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"...he faced prosecution by the British government because he was gay. In 1954, Turing committed suicide at age 41 after being forced to undergo hormone therapy

"...he faced prosecution by the British government because he was gay. In 1954, Turing committed suicide at age 41 after being forced to undergo hormone therapy to “fix” his sexual orientation." I don't know how I never heard of that before. It's certainly not from lack of hearing about Alan Turing in comp sci lectures. I feel kind of cheated that I didn't find out about it until now. Did the professors just not know? Were they too squeamish to talk about it? Did they think his biography was irrelevant in discussing his contributions to the field? It's just kind of unsettling to have heard him talked about as a genius so many times yet to have never heard it acknowledged that he was so profoundly mistreated.

dill_day 16y ago
Definitely! I felt the same way. I'm just finishing my undergrad CS degree and I think there was maybe one AI lecture that mentioned Alan Turing-the-human-being out of all the classes I took... I would sometimes wonder.. are there other students who just hear things like "Turing complete", "Turing machine", etc., but don't have any idea who this "Turing" actually was? I wish it was more common as part of these classes to actually talk about the great CS people.. who they are.. in our short history, because this is interesting stuff! Oh well.
rdouble 16y ago
There are many interesting characters in the mathematical sciences but most courses don't go into their personal backgrounds.
bootload 16y ago
"I wanted Alan Turing to be raised into the pantheon of great Britons, but I felt it would be hypocritical to do so without recognising that Britain treated him so badly" JGC. It's Turing year next year and it was John Graham-Cumming ~ http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jgrahamc http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jgrahamc who organised for Turing to receive an apology from the British Government for his mistreatment. You can read more about it here ~ http://seldomlogical.com/2009/09/12/a-benevolent-social-hack http://seldomlogical.com/2009/09/12/a-benevolent-social-hack
- vixen99 16y ago
  I wonder if our descendants will be apologizing for some of our actions once we're all dead? However I suppose that by then the re-definition of what I used to understand by the word 'apology' will be complete.
  - danssig 16y ago
    >I wonder if our descendants will be apologizing for some of our actions once we're all dead? We lock people up for smoking a plant that grows naturally, laughing about the fact that they may be raped by other men. I would say it's almost a certainty (at least I hope) that our descendants will be at least as shocked at what we do as we are at those who came before us.
- jgrahamc 16y ago
  I'd never read your write up before. Thanks for that.
  - bootload 16y ago
    "... I'd never read your write up before. Thanks for that. ..." It was a great thing to do John. It changed history ~ http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2009/09/treatment-of-alan-turing-was-appalling-pm-20571 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/number10.gov.uk/... I've also capped the Downing St. response via twitter ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/3909148598/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/3909148598/
Anon84 16y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing#Death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing#Death (Unconfirmed) Rumor has it that's the reason behind apple's "half eaten" logo and original rainbow colors.
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  (Unconfirmed) Rumor has it that's the reason behind apple's "half eaten" logo and original rainbow colors. That should read "(Pretty thoroughly debunked) Rumor has it...." For example, http://www.greggore.com/dln021203.htm http://www.greggore.com/dln021203.htm, or the Wikipedia page you quoted yourself.
danssig 16y ago
>It's just kind of unsettling to have heard him talked about as a genius so many times yet to have never heard it acknowledged that he was so profoundly mistreated. At the time, being homosexual was considered a mental disorder. This is how we used to treat people with mental disorders. Now, go to your nearest insane asylum and see if we're any less barbaric today. Be prepared for disappointment.
- JonnieCache 16y ago
  >Now, go to your nearest insane asylum and see if we're any less barbaric today. Be prepared for disappointment. Erm, care to back that one up there my friend?
  - raganwald 16y ago
    Today we "treat" children with drugs to 'correct' their depression, their ADD, and so on. How can we be sure that a generation from now, we won't look back and realize that we were damaging their brains during a crucial learning window? How can we be sure that a generation from now, we won't look back and realize that we were playing God with people's personalities? I'm not against pharmapsychiatry, but at the same time I would stop well short of saying that everything we do with it is unassailably beneficial for the patients. Perhaps in a generation we will realize that trying to 'cure' ADD isn't very different from trying to 'cure' homosexuality.
    - JonnieCache 16y ago
      Forcing a person who is past the age of legal responsibility to take massive doses of sex/gender hormones against their will is not the same as giving kids ritalin, and it is mildly offensive to say so. We do not put ADD kids in "insane asylums." Have you ever seen the inside of a mental hospital? Most modern ones are nicer places than the average school. Psychiatry before the 60s/70s was basically a different thing altogether to modern psychiatry. One flew over the cuckoos nest has a lot to answer for. It wasn't even an accurate portrayal of practices at the time the book was written, let alone when the film was made. I broadly agree with the ADHD thing though. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. (The US healthcare system and the incentives around drug proscriptions don't help a lot.)
draegtun 16y ago
The BBC did a really good TV drama on Turing called "Breaking the code" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115749/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115749/). I suspect its available on DVD now. Here is a small snippet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV67Sj2jkVg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV67Sj2jkVg
adambyrtek 16y ago
Don't blame the professors, blame yourself. Of course I don't mean this literally, I'm just trying to say that it's good to get used to doing your own research. Professors won't teach you everything that's important. It's primarily your job to broaden your horizons.

dill_day 16y ago

Definitely! I felt the same way. I'm just finishing my undergrad CS degree and I think there was maybe one AI lecture that mentioned Alan Turing-the-human-being out of all the classes I took... I would sometimes wonder.. are there other students who just hear things like "Turing complete", "Turing machine", etc., but don't have any idea who this "Turing" actually was? I wish it was more common as part of these classes to actually talk about the great CS people.. who they are.. in our short history, because this is interesting stuff! Oh well.

rdouble 16y ago

There are many interesting characters in the mathematical sciences but most courses don't go into their personal backgrounds.

bootload 16y ago

"I wanted Alan Turing to be raised into the pantheon of great Britons, but I felt it would be hypocritical to do so without recognising that Britain treated him so badly" JGC. It's Turing year next year and it was John Graham-Cumming ~ http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jgrahamc http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jgrahamc who organised for Turing to receive an apology from the British Government for his mistreatment. You can read more about it here ~ http://seldomlogical.com/2009/09/12/a-benevolent-social-hack http://seldomlogical.com/2009/09/12/a-benevolent-social-hack

vixen99 16y ago
I wonder if our descendants will be apologizing for some of our actions once we're all dead? However I suppose that by then the re-definition of what I used to understand by the word 'apology' will be complete.
- danssig 16y ago
  >I wonder if our descendants will be apologizing for some of our actions once we're all dead? We lock people up for smoking a plant that grows naturally, laughing about the fact that they may be raped by other men. I would say it's almost a certainty (at least I hope) that our descendants will be at least as shocked at what we do as we are at those who came before us.
jgrahamc 16y ago
I'd never read your write up before. Thanks for that.
- bootload 16y ago
  "... I'd never read your write up before. Thanks for that. ..." It was a great thing to do John. It changed history ~ http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2009/09/treatment-of-alan-turing-was-appalling-pm-20571 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/number10.gov.uk/... I've also capped the Downing St. response via twitter ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/3909148598/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/3909148598/

Anon84 16y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing#Death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing#Death (Unconfirmed) Rumor has it that's the reason behind apple's "half eaten" logo and original rainbow colors.

michael_dorfman 16y ago
(Unconfirmed) Rumor has it that's the reason behind apple's "half eaten" logo and original rainbow colors. That should read "(Pretty thoroughly debunked) Rumor has it...." For example, http://www.greggore.com/dln021203.htm http://www.greggore.com/dln021203.htm, or the Wikipedia page you quoted yourself.

danssig 16y ago

>It's just kind of unsettling to have heard him talked about as a genius so many times yet to have never heard it acknowledged that he was so profoundly mistreated. At the time, being homosexual was considered a mental disorder. This is how we used to treat people with mental disorders. Now, go to your nearest insane asylum and see if we're any less barbaric today. Be prepared for disappointment.

JonnieCache 16y ago
>Now, go to your nearest insane asylum and see if we're any less barbaric today. Be prepared for disappointment. Erm, care to back that one up there my friend?
- raganwald 16y ago
  Today we "treat" children with drugs to 'correct' their depression, their ADD, and so on. How can we be sure that a generation from now, we won't look back and realize that we were damaging their brains during a crucial learning window? How can we be sure that a generation from now, we won't look back and realize that we were playing God with people's personalities? I'm not against pharmapsychiatry, but at the same time I would stop well short of saying that everything we do with it is unassailably beneficial for the patients. Perhaps in a generation we will realize that trying to 'cure' ADD isn't very different from trying to 'cure' homosexuality.
  - JonnieCache 16y ago
    Forcing a person who is past the age of legal responsibility to take massive doses of sex/gender hormones against their will is not the same as giving kids ritalin, and it is mildly offensive to say so. We do not put ADD kids in "insane asylums." Have you ever seen the inside of a mental hospital? Most modern ones are nicer places than the average school. Psychiatry before the 60s/70s was basically a different thing altogether to modern psychiatry. One flew over the cuckoos nest has a lot to answer for. It wasn't even an accurate portrayal of practices at the time the book was written, let alone when the film was made. I broadly agree with the ADHD thing though. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. (The US healthcare system and the incentives around drug proscriptions don't help a lot.)

draegtun 16y ago

The BBC did a really good TV drama on Turing called "Breaking the code" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115749/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115749/). I suspect its available on DVD now. Here is a small snippet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV67Sj2jkVg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV67Sj2jkVg

adambyrtek 16y ago

Don't blame the professors, blame yourself. Of course I don't mean this literally, I'm just trying to say that it's good to get used to doing your own research. Professors won't teach you everything that's important. It's primarily your job to broaden your horizons.