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>>> seeing as the entire field is built on the work of a gay man. That's a rather inaccurate, cringe worthy and generic statement. If your saying only one pers

>>> seeing as the entire field is built on the work of a gay man. That's a rather inaccurate, cringe worthy and generic statement. If your saying only one person contributed to the field of computers in 2014, that's sad. We tend to glorify individuals in the eyes of media and forget [1]others who contributed to where we are today in technology. [1] http://www.computerhope.com/people/ http://www.computerhope.com/people/ - list of people who have contributed to computers. Edit: Thanks to oneplusone, I realised that he was speaking about Alan Turing. But why base a field on only one person regardless of sexuality. Why is sexuality the issue in the first place?

oneplusone 12y ago
He is referring to Alan Turing I believe.
- computerjunkie 12y ago
  Thank you for the clarification.
j2kun 12y ago
But why base a field on only one person> Because Alan Turing is the father of computer science. Basically everything that came after depended crucially on his work.
- computerjunkie 12y ago
  George Boole, Charles Babbage, John von Neumann, Grace Hopper - To name a few great contributors. Yes Alan Turing is considered the father of computer science but with out the knowledge of others before him (and even during his time) we could be living in a different world right now. Even the late, great Isaac Newton said - [1]"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_g...
  - efaref 12y ago
    Of course, Turing was one of many. But he was one, and that's enough to make the homophobes run for the hills.
  - _dark_matter_ 12y ago
    To put it a different way: Turing was necessary, but not sufficient. We needed him, and the entire field is built on his work. But his is not the only contribution; indeed, many others needed to also contribute to be sufficient for the field we know today. In this light, it seems the original comment is correct.
    - jshevek 12y ago
      Turing made great contributions, and had a great mind. But we did not need him, or any other particular individual. What do you think would have happened if Turing had never been born? Perhaps we would never have had a single individual who contributed as much, all at once, as Turing did... but the sum total of his contributions WOULD have been made by other people, eventually.
      - Thimothy 12y ago
        Well, that statement is generally true, but Turing appeared in a very sensitive moment of history (WWII) and was critical for a very special task (The decryption of the Enigma Machine). Computer science would probably be fine without him, but maybe history would have beeen quite different, so we needed him.
      - anextio 12y ago
        > Turing made great contributions, and had a great mind. But we did not need him, or any other particular individual. > What do you think would have happened if Turing had never been born? And yet, he was born, and he did contribute, and we remember him for that, and we remember what his peers did to him in response. And we learn a lesson from that. Why is this controversial?
        12y ago

oneplusone 12y ago

He is referring to Alan Turing I believe.

computerjunkie 12y ago
Thank you for the clarification.

j2kun 12y ago

But why base a field on only one person> Because Alan Turing is the father of computer science. Basically everything that came after depended crucially on his work.

computerjunkie 12y ago
George Boole, Charles Babbage, John von Neumann, Grace Hopper - To name a few great contributors. Yes Alan Turing is considered the father of computer science but with out the knowledge of others before him (and even during his time) we could be living in a different world right now. Even the late, great Isaac Newton said - [1]"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_g...
- efaref 12y ago
  Of course, Turing was one of many. But he was one, and that's enough to make the homophobes run for the hills.
- _dark_matter_ 12y ago
  To put it a different way: Turing was necessary, but not sufficient. We needed him, and the entire field is built on his work. But his is not the only contribution; indeed, many others needed to also contribute to be sufficient for the field we know today. In this light, it seems the original comment is correct.
  - jshevek 12y ago
    Turing made great contributions, and had a great mind. But we did not need him, or any other particular individual. What do you think would have happened if Turing had never been born? Perhaps we would never have had a single individual who contributed as much, all at once, as Turing did... but the sum total of his contributions WOULD have been made by other people, eventually.
    - Thimothy 12y ago
      Well, that statement is generally true, but Turing appeared in a very sensitive moment of history (WWII) and was critical for a very special task (The decryption of the Enigma Machine). Computer science would probably be fine without him, but maybe history would have beeen quite different, so we needed him.
    - anextio 12y ago
      > Turing made great contributions, and had a great mind. But we did not need him, or any other particular individual. > What do you think would have happened if Turing had never been born? And yet, he was born, and he did contribute, and we remember him for that, and we remember what his peers did to him in response. And we learn a lesson from that. Why is this controversial?
      - 12y ago