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You think anyone not involved in computing knows who Alan Turing was? Maybe in the UK he's more of a household name than the US... (?)
by bostonpete 14y ago
You think anyone not involved in computing knows who Alan Turing was? Maybe in the UK he's more of a household name than the US... (?)
- saraid216 14y agoGenerally speaking, the layperson's understanding of computers is that Bill Gates made Windows and Office, Steve Jobs made the iPhone, and artificial intelligence tries to pass the Turing Test. I'm not saying that's a good thing, though; but using these as paths to entry, there are a wealth of rewards for the curious who begin their learning through searching Wikipedia for this Turing guy.
- jiggy2011 14y agoMost people who are aware of WW2 history know who turing is. In the UK anyway.
- phaus 14y agoAs a 30 year-old American with a mild interest in WWII history, I had never heard of Alan Turing until I became interested in computer science. While I hadn't heard of him, I did learn about the Enigma machine in high school. Also, I have only run into one or two people who recognized his name that weren't into computers. Sadly, there are lots of great men and women who don't get the recognition they deserve. For example, Thomas Paine, a man who played a significant part in America's decision to declare independence. When he published "The Age of Reason" after the war, America responded by pretending he never existed for a couple hundred years.