Lesson:Biographies/AlanTuring

Biographies

Alan Turing

Alan Mathison Turing was born on June 23, 1912, in London, England. Already at a young age, he displayed signs of high intelligence. When Turing attended Sherborne School at the age of 13, he became very interested in math and science.

After Sherborne, Turing enrolled at King's College (University of Cambridge) in Cambridge, eventually becoming a fellow at the school after his graduation.

In 1936, Turing delivered a paper in which he presented the notion of a universal machine (later called the "Turing machine") capable of computing anything that is computable: The central concept of the modern computer.

During World War II, Turing made significant contributions to the code-breaking of German ciphers, which helped shorten the war.

In the mid-1940s, Turing led the design work for the Automatic Computing Engine and ultimately created a groundbreaking blueprint which influenced the design of the world’s first personal computer.

In 1950 he published a paper, "Computing machinery and intelligence," proposing an experiment that has significantly influenced debates over artificial intelligence.

In the early 1950s Turing was charged with gross indecency for being gay, which was illegal in England at the time and he had to choose between receiving hormonal treatment (which would leave him impotent) or imprisonment. He chose the treatment.

As a result of his conviction, Turing's security clearance was removed and he was barred from continuing his work with cryptography.

Turing died on June 7, 1954, supposedly having committed suicide by eating a poisoned apple, however, it has been argued that his death might have been an accident.

After World War II, Turing was honored in a number of ways. In 1999, Time magazine named him one of its "100 Most Important People of the 20th century," and he has been recognized for his impact on computer science, with many crediting him as the "founder" of the field.

In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on behalf of the British government, posthumously apologized to Turing for prosecuting him as a homosexual.

Expressions

Read the examples below and then make a few sentences with each expression.

make contributions

• He made contributions to the event on Saturday.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. made a great contribution to society by fighting for equal rights.

to be charged with

• He was charged with burglary this afternoon.
• The woman was charged with the murder of her husband.

to be barred from

• EU citizens living in UK will be barred from voting in the referendum that will decide whether the UK is in or out of the European Union.

to be honored

• He was honered many times after his death.
• She was honored for her contributions to the development of a cure for cancer.

to credit someone as

• René Descartes is credited as the father of analytical geometry.

Talk a little about...

Prejudice against homosexuals had a deep impact in the life of one of the great geniuses of the 20th century. Do you think the government has a right to interfere in someone's private life? How do you stand on other controversial issues such as euthanasia and abortion?

Vocabulary

Look up the definition for the following words and write sentences with them. These words are used in the video below and understanding them will help your listening comprehension.

DT   whose

DT   split

DT   scholarship

DT   take on

DT   conceive

DT   hypothetical

DT   string

DT   finite

DT   set

DT   rules

DT   wit

DT   cunning

DT   stakes

DT   relished

DT   myriad

DT   eroded

DT   cracked

DT   lacked

DT   fill

DT   gap

Conversation

1. How were you as a child? Did your parents and teachers understand you?
2. Do you like math and science? How was your relationship with these subjects?
3. What were your favorite subjects in school?
4. When did you know what you wanted to do with your life?
5. How have personal computers impacted society?
6. How would your life be different if there weren't personal computers?
7. Have you watched any movies about AI (artificial intelligence)?
8. Do you think one day computers will be able to have emotions like we do?
9. What prejudices do we still have in our own society?
10. Are you guilty of having prejudices as well?
11. How do we avoid having prejudice?
12. Have you ever been a victim of prejudice?

Practice

Read the following sentences. Then change them to the negative and interrogative form.

• At a young age, he could already read and write.
• He displayed signs of stress.
• He attended Sherborne School.
• She started studying physics at the age of 12.
• He became very interested in biology.

• He enrolled at THE GROVE.
• He enrolled on an English course.
• He enrolled on an English course in Florianópolis.

• She eventually gave up on her plans.
• After her graduation she moved to another city.
• The professor delivered an important paper.
• The cuts the director made shortened the play.

• In the mid-1960s The Beatles exploded in the US.
• He published a paper in 1950.
• As a result of his efforts, he was given a prize.

• He was honored for his contributions in cryptography.
• He has been recognized for his creativity.
• The woman apologized on behalf of her sister.

True or False

 

True	False
		Turing was born in England.
		Turing was recognized for his intelligence since he was young.
		Turing became interested in math and science after Sherborne.
		After graduating from King's College he became a fellow at the school.
		The notion of a universal machine was called the "Turing machine".
		During World War II Turing was accused of being gay.
		Turing's contribution to the codebreaking of German ciphers had as a result a shorter war.
		Turing created the world's first personal computer.
		Turing was greatly influenced by a paper published on "Computing machinery and intelligence."
		It was illegal to receive hormonal treatment for being gay in England at the time.
		Turing's clearance was removed because of his work with cryptography.
		It seems Turing died by eating a poisoned apple.
		Turing was criticized after World War II in a number of ways.
		Turing is credited as the "founder" of computer science.
		The British government believes Turing is one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

Lifehacks

Lifehack: What do you think about this lifehack? Will it be useful to you?

Quotes

“A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.” -- Alan Turing

Exercise

Write a few paragraphs commenting on the Alan Turing quote above. Do you agree with him? Do you think computers can become as intelligent as humans one day? How would you judge if a computer is intelligent or not?

Comments

Did you have any difficulties? Learn anything interesting? Comment below so you can share your knowledge with other students.

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