inventing the turing machine the concept at the heart of every. Other books about alan turing the turing guide is a great introduction to the many and varied facets of turing s life. Paper on statistics of repetitions pdf 11 pages the applications of probability to cryptography pdf 47 pages from the uk national archives. Alan mathison turing obe frs was an english mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing s rules for the imitation game article pdf available in minds and machines 104.
If one has seen the movie and liked it, one is going to love this too. The computable numbers may be described briefly as the real numbers whose expressions as a decimal are calculable by finite means. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira. The master codebreakers struggle to build the modern computer b. Alan turing, the inventor of the abstract turing machine, was an incredible individual who is still underappreciated for his accomplishments. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition hodges, andrew, hodges, andrew, hofstadter, douglas on. Listed as one of the essential 50 books of all time in the guardian inspired the academy awardnominated film, the imitation game its only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his suicide at age fortyone.
Well told and partnered with lovely artwork, this book covers all the major facets of alan turing s life but lacks the depth of a biography like hodges. Alan turing is regarded as one of the most highly influential scientists of all time. He was a brilliant mathematician during world war ii whos genius helped decode german naval enigma messages, which were crucial in helping the allies defeat the nazis. The turing day collference at the swiss federal hlstitute of technology, lausanne, was held to mark the nilletieth a. Alan turing decoded, by jim ottaviani and illustrated by leland purvis, presents the life of alan turing as a graphic novel. Pelicula breaking the code biografia alan turing sub espanol. A new edition to celebrate alan turing s centenary, includes a new foreword by the author and a preface by douglas hofstadter.
What turing told us about the digital threat to a human. Andrew hodges wadharn college, university of oxford. In an article published in 1950 in the academic journal mind, turing. About alan turing alan turing frs obe, 19121954 studied mathematics at kings college, cambridge. Alan turing was such a genius, and those, like myself, who had the astonishing and unexpected opportunity, created by the strange exigencies of the second world war, to be able to count turing as colleague and friend will never forget that experience, nor can we ever lose its immense benefit to us. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed surviving witnesses to elucidate turing s multiple dimensions. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the turing machine, which played a significant role in the creation of the modern computer. Many have heard of alan turing, the mathematician and logician who invented modern computing in 1935. Turing proposed the interrogator, c, as an ideal human thinker, but did not tell us enough about c for us to regard c as human. Read alan turing books like the mathematicians brain and breaking the code for free with a free 30day trial. Andrew hodges alan turing read and download epub, pdf. Alan turing project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Because turing does not remind us that c has a corporeal existence. Unfortunately, turing was never fully recognized during his time for one very tragic reason. There is a lot to be learned from his outlook and temperament, and alan turing. Open university a britannica publishing partner see all videos for this article. Before getting into bed the night before, he had taken a few bites out of an apple that was, apparently, laced with cyanide.
The three young polish mathematicians who were the first to crack the new german military enigma code got their faces on a. Computing machinery and intelligence is a seminal paper written by alan turing on the topic of artificial intelligence. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his. This is a book that should be read by anyone with an interest in the history of mathematics, computer science or the second world war. Alan turing books list of books by author alan turing. Learn from alan turing experts like david ruelle and hugh whitemore. Both turing s cracking of the enigma code and his prosecution of gross indecency are mis portrayed in the film.
His famous 1950 article computing machinery and intelligence introduced the turing test for gauging artificial. Mills was unveiled at the university of surrey in guildford, marking the 50th anniversary of turings death. In 1954, aged 41, alan turing committed suicide and one of britains greatest scientific minds was lost. If you read the book you will realise that the film distorts aspects of turing s live and work quite considerably. Turing s rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. Alan mathison turing 23 june 1912 7 june 1954, was an english mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist. Turing dedicated a significant portion of his life to the study of morphogenesis the biological process by which organisms take their shape. English mathematician alan turing 19121954 is the author of the 1936 paper on computable numbers, with an application to the entscheidungsproblem that introduced the imaginary computer called the turing machine for understanding the nature and limitations of computing.
The enigma 1983 is a biography of the british mathematician. Books by alan turing author of computing machinery and. The book could be simpler and could meet the need of a great biography. Life and legacy of a great thinker christof teuscher. Martin daviss book the universal computer norton, 2000 is an important development of the material in his article. A pure mathematician from a tradition that prided itself on its impracticality, turing laid the foundations for modern computer science, writes andrew hodges. Part of a free online collection of advanced level graded reading texts and stories for adult english learners and older teens. This book is the definitive collection of commemorative essays, and the distinguished contributors have expertise in such diverse fields as artificial intelligence. It may act as an apology to many of the other gay men, not as wellknown as alan turing, who were subjected to these laws. On 28 october 2004, a bronze statue of alan turing sculpted by john w. Hodges biography is thoroughly researched into all aspects of turing s li.
Alan turing, british mathematician and logician, a major contributor to mathematics. Alan mathison turing was born on 23 june 1912, the son of julius mathison turing, a civil servant in india, and ethel sara turing, the daughter of edward waller stoney, chief engineer of the madras and southern mahratta railway. Alan turing has 24 books on goodreads with 3211 ratings. His work and impact on turing s work in simplet terms, placing him in the bigger picture. Mar 01, 2016 alan turing june 23, 1912june 7, 1954 is celebrated as the godfather of modern computing, but what remains practically unknown is his seminal contribution to an obscure branch of biology. Cnet gets a deeper look at the hidden notebook from the father of modern computing, before it goes up for auction.
While studying at cambridge he began work in predicate logic that led to a proof 1937 that some mathematical problems are not susceptible to solution by automated computation. For readers who want to hone in on particular aspects, theres no shortage of recent titles to choose from. He had the ingenuity and imagination to bridge the gap between the theory of computation as posed by the likes of godel and the implementation of computation machines. Dec 01, 2016 but actually alan turing was never a professor, and his nickname prof was given by his codebreaking friends at bletchley park. The enigma by andrew hodges is an enigma in its own right. Alan turing died in 1954, but the themes of his life epitomize the turn of the millennium. Before getting into bed the night before, he had taken a few. This remains a shame on the british government and british history. Seminal writings in computing, logic, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and artificial life plus the secrets of enigma edited by b. On june 8, 1954, alan turing, a fortyoneyearold research scientist at manchester university, was found dead by his housekeeper. Their combined citations are counted only for the first article. Alan mathison turing, 191254, british mathematician and computer theorist. But a book i wish i had written, and one that was a big inspiration for the things i have written, is alan turing. The book that inspired the film the imitation game hodges, andrew.
Seminal writings in computing, logic, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and artificial life plus the secrets of enigma. Bio of turing more about turing codebreaking artificial intelligence computer history photo gallery books on turing cambridge archive links. He was elected a fellow of kings in march 1935, at the age of only 22. The american 2014 film the imitation game is loosely based on the book, with. I completely botched an attempt to change five decades into half a century when i was revising this article. Alan turing author of computing machinery and intelligence. Alan turing, in full alan mathison turing, born june 23, 1912, london, englanddied june 7, 1954, wilmslow, cheshire, british mathematician and logician, who made major contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis, logic, philosophy, and mathematical biology and also to the new areas later named computer science, cognitive science. Turing 19121954 was a key figure in the development of both the computer and artificial intelligence, as well as the leader of the cryptographers who cracked the nazis enigma code. Click the title for location and availability information. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. Alan turinginspired novel wins wellcome book prize bookstr. Ive been fascinated by the computer science pioneer alan turing ever since i came across the remarkable account of his life written by the british mathematician and gay rights activist andrew hodges in 1983.
Something on turing s work, with many very competent authors writing parts of this giant book. They know turing, the cryptologist who cracked the. Rare alan turing journal shows his genius at work cnet. Alan turing was the extraordinary cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the german enigma ciphers and transformed the second world war. As the country marks the centenary of alan turing s birth, two of his mathematical research papers, believed to have been written whilst he was at bletchley park during world war ii, have been released by gchq to the national archives. Feb 01, 2004 acclaim for enigma cracking stuffvivid and hitherto unknown details. A challenging graded reader about alan turing and his intelligence work during world war ii, for english language students. The young mathematics student wore a jacket and tie, of course, just as all.
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