I haven’t done a book update for a while. I haven’t done any kind of update for a while actually. Anyways, here’s where I’m at:
One measure of the impact of a scientist is how many numbers, theorems and other concepts have been named after them. In the field of mathematics, Euler is a leader in this. In computer science, we have Alan Turing. He didn’t invent computers, nor did he pioneer the use of computers in science and industry, but contributions to the field cannot be overstated and his work is absolutely fundamental to all work down in computer science today.
I’m not going to go into depth on his contributions to the endeavor of computer science, as it would take too long and be even more dull than we’re already dealing with here. I will say that he was instrumental in the success of Bletchley Park, the center in the UK that broke much of the Nazi’s encrypted messages and gave the allies a decided advantage in the later days of WW2. Of course, it was this work that led to his groundbreaking theories on computing.
Turing was also a homosexual, which was illegal in the UK until 1967. He was discovered in 1952 and sentenced to a program of chemical castration which caused a variety of unpleasant side effects including gynecomastia. His military clearances were also repealed and he was rendered unable to continue his work. In 1954 he committed suicide by taking a bite from an apple into which he had injected poison. Thus we have:
I draw no morals from this story.
