Alan Turing: The Enigma (134 page)

tube, vacuum
see
electronic; cathode ray tube

Turing, origins of family
1
,
14

Turing, Alan Mathison:

conceived in British India, born in London (1912)5;

has primitive love of science
19
;

but is sent to public school (1926)
20
;

beats the system
32
;

and studies Einstein
33–4
;

loves Christopher, and joins human race
35
;

suffers death of Christopher (1930)
45
;

writes ‘Nature of Spirit’ at Cambridge
63

is not of the Cambridge élite
74
;

but is Anti-war (1933)
71
,
87
;

and has first affair
75–6
;

studies quantum mechanics and mathematical logic
79
–
86
,
90
–
94
;

and becomes King’s College Fellow
94
;

invents Turing machine
96
–
98
;

to dispose of
Entscheidungsproblem,
deep result in mathematics
102
;

with implications for nature of mind and for the computer of the future
105–10
;

is drawn into world mathematics at Princeton (1936)
112–3
,
117
;

but suffers frustrations
129
;

electrifies multiplication with cryptographic ideas
138
;

while pursuing abstruse ‘ordinal logics’
142–3
;

also tackles the problems of prime numbers
135
,
140–1
;

with a mechanical device
141
,
155
;

turns down American opportunity (1938)
145–6
;

and is recruited to British government cryptanalysis, as its first mathematician
146
;

sponsors boy refugee
150–1
;

joins up at Bletchley Park (1939)
160
;

helps make machines to break Enigma, key to all German communications
181
;

heads work on naval Enigma
187
,
195
;

develops new statistical methods
196–7

with direct impact on Atlantic war (1941)
198
;

engaged to fellow cryptanalyst, breaks off
206
,
216
;

is chief analyst at Bletchley Park in 1942 crises
227–8
;

is highest level liaison between Britain and United States, visiting Washington and New York
244
,
247
;

returns amidst Atlantic convoy fiasco (March 1943)
253
,
260
;

turns away from Bletchley Park
268
;

takes on advanced speech scrambler of his own
273
;

has claim as originator of electronic digital computer
295
;

but comes second to American developments
304–5
;

is recruited to National Physical Laboratory (1945)
307
;

submits report with detailed, original, ambitious computer plan
333
;

persuades NPL of plan (1946)
336
;

but sees nothing happen
356
;

meanwhile develops ideas of ‘intelligent machinery’ and robots
357–61
,
377–82
;

becomes Marthon runner
369
;

returns for refreshment and another affair at Cambridge (1947–8)
370–3
;

then cuts losses at NPL
376–7
;

and takes up difficult position at Manchester (1948)
390
;

turns aside from computers, uncertain of direction
394
,
403
,
413
;

writes classic paper on machine intelligence with ‘imitation game’ as Turing Test (1950)415–26;

finds new field in biology
429–30
;

for which computer is used
445
;

but breaks laws of sex and class
448–50
;

is found out after burglary
455
;

goes to trial (March 1952)
471
;

is treated scientifically, with female hormones
473
;

seems to beat the system again
476
;

and analyses dreams
481
;

but fails to explain sinister ‘Kjell crisis’ (1953)
483
;

sends messages from the unseen world
512
;

and dies of cyanide poisoning (June 1954)
487
;

without revealing the secret world
502–3

Turing, Arthur (uncle)
2
,
496

Turing,
Ethel Sara
(née
Stoney) (mother):

early life
3
–
4
;

and AMT’s schooling
7
,
10
,
19
–
20
;

school letters and holidays
11
–
21
,
387
n;

independence of husband
16
,
25
,
369
;

has Stoney view of science
16
,
41
,
120
,
520
;

links with Mrs Morcom
46
–
51
,
53
,
59
;

and AMT’s ideas
111
n,
114
,
120
,
152
,
294
,
439
;

social manners, presents, relations, church
etc.
73
n,
126
,
132
,
151–2
,
206
,
208
,
268
,
346
;

and AMT’s war work
239–40
,
242
;

takes in AMT’s washing
354
;

and AMT’s Manchester life
439–40
,
454
,
484
,
490
,
509
;

and trial
463–4
,
481
;

reaction to AMT’s death
488–9
,
491
,
491
n,
496
,
523
, 528

biographer and memorialist
531–3
,
536
,
536
n

Turing, Fanny
(née
Boyd) (grandmother)
2

Turing, Harvey D. (uncle)
2

Turing, John F. (brother): birth
5
;

boyhood relation with AMT
8
–
11
,
18
,
19
,
33
;

later tenuous contacts
114
,
239
,
369
;

and trial
463–4
;

and AMT’s death
488
,
491
, 528

Turing, John Robert (grandfather)
2
,
369
,
488

Turing, Julius Mathison (father):

early life
2
–
3
;

as ICS father
7
–
10
;

premature resignation
15
;

and AMT’s schooling
25
,
32
,
41
;

visits Morcoms
63
;

life after illness
88
,
144
,
151
;

death
369
;

also
377
,
464
,
464
n,
481–2

Turing machines
96
–
99
; used to define a ‘mechanical process’
100–2
;

‘state of mind’ interpretation
105–6
;

‘instruction note’ interpretation
106–7
;

related to Post’s ‘worker’
125
;

and relay multiplier
139–40
;

and cipher work
120
,
164
,
211
;

and to fundamentals of computer and machine intelligence
107–8
,
290–3
,
296–7
,
383–4
,
419
;

regarded as programs for Universal Turing Machine
(q.v.)
102–3
,
292–3
,
319–20
,
360
,
381

Turing, Sybil (aunt holding Relations Merit Diploma)
2
,
132
,
447
,
454

Turing Test
266
,
415
,
417

Turingismus
230–1
,
266

Tutte, W. T.
230
,
332
n

Twinn, Peter
151
,
161
,
193
,
195

types, logical theory of
85
,
92
,
119
;

AMT describes
215
;

further work on
355
,
428
,
454
,
479
,
491
,
494

typewriters, typing, AMT poor at
14
,
145
,
279
,
283

Typex l65,
166
,
262

U-boats
see
Atlantic, battle of

Ulam, S.
129
,
145

Underhill, F.
128

United States of America:

early impact of
11
,
86
,
95
;

AMT’s prejudices
116
;

war changes relation with Britain
222
,
235–6
,
263
;

AMT is vital British liaison with
244
,
247
;

is cleared for innermost secrets of
245
, note
5.4
;

AMT in second place to
305
;

AMT sees as crude in problem-solving
352
;

further changes of relations
364
,
386
,
393
,
506–7
;

AMT as American problem
508–9
;

see also
Princeton; Bell Laboratories; Harvard, for AMT’s visits

see also
EDVAC, for origin of computer in

Universal Turing Machine
102–3
,
109–10
,
124
,
181
n;

related to computer
293–5
,
297
,
303–4
,
307
;

AMT’s own references
318–21
,
360
,
381
n

Uttley, A.
349–50
,
411

valve, electronic
see
electronic

Vernam, G. S., Vernam ciphers
228
,
246
,
270

vetting, positive
502
,
502
n,
511

‘Victor’
see
Beuttell, Victor F.

Vienna
150–1
,
193
,
264

violin, AMT plays
89
,
414
,
452
,
463

Virginia
142

Vocoder
245–6
,
274
,
290

voice, AMT’s strange
24
,
61
,
68
,
209
,
249
,
396

von Neumann, John:

background
86
,
95
;

contact with AMT
95
,
117–8
,
124
,
126
,
129–32
,
145
n,
355
,
413
, note
2.36
, note
5.26
;

offers AMT post
144–5
;

compared with AMT
95
,
441
,
519
;