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Alan Turing
Jun. 23rd, 2012 01:41 pmThe British mathematician and computer scientist was born on June 23, 1912 - one hundred years ago.
Alan Turing is most famous for his work at Bletchley Park, England , during World War II. His algorithms were critical to breaking German codes, and for his involvement in the construction of computers(called bombes) that helped automate the decryption process. His name is synonymous with the Enigma, the German navy's fiendishly complicated code machine.
Turing is also known for his work on what we call the Turing Machine, a theoretical device that he envisioned could solve any computer algorithm that could be described on paper tape. However, sometimes the Turing Machine would halt and present a solution. Sometimes it would not halt and would keep running forever, meaning the problem could not be solved.
And of course, there is the Turing Test, his thought experiment that said that if a computer could trick a human into thinking that he or she was conversing with another human, then the computer could be said to be thinking. Through the Turing Test and other works, Alan Turing is one of the fathers of artificial intelligence(AI).
Sadly, the homosexual Turing was a victim of that era's intense prejudice. After being forced to endure chemical castration as the alternative to imprisonment for violating Britain's decency laws, the brilliant mathematician committed suicide at age of 41.
Alan Turing is most famous for his work at Bletchley Park, England , during World War II. His algorithms were critical to breaking German codes, and for his involvement in the construction of computers(called bombes) that helped automate the decryption process. His name is synonymous with the Enigma, the German navy's fiendishly complicated code machine.
Turing is also known for his work on what we call the Turing Machine, a theoretical device that he envisioned could solve any computer algorithm that could be described on paper tape. However, sometimes the Turing Machine would halt and present a solution. Sometimes it would not halt and would keep running forever, meaning the problem could not be solved.
And of course, there is the Turing Test, his thought experiment that said that if a computer could trick a human into thinking that he or she was conversing with another human, then the computer could be said to be thinking. Through the Turing Test and other works, Alan Turing is one of the fathers of artificial intelligence(AI).
Sadly, the homosexual Turing was a victim of that era's intense prejudice. After being forced to endure chemical castration as the alternative to imprisonment for violating Britain's decency laws, the brilliant mathematician committed suicide at age of 41.
