10 questions · Science
Alan Turing, born in London in 1912, is regarded as one of the fathers of computer science and artificial intelligence: a brilliant, unconventional thinker whose ideas still shape the modern world. As early as 1936, when computers did not yet exist, he devised a conceptual model: the Turing machine, an idealised computing machine that can in principle solve any computable problem. It is the theoretical foundation of every computer today. In the Second World War Turing became a hidden war hero. At Bletchley Park he played a decisive part in breaking the code of the German cipher machine Enigma; a feat that probably shortened the war by years and saved countless lives. This work long remained top secret. Turing also thought about thinking machines and proposed the Turing test named after him: a machine counts as "intelligent" if, in conversation, a person can no longer tell whether they are writing with a computer or a human. Despite his achievements, Turing was prosecuted and humiliated for his homosexuality, then a crime in Britain. He died in 1954 under tragic circumstances. Only decades later was he officially rehabilitated and, in 2013, posthumously pardoned.
Practise for freePurFact brings every card back right before you would forget it. That's how knowledge sticks.
computer science
Also a pioneer of artificial intelligence.
💡 Did you know? Turing is regarded as the father of computer science: he described the principle of the computer before computers existed.
Turing machine
The foundation of every modern computer.
💡 Did you know? The theoretical „Turing machine“ is the conceptual foundation of every computer today.
Enigma
At Bletchley Park; it shortened the war.
💡 Did you know? Turing's cracking of the German Enigma code probably shortened the Second World War by years and saved millions of lives.
Turing test
Can a human still tell machine from human?
💡 Did you know? The „Turing test“ asks whether a machine can hold a conversation indistinguishable from a human's.
homosexuality
Then a crime in Britain.
💡 Did you know? Turing was convicted for his homosexuality, then a crime in Britain, and forced to undergo hormone treatment.
posthumous pardon
A late official rehabilitation.
💡 Did you know? In 2013 Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon: decades after his early death.
Foto: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Alan Turing
Alan Turing was a British mathematician who laid the theoretical foundations of computer science and cracked the Enigma code in the war.
💡 Did you know? Despite his achievements he was convicted for his homosexuality: only in 2013 was he officially pardoned posthumously.
1912
Born: 23 June 1912 in London
1954
Died: 7 June 1954 in Wilmslow, England, aged 41
London
Born: 23 June 1912 in London
Home · All topics · Legal notice · Privacy · Terms · Contact
