Alan Turing: The Unsung Hero in Tech
- converge news and media
- Aug 17, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 18, 2021
By Maya Belle
We all know Alan Turing, the English mathematician and cryptographer who cracked the Nazi Enigma code and aided the Allies in winning WWII. However, here’s some things you may not have known about him:
1. He invented artificial intelligence
Alan Turing essentially created modern cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He was one of the main proponents of the theory that the human brain is essentially a digital computing machine, and he theorized that the cortex could be “trained” to compute just as a machine could. All of this translates into modern day computer science, and what we know about AI.
2. He was an excellent runner
Turing was passionate about running, and he loved working it into his day. He often ran to destinations he needed to visit, and he ran 10 miles between his two main places of work, beating his colleagues who took public transportation. Turing joined running clubs, and his best marathon time was 2 hours, 46 minutes and 3 seconds--only 11 minutes longer than that year’s winning Olympic time.
3. He had a slight stutter
He had a stammer, which is quite over exaggerated by portrayals of Turing. He took his time to find the right words, and for this reason was said to be difficult to interview.
4. He was unphased by the punishment for homosexuality at the time
It is a well known fact that Turing was gay, and he was even open about it among his close friends. However, homosexuality was illegal in England at the time, and the punishment for it was chemical castration, which caused gynecomastia and would have given him breasts. Nonetheless, Turing would not let this stop him from his work, and continued working to help the Allies win the war.
5. He will be featured on the UK’s new £50 note
It was announced in July 2019 that Turing would be featured on the new £50 note, accompanied by images of his work. Turing was chosen from a list of almost 1000 nominated scientists, a list of which included Ada Lovelace and Stephen Hawking.
To conclude, Alan Turing was a genius, and a pioneer in many of the technological fields we know today. Although he was condemned for his sexuality, he will always be considered a hero to not just the UK, but to the whole world.
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