Alan Turing: Computing Genius and Wartime Code Breaker (Makers of Modern Science)

161 Pages·2011·3.85 MB·English

by  Harry Henderson

Alan
Turing

Alan
Turing
Computing Genius and
Wartime Code Breaker
HARRY HENDERSON
Alan Turing: Computing Genius and Wartime Code Breaker
Copyright © 2011 by Harry Henderson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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Chelsea House
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Henderson, Harry, 1951–
Alan Turing : computing genius and wartime code breaker / Harry Henderson.
p. cm.—(Makers of modern science)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8160-6175-4
ISBN 978-1-4381-3514-4 (e-book)
1. Turing, Alan Mathison, 1912–1954—Juvenile literature. 2. Mathematicians—
Great Britain—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
QA29.T8H46. 2011
510.92—dc22 2010015798
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Excerpts included herewith have been reprinted by permission of the copyright hold-
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be glad to rectify, in future editions, any errors or omissions brought to their notice.

Text design by Kerry Casey
Composition by Keith Trego
Illustrations by Sholto Ainslie
Photo research by Suzanne M. Tibor
Cover printed by Art Print, Taylor, Pa.
Book printed and bound by Maple Press, York, Pa.
Date printed: February 2011
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
For Will and Thad
In gratitude for many hours of
universal human conversation
$

Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
1
An Unusual Child 1
Absent Parents 2
Hazelhurst 4
Sherborne School 5
An Intrepid Journey 6
Public School Life 7
The Public School in British Culture 7
Flashes of Genius 8
The Discovery of Friendship 10
Death of a Friend 11
The “Nature of Spirit” 12
2
The Frontiers of Mathematics 14
New Intellectual Opportunities 15
Mathematical Hurdles 17
The Scope of Mathematics 19
Mathematical Logic 20
Hilbert’s Challenge 22
3
Calculating Minds 24
From Abacus to Calculator 25
Babbage, Lovelace, and Their “Difference Engine” 26
Mechanical Calculators 28
Boole’s Bridge to the Computer 29
The Turing Machine 30
The Power of Simplicity 32
A Universal Machine 34
Graduate Study at Princeton 35
4
Enigma 39
The German Enigma 41
A Fiendishly Complicated Machine 42
The First Assault on the Enigma 45
Turing and Bletchley Park 47
The Battle of the Atlantic 48
New Code-breaking Techniques 50
Bletchley Park Today 52
A Desperate Plan 56
Turing Goes Afield 57
Electronics Advances 59
The Song of Delilah 60
5
The Birth of the Computer 63
Colossus: a Forgotten Computer 66
The First Electronic Computers 68
Who Was First—Turing or von Neumann? 70
A “Baby” Is Born 73
Christopher Strachey: Creative Computer Scientist 75
“Building a Brain” 76
6
Can Machines Think? 78
From Turbochamp to Deep Blue 79
Turing, Robots, and Machines That Learn 83
The Turing Test 84
Passing the Turing Test 86
Turing Begins the AI Debate 87
Will Computers Ever Be Smarter than People? 88
Turing’s Legacy in AI 90
7
The Poisoned Apple 92
Patterns of Development 93
The Code Breaker’s Secret 95
A Fateful Turn 96
Verdict and Aftermath 97
Homosexuality and the Law in Britain 98
Turing’s Inner Journey 101
Ambiguous Death and Certain Tragedy 102

Conclusion: Turing’s Shrouded Legacy 107
Mathematics and Computing 107
Artificial Intelligence 108
The Human Moment 109
Turing Today 111
Chronology 113
Glossary 119
Further Resources 123
Index 129