Alan turing, The most important person of the 20C ?

[Michaelangelica]

I am not a mathematician but I am fascinated by Alan Turing

On the weekend there was a (BBC?) programme on his 1936 papers.

I am sorry I couldn't find the link to the programme ( Any help would be appreciated)

I only caught bits of it but it was fascinating about his mathematical philosophy (see Rumsfield quote below)

 

I feel sad about him because I think he was unrecognised because of his early death (suicide) and his sexuality.

I think he won the war (WW2) for the allies and shaped the computer age - apart from his philosophical inputs.

 

I think he ranks with the top few influential brains of the 20C !

 

Some web links

http://search.abc.net.au/search/search.cgi?query=Turing+Alan+saturday2006&sort=date&collection=abcall&form=simple

 

1. The Mind and the Machine

 

Summary: ... The Turing test, as it has become known, is quite simple. If a computer can perform in such a way that an expert cannot distinguish its performance from that of a human ... If we could design programs which simulate human cognition in such a way as to pass the Turing test, then those programs would no longer be models of the mind, they would ... Isaac Asimov The theoretical basis of artificial intelligence goes back to the British mathematician, Alan ... http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/allen/story.htm - 18k - [ html ] - Cached - No Date

 

2. News in Science - Revealing the real you on-line - 15/09/1999

 

Summary: ... net and gain an insight into virtual communities and their members. The object of The Turing Game'created by researchers at the Georgia Institute ... said Joshua Berman, a Georgia Tech College of Computing doctoral student who developed The Turing Game with his advisor Dr. ... The Turing Game is based on the Turing Test, named after British mathematician Alan M. ... http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s52053.htm - 22k - [ html ] - Cached - 15 Sep 1999

 

3. PM - Praise for codebreaker as father of the computer

 

Summary: ... The most famous member of that extraordinary group was Alan Turing. He played a key role in developing code-breaking machines which were, in effect, the world's first computers. ... I made friendships then which have lasted me all my life. LYN GALLACHER: And what was Alan Turing like? ... http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s46302.htm - 15k - [ html ] - Cached - 24 Aug 1999

 

4. Highway to HAL

 

Summary: ... Turing test that aimed to sort out whether or not a machine was actually intelligent. So far, none of them have even come ... Alan Turing builder of the forerunner of modern computers predicted that by now we'd have computers that could think like humans. Lucky for us, he had about as ... http://www.abc.net.au/science/bernie/hal/techno.htm - 2k - [ html ] - Cached - No Date

[Jay-qu]

Yes, he was a brilliant man for his time. I found his work on turing machines was very innovative (considering they had no such thing as the PC's we use today) as well as his more philisophical ideas on the brain and conscious mind. He is mentioned much through-out books I have read and in units I have taken at uni.

[CraigD]

I am not a mathematician but I am fascinated by Alan Turing

…

I think he ranks with the top few influential brains of the 20C !

While I’m not sure I’d rank Turing much higher than some of his contemporaries, such as Alonzo Church, he was definitely a big participant in the heady early days of cybernetics and modern cryptography, and clearly had a great passion and talent for Math. He was also a war hero, without whom thousands or millions more might have died in WWII. I think the way he was treated by his government after WWII was terribly unfair, ungrateful, and tantamount to murder. Had Turing been the son of a wealthy English family, rather than of a modest civil servant, I doubt he would have been treated so.

 

Despite his tragic end, his legacy shines. Although I wouldn’t say we’d not have computers now without him, had he not asked the questions and written the papers he did, I personally would not have had the privilege of reading much of the math and computer science I’ve most enjoyed, and likely have had a very different life. On a personal, emotional level, I feel a debt toward this English mathematician who died before I was born.

[Tormod]

Michaelangelica, just wanted to say that your posts are of an exceptional standard. Keep it up!

 

I am also a fan of Alan Turing and what he managed to do. It's really sad what happened to him. But his name is with us in the Turing machine. :)

[InfiniteNow]

You might enjoy the following book:

 

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines

 

By Janna Levin.

 

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines is a wonderfully original book. Janna Levin's compelling narrative artfully straddles the realms of fiction and non-fiction, allowing us to viscerally experience the tortured lives of two towering intellects–Godel and Turing–while learning how each, in his own way, left a profound imprint on human thought.