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I would urge everyone here who is a British citizen (even if you're an expat) or resident to sign the petition below, calling for a posthumous apology to Alan Turing.
More details:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8226509.stm
The petition itself:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/turing/
Alan Turing is one of the greatest computer scientists, if not the greatest computer scientist of the 20th century, and his treatment by the British government for his homosexuality is one of the tragedies of LGBT history.
I'm sure that most people here will be aware of his work (he's been mentioned here before) but if not, the Wikipedia article is a starting-point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
David
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As a computer man myself, Deeej, I have long had Alan Turing as one of my heroes.
I have two biographies of him. He was just one year younger than my mother and died while I was in the navy doing my national service (and learning something about sex and encoding machines - I was a 'coder special')
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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In the 90 minutes or so after I signed it a further thousand or more folk have also signed. It seems to be something that has caught the imagination of many folk. I've done my best so far with publicising it, and I ask each of you to do the same.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Alan Turing does indeed deserve a posthumous apology. Unfortunately, I'm not a UK citizen or resident, but I'm sure you know, Deeej, that if I had been, I would have signed the petition.
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In Timmy's email there was an omission: it is not only UK residents who can sign but also British citizens who are living abroad. Therefore, I signed.
But I really don't understand the purpose of the apology. What good will it do the man in his grave these long decades? He doesn't need posthumous rehabilitation: his name and fame have already been rehabilitated by the natural processes of popular justice. Perhaps the demand should have been for the government to spend oodles of money to establish in his name some institution or other that will benefit needful gays.
Anyway, as I said, I signed and was delighted to do so.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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I would say that it is pleasantly pointless to sign it and have the apology. Whatever the outcome it can never be a victory. there are no surviving family members, but we are here, online, because of his initial work.
There would have been others to do this, of course there would, but this man was persecuted for being homosexual, and he chose death.
So, pleasantly pointless as it is, I have signed it and encouraged loads of folk to sign it.
But there is a point, though perhaps a pseudo point.
The man wasn't gay. He was queer, or a nancy boy, or a pervert. And, if Oscar Wilde can be rehabilitated by the Roman Candles, then the UK can apologise to Turing.
And, so far, almost 17,000 of us have.
[Updated on: Tue, 01 September 2009 08:27]
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Macky
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
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But JFR,
There is a very important point to the apology. It's not for Turing's sake. It's for the sake of gays living today. When the apology occurs, it will be in the news. People will be reminded how a great man was persecuted for his sexual orientation. Such persecution will be cast in a bad light. It will give would-be persecutors one more thing to think about. It would add meaning to Turings life and death. Were he alive, Turing would be happy that his name and his fame furthered the cause of gay rights. BTW, for those who have read his biography, do you think a person like Turing would have committed suicide? Maybe it was the biographer I read, but the type of guy he was portrayed as does not seem to be of a suicidal person. He had no qualms about being openly gay, and the rent-kid scandal wouldn't have phsaed him, let alone caused him to bite the poison apple..
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
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johnleeb
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Toe is in the water |
Location: USA
Registered: January 2009
Messages: 44
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I would love to see something worldwide to honor Alan Turing. A good way to do that would be with computers, such as all web pages having a note of thanks to him for initiating the process. I doubt if we could get most business or religious sites to mention that he was gay. The wiki's about him do mention it without being negative about it.
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Macky
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
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I don't know how much PR this will generate right now. Nothing much yet in the US. But I have no doubt that it will be really significant going forward. A big thanks to all who signed the petition.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
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kiwi
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Likes it here |
Location: New Zealand
Registered: August 2009
Messages: 317
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The message is being widely spread!
'Kiwiblog' is New Zealand's most widely read and commented on political blog. (Absolutely nothing to do with me, I hasten to add!)
However, it is also Hard-Right Wing in it's slant and the comments section attracts a bunch of bigoted old gentlemen - it is commonly known, by its detractors, as 'the Sewer'.
So, I was delighted to see this posted there today - http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2009/09/alan_turing.html
Interesting that 17 out of 18 comments so far are postive and supportive.
Well done to all who supported the petition.
cheers
Commas matter - 'Party on Dudes' is not the same as 'Party on, Dudes'
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Macky
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
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People are thinking. People are talking. Thanks to the apology and the petition that begat it, I think Turing will make another great gift to the world. Namely, if people will look at his life they will see that he was a normal decent genius, who was treated like shit by a bigoted society. I fear that few in my country even understand the importance of his life. But there is still hope.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
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Macky
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
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The groundwork laid by Turing is still in use today by people like Stephen Wolfram, who claims that these rudimentary ideas have lead to a totally new kind of science. He has written a 1200 page book about it and made it free to all who would read it on the web. The thing is simple rules + iteration = structures so very complex that they become the realm of chaos theory. A very important corollary to this is that the smallest increment of measurement becomes extremely important because, via iteration, its impact is huge. Following from this is that we have no instruments for measuring such exactitudes which in iteration can have such profound impact on outcomes. We have to, in fact, run computer simulations of these iterations in programmed structures called "Turing Machines". Through the output cellular automata of these iterative programs, patterns can become obvious in environments previously considered chaotic. Development of snowflakes leaves and seashells have been formula-ized by this process. What Turing started is just now getting into full swing. Computer science was just the tip of the iceberg. The fact is that in 1.0000001, the .0000001 can not be dropped or rounded in an iterative process. In fact, that .0000001 is totally deterministic in regard to the result. Turing has done more than most people realize.
http://www.wolfram.com/news/researchprize.html
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
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timmy wrote:
This needs to spread widely.
Timmy, we can add (so far) to New Zealand the State of Israel. Brown's apology was extensively reported as an item in the 8 am news on the radio. One curiosity: the (positive) item said that apology to surviving family members is not now possible because there aren't any.
Perhaps people here will watch out for publication each in his own country.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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You miss the point. It is the wider message that has to spread, or the apology will be a simple apology.
There is huge anti homophobic capital to be made here
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Dear Macky,
Your post raises a whole lot of new questions which I would start a new thread about - but I think they may be outside the scope of this board.
The way that some iterative processes are very sensitive to extremely small variations in the initial conditions has been misunderstood by a lot of people and some of the supposed 'chaos theory' computer programs produce results that are a consequence of the computer structure, not the mathematics. Furthermore the structure of space, time and matter may be granular and so not infinitely divisible - indeed that is the main message of quantum theory.
But you are right about the close connexion between cellular automata and computers. It was suggested by people interested in the 'game' (or rigmarole) called 'life' invented by John Horton Conway, that it might be possible to build a life universe that could act as a computer. That is a general purpose computer such as the Turing machine. And a friend of mine, Paul Chapman, has actually achieved such a construction.
I can give you details if you are interested.
Love,
Anthony
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Macky
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
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Thanks Anthony,
I can only wrap my brain around the most basic of concepts anymore. Still, it's fascinating to follow science as it developes. I think Turing has laid the groundwork for a lot of the future of science, as we move into understanding chaos, which is really not chaotic, but the product of countless iterations of simple basic rules. I think that basic concept will lead to the ultimate unraveling of chaotic systems.
But the concept that touches my heart is the fact that Turing began to think about artificial intelligence as a young lad, as a result of the death of the classmate that he loved. It seems to me that he almost wanted to bring his fried back from the dead somehow. It sounds wierd, but I think there is an element of truth to that statement. I think young Turing's letter to the boy's mom makes a passing reference to something like this. Anyway, following this line of thought, I like to consider that modern computing and the many wonders yet to follow from Turings work have in their origin, the love of one boy for another. Love begats science. That's nice in my book: real poetic.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
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