3 ms·
I've always been skeptical of the suicide issue. We don't know what happened to Alan Turing at the end of his life, but of all the available options suicide by
by methodover 12y ago
I've always been skeptical of the suicide issue. We don't know what happened to Alan Turing at the end of his life, but of all the available options suicide by far makes the most sense.
I'm having trouble finding the sources now, but I could've sworn I remembered reading that no-warning, no-note suicide is not at all uncommon. And it's especially true with men, I thought.
- klmr 12y agoI agree with this. We’ve had this discussion on HN before (at least once) [1]. And the claim that Turing “bore the [chemical castration] with fortitude” is ludicrous, and the more likely explanation is that he had erected a facade of equanimity. I still dislike the film’s portrayal of his death because it was too cowardly to point fingers and actually show his state-induced suicide – or too anxious to show it as ambiguous, just like the film couldn’t even bring itself to show him kissing another man, instead resorting to a female love interest. The film makers can cry “historically accurate” all they like. In reality, it’s anything but accurate to put such emphasis on a non-homosexual relationship. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4150781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4150781