No, this is not about "Titanic" or "Romeo and Juliet", pieces of fiction written to appeal to the feeling of self-sacrifice in humans. This is the tragic story of a real man, a great man.
Alan Turing was a British mathematician, logician and also a computer scientist. Though the title is not formally bestowed on him, he is considered as the "Father of computer science and artificial intelligence".
During the World War II, Turing was responsible for breaking or "cracking" of many German codes and crypts. He even created a machine that would help in cracking different codes. He was considered a hero and a cult figure in Britain.
He was considered to be so important in the war that it was not revealed until after the war that it was he who had cracked the code. The Brits were so concerned for his safety. After the war, Turing became a computer scientist and is responsible for many breakthroughs in this field.
In 1952, it came to be known that Turing was in fact, a homosexual. At that time, and a long time after that, homosexuality was a criminal offence in the UK. Turing was tried and convicted of "gross indecency". Instead of being celebrated, Turing was shamed and ridiculed.
He was given the choice of spending two years in jail or accepting a hormonal treatment that would result in impotency and growing breasts. Turing accepted the latter option and "treatment" was given for a year. He was then barred from participating in the government's intelligence programmes.
In short, Turing had to face criminal charges for his private choices and then was disgracefully castrated chemically. It is a shame that such a great man was given such a cruel and appalling treatment for something that is not even remotely a crime, or anybody else's business.
On June 7th, Turing injected cyanide into an apple and killed himself.
Alan Turing was a British mathematician, logician and also a computer scientist. Though the title is not formally bestowed on him, he is considered as the "Father of computer science and artificial intelligence".
During the World War II, Turing was responsible for breaking or "cracking" of many German codes and crypts. He even created a machine that would help in cracking different codes. He was considered a hero and a cult figure in Britain.
He was considered to be so important in the war that it was not revealed until after the war that it was he who had cracked the code. The Brits were so concerned for his safety. After the war, Turing became a computer scientist and is responsible for many breakthroughs in this field.
In 1952, it came to be known that Turing was in fact, a homosexual. At that time, and a long time after that, homosexuality was a criminal offence in the UK. Turing was tried and convicted of "gross indecency". Instead of being celebrated, Turing was shamed and ridiculed.
He was given the choice of spending two years in jail or accepting a hormonal treatment that would result in impotency and growing breasts. Turing accepted the latter option and "treatment" was given for a year. He was then barred from participating in the government's intelligence programmes.
In short, Turing had to face criminal charges for his private choices and then was disgracefully castrated chemically. It is a shame that such a great man was given such a cruel and appalling treatment for something that is not even remotely a crime, or anybody else's business.
On June 7th, Turing injected cyanide into an apple and killed himself.
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