Alan turing site maintained by andrew hodges including a short biography alanturing. It is clear that he is impressed with turing, but he also makes sure that the reader will be impressed with his knowledge as well. Alan turing, the enigma by andrew hodges librarything. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. Alan turing ebook download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. A book from alan turing and a mysterious piece of paper.
Taken on by british intelligence in 1938, as a shy young cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. The imitation game is the latest in a series of arts and entertainment features inspired by andrew hodgess book. Turings rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. Alan turing 19121954, of cryptanalysis and computer fame. The enigma, a biography of alan turing 19121954 which succeeded in wrapping together turings life as the founder of computer science, chief world war ii codebreaker and as persecuted gay man. In the last years of his life he was procecuted for homosexual acts that were then criminalised. Andrew hodges is best known as the biographer of alan turing, the british founder of computer science and now famous codebreaker at bletchley park. The conflicted life of an ordinary english homosexual atheist mathematician. Sir john dermot t uring born 1961, a solicitor, is a nephew of alan turing and. Alan turing died in 1954, but the themes of his life epitomize the turn of the millennium.
Along with a lucid exposition of turings achievements, hodges reveals an amusing, honest man. I think the aspect of the book that i most grasped and that was the most thoughtprovoking was turings ideas about machine intelligence. Andrew hodges is a british mathematician, author and an activist in the gay liberation movement of the 1970s. One of the difficult challenges for a scientific biographer is to get the science right. Tur ing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation wit h the t uring machine, which can be. The enigma by andrew hodges,douglas hofstadter for free. This is a comprehensive biography which attempts to document the private and professional life of a truly complex individual. Alan turing was an intense personality, not the autistic enigma portrayed in the film. Alan had proved that there was no miraculous machine that could solve all mathematical problems, but in the process he had discovered something almost equally miraculous, the idea of a universal machine that could take over the work of any machine. Alan, even in his earliest years, exhibited what hodges refers to as a desert island mentality. I have little new to add and must join all of the others here in saying that andrew hodges alan turing.
Hodges rises to the challenge in this absorbing biography of the great alan turing. Alan turing book edmonton public library bibliocommons. Hodges tells how turings revolutionary idea of 1936 the concept of a universal machine laid the. A pure mathematician from a tradition that prided itself on its impracticality, turing laid the foundations for modern computer science, writes andrew hodges. He was a homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were considered a crime. Andrew hodgess biography of alan turing, the brilliant cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the german enigma code and indeed was the the father of the modern computer, was regarded as the paperback buy of the season sunday times when it was first published. Andrew will be in conversation with sir dermot turing, alan turings nephew, who had a career in the legal profession before turning to writing narrative history as a second career. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific. Inspiring the imitation game wadham college university of oxford. When the subject of the biography has contributed to multiple fields, this is even more difficult. A new york times bestseller the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. The enigma formed the basis of last years biopic the.
The enigma first appeared in 1983 and has subsequently run through many editions and translations. Turing brought the idea to practical realization in 1945 with his electronic design. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed surviving witnesses to elucidate turings multiple dimensions. Starting with a short book about alan turing in a series on the great philosophers 1997, andrew has written further papers on the history and philosophy of computation. Turing is most famous for his cryptanalysis work at bletchley park during the second world war. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific genius ever written.
Knighthood is not awarded posthumously and there are. Its subject, the british mathematical genius who contributed to the cryptanalysis of the nazi enigma code and to the beginnings of the computer, was not an easy subject. The enigma, from 1983, the film imagines turing as. Since the early 1970s, hodges has worked on twistor theory which is the approach to the problems of fundamental physics pioneered by roger penrose. Alan turing 191254 was a british mathematician who made history. Sir john turing backed the losing side in the english civil war, while foveran.
Andrew hodgess biography of alan turing, the brilliant cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the german enigma code and indeed was. Alan turing 19121954 was the founder of modern computer science and the chief scientific cryptographer of the second world war. The enigma by andrew hodges, 9781784700089, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. A book by wadham fellow andrew hodges has inspired the screenplay. A gripping story of mathematics, science, computing, war history, cryptography, and homosexual persecution and liberation. Based extremely loosely on andrew hodgess excellent biography alan turing. The mathematician and turing biographer, andrew hodges.
As a relative of the mathematician, dermot feels that he is empowered to take a less formal approach in portraying his uncle to the wider, general public than, say, previous monolithic biographies by academics, the most notable of which is by andrew hodges, whose alan turing. The enigma, biography of alan turing 19121954 by andrew hodges. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightleyit is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his suicide at. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game. I wanted to ask norman about turing, but by then norman was retired and something of a recluse. It is a bit ironic that a book whose title implies that alan turing himself is the biggest enigma manages to leave him still an enigma in many ways, but that is the case. In november a major motion picture starring benedict cumberbatch as turing will be released, based on the classic biography by dr. Andrew philip hodges 1949 in london ist ein britischer mathematischer physiker.
A new york times bestseller the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley it is only a slight. Andrew hodgess work brought this hidden story to a wide readership and it has remained in print ever since. His breaking of the german uboat enigma cipher in world war ii ensured alliedamerican control of the atlantic. A pure mathematician from a tradition that prided itself on its. Andrew was elected a fellow at wadham in 2007 and appointed dean in 2011. This new york times bestselling biography of the founder of computer science and artificial.
Taken on by british intelligence in 1938, as a shy young cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. In 2012 he became a senior research fellow in the mathematical institute, with cuf status. Hodges biography is thoroughly researched into all aspects of turings li. By that time, andrew hodgess biographywhich did so much to make turing famoushad appeared, and it confirmed that, yes, alan turing and norman routledge had indeed been friends, and in fact turing had been normans phd advisor. Hodges tells how turings revolutionary idea of 1936the concept of a universal machinelaid the foundation for the modern computer and how turing brought the idea to. A gripping story of mathematics, computers, cryptography, and homosexual persecution, andrew hodgess acclaimed book captures both the inner and outer drama of turings life.
The enigma the centenary edition andrew hodges, douglas hofstadter it is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his suicide at age fortyone. But turings vision went far beyond the desperate wartime struggle. Hodges tells how turings revolutionary idea of 1936 the concept of a universal machine laid the foundation for the modern computer. Hodges tries to make turings personal struggles readable, but his propensity for making himself sound erudite get in the way. He is actively involved in the bletchley park museum and. The enigma by andrew hodges is an enigma in its own right. On 23 july 2014, the pet shop boys neil tennant and chris lowe performed a new musical work, a man from the future, including a. One of the finest scientific biographies ever written.
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