http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8226509.stm
I say yes. This man must be one of the top 5 most important men to the Allied cause during World War 2.
QuoteThousands call for Turing apology
Thousands of people have signed a Downing Street petition calling for a posthumous government apology to World War II code breaker Alan Turing.
Writer Ian McEwan has just backed the campaign, which already has the support of scientist Richard Dawkins.
In 1952 Turing was prosecuted under the gross indecency act after admitting to a sexual relationship with a man. Two years later he killed himself.
The petition was the idea of computer scientist John Graham-Cumming.
He is seeking an apology for the way the young mathematician was treated after his conviction. He has also written to the Queen to ask for a posthumous knighthood to be awarded to the British mathematician.
Alan Turing was given experimental chemical castration as a "treatment" and his security privileges were removed, meaning he could not continue work for the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
"This added insult and humiliation ultimately drove him to suicide," said gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who also backs the campaign. "With Turing's death, Britain and the world lost one of its finest intellectual minds. A government apology and posthumous pardon are long overdue."
National legacy
Alan Turing is most famous for his code-breaking work at Bletchley Park during WWII, helping to create the Bombe that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines.
However he also made significant contributions to the emerging fields of artificial intelligence and computing.
In 1936 he established the conceptual and philosophical basis for the rise of computers in a seminal paper called "On Computable Numbers", whilst in 1950 he devised a test to measure the intelligence of a machine. Today it is known as the Turing Test.
After the war he worked at many institutions including the University of Manchester, where he worked on the Manchester Mark 1, one of the first recognisable modern computers.
There is a memorial statue of him in Manchester's Sackville Gardens which was unveiled in 2001.
"I kept reading about potential funding cuts at Bletchley Park and I suddenly felt really mad about it," said Mr Graham-Cumming.
"I felt Turing was getting overlooked as being a British genius and that there was a blindspot in the public eye about an important man."
He has so far collected more than 5,500 signatures.
He admits that an official apology to Alan Turing is "unlikely", as Mr Turing has no known surviving family, but he says that the real aim of the petition is symbolic.
"The most important thing to me is that people hear about Alan Turing and realise his incredible impact on the modern world, and how terrible the impact of prejudice was on him," he said.
Give him a knighthood and Hitler loses AGAIN.
This is not a ghey thread. I refuse Martinus the right to gheyjack this thread.
You said jack. ^_^
Quote from: garbon on August 31, 2009, 03:22:56 PM
You said jack. ^_^
That settles it, you fail the Turing test, you are a bot.
All gay news websites are reporting this so this is GHEY. :bowler:
No. Just because someone does their country a service doesn't mean they get a free pass later on.
Quote from: Viking on August 31, 2009, 03:20:00 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8226509.stm
I say yes. This man must be one of the top 5 most important men to the Allied cause during World War 2.
[snip]
Give him a knighthood and Hitler loses AGAIN.
This is not a ghey thread. I refuse Martinus the right to gheyjack this thread.
Considering the Turing test is most widely remembered in the realm of artificial intelligence, I'd say it's debatable that "this is not a ghey thread." It already has Timmay-taint, at the very least. ;)
Turing's death should teach us that you can't help those who don't want to be helped, you'll only drive them to suicide that way.
Quote from: DGuller on August 31, 2009, 03:27:47 PM
Turing's death should teach us that you can't help those who don't want to be helped, you'll only drive them to suicide that way.
Ass. :lol:
Quote from: DGuller on August 31, 2009, 03:27:47 PM
Turing's death should teach us that you can't help those who don't want to be helped, you'll only drive them to suicide that way.
Yay?
Quote from: Martinus on August 31, 2009, 03:24:35 PM
All gay news websites are reporting this so this is GHEY. :bowler:
meh... gay news websites only report sports when a catcher is seen blowing the pitcher.
Quote from: Viking on August 31, 2009, 03:31:34 PM
Quote from: Martinus on August 31, 2009, 03:24:35 PM
All gay news websites are reporting this so this is GHEY. :bowler:
meh... gay news websites only report sports when a catcher is seen blowing the pitcher.
Not true. The gay games last month got a wide coverage. :P
I have to say that I am not a fan of apologizing for things that occurred in the distant past. It's a matter for historians, not current governments.
Now as a person with an interest in history let me say it's tragic what happened to Turing.
Quote from: Barrister on August 31, 2009, 03:36:03 PM
I have to say that I am not a fan of apologizing for things that occurred in the distant past. It's a matter for historians, not current governments.
Now as a person with an interest in history let me say it's tragic what happened to Turing.
I wouldn't call something that happened within the living memory the "distant past", though.
Quote from: Martinus on August 31, 2009, 03:35:42 PM
Quote from: Viking on August 31, 2009, 03:31:34 PM
Quote from: Martinus on August 31, 2009, 03:24:35 PM
All gay news websites are reporting this so this is GHEY. :bowler:
meh... gay news websites only report sports when a catcher is seen blowing the pitcher.
Not true. The gay games last month got a wide coverage. :P
Thats not the kind of pitcher and catcher I was talking about.
Quote from: Martinus on August 31, 2009, 03:39:12 PM
Quote from: Barrister on August 31, 2009, 03:36:03 PM
I have to say that I am not a fan of apologizing for things that occurred in the distant past. It's a matter for historians, not current governments.
Now as a person with an interest in history let me say it's tragic what happened to Turing.
I wouldn't call something that happened within the living memory the "distant past", though.
It was 55 years ago. Whether you want to call it "distant" or not, it was a long time ago.
hmm....I would have to go with Barrister. Unless those who convicted him are still alive.
Horrible stuff that happened though. WTF were they thinking giving a gay female hormones to cure them?
Dawkins is for it? I'm against.
Quote from: Barrister on August 31, 2009, 03:36:03 PM
I have to say that I am not a fan of apologizing for things that occurred in the distant past. It's a matter for historians, not current governments.
Now as a person with an interest in history let me say it's tragic what happened to Turing.
Is it? Let's imagine Turing had children, or was close to a sibling who had children. 55 years ago is within living memory for my father, after all. Do you think they would care about him being knighted?
I think that an apology is absurd, given that the government was implementing the will of the people of the day, but a pardon and posthumous knighthood (if that kind of thing is done) are not unreasonable. Certainly people have been knighted for doing less for Britain than Turing.
If he has direct family or descendants still alive an apology to them would be fine; an apology to the dead guy himself doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than a photo op/pat on the back to a politician somewhere. I think grumbler has the right idea with a pardon/knighthood.
If Turing weren't gay, he would have a family there to receive the public apology for his treatment. How ironic.
Quote from: DGuller on August 31, 2009, 09:32:43 PM
If Turing weren't gay, he would have a family there to receive the public apology for his treatment. How ironic.
:lol: This is why I like you.
Didn't gays turn out to be a big security risk in the UK after WWII? :ph34r:
Quote from: derspiess on August 31, 2009, 10:29:00 PM
Didn't gays turn out to be a big security risk in the UK after WWII? :ph34r:
And what was it that made them such a security risk, I wonder...
aka The Attack of the Perpetuating Cycle!
I thought he was actually gay? Am I missing something?
Quote from: The Brain on September 01, 2009, 12:59:37 PM
I thought he was actually gay? Am I missing something?
He was actually working on developing a male sexbot when he died.