4 ms·

Alan Turing's notebook sold for $1M

52 points by simas 11y ago

rhizome 11y ago
Slightly less of a garbage link: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32294655 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32294655
xchaotic 11y ago
Does it run Linux? ;)
- pearjuice 11y ago
  Nah, legacy driver issues.
- collyw 11y ago
  Humor on HN? You should know better.
  - rantanplan 11y ago
    This was considered humor on Slashdot about 10-15 years ago. Doesn't qualify as such today.
lmnt 11y ago
Could anyone recommend any books about Turing's life and works?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- jgrahamc 11y ago
  My recommendation when anyone asks this. 1. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Inspired-Imitation/dp/069116472X/ http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Inspired-Imitation/... Definitive and detailed biography. 2. Alan M. Turing by Sara Turing http://www.amazon.com/Alan-M-Turing-Centenary-Edition/dp/1107020581 http://www.amazon.com/Alan-M-Turing-Centenary-Edition/dp/110... Deeply personal biography of her dead son. 3. The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Turing-Through-Historic-Computability/dp/0470229055/ http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Turing-Through-Historic-Comp... Turing's famous 1936 explained in detail.
  - willvarfar 11y ago
    These recommendations are spot on. As so much of Alan's posthumous fame is for cracking the naval enigma in WW2, I'd recommend starting out by first reading "The Code Book" by Simon Singh for general background. Personally I find Alan's work on ACE the most fascinating. Sadly I can't really find much about it beyond Hodge's biography. Anyone got any good leads re ACE?
    - jgrahamc 11y ago
      Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine by Jack Copeland http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turings-Automatic-Computing-Engine-ebook/dp/B007AQ1FKG http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turings-Automatic-Computing-Engin...
  - scorpioxy 11y ago
    If someone already read The Enigma, would you recommend them reading any of the other books on that list? I already feel like I had an intimate look at his life from that book so not sure if the others would add anything to my life.
- atmosx 11y ago
  I stopped reading the "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges yesterday. It's extremely detailed, like reading an encyclopedia more than a novel. I think that large chunks of the book are absolutely impossible to understand for people who do not have at least some familiarity with cryptography and mathematics. But if you are interested in the ins and out of Turin's life it's a very good reference.
  - scorpioxy 11y ago
    I don't remember it having any difficult parts, but I did read it over 10 years ago so maybe I am mistaken. I'd encourage you to go on with the book; it's a beautiful book. You can skip over the overly science-y parts I guess. The beauty of that book in my opinion is how the author didn't focus solely on his homosexuality or achievements but tried to show how his personality, including his sexual preferences, played a part in everything that he was able to achieve.
- Toenex 11y ago
  Not a book but I would recommend watching 'Breaking the code' a BBC play from the mid 90's about Alan Turing starring the ever excellent Derek Jacobi. It can be watched for free on youtube here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k]
- xwintermutex 11y ago
  And if you potentially enjoy fiction featuring Turing, read Cryptonomicon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon
- amorphid 11y ago
  Slightly off topic. If you're ever near Washington, DC, there's a working enigma machine and a non-working USA version of the enigma cracking bombe at the National Cryptologic Museum near the NSA HQ. I was there yesterday, and thought it was pretty interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cryptologic_Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cryptologic_Museum
vixen99 11y ago
I enjoyed 'Alan Turing: The Enigma' by Andrew Hodges.
ghshephard 11y ago
I can't find any information as to whether the contents of the book have been scanned anywhere - anybody know?
collyw 11y ago
Having watched the imitation game recently, I thought notebooks weren't around in his lifetime. Then I remembered Apple decided to rename their laptops to "notebooks" after people started burning their laps.
nmc 11y ago
I feel deeply outraged that this precious scientific artifact was simply auctioned, instead of given to TNMoC, the British Museum, or really any institution committed to studying it and presenting it to the public.
- Ntrails 11y ago
  Paraphrasing the article: "It was given to someone else by Turing, who kept it for their lifetime (as it contained a personal note), whilst everything else of his they possessed WAS handed to a museum." It seems the heirs of the owner were less interested in preserving history for the masses and more concerned with a free 500k. I'm not sure I can blame them terribly much. I can't help but be curious as to the message though.

52 points by simas 11y ago

Slightly less of a garbage link: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32294655 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32294655

xchaotic 11y ago

Does it run Linux? ;)

pearjuice 11y ago
Nah, legacy driver issues.
collyw 11y ago
Humor on HN? You should know better.
- rantanplan 11y ago
  This was considered humor on Slashdot about 10-15 years ago. Doesn't qualify as such today.

lmnt 11y ago

Could anyone recommend any books about Turing's life and works?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
jgrahamc 11y ago
My recommendation when anyone asks this. 1. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Inspired-Imitation/dp/069116472X/ http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Inspired-Imitation/... Definitive and detailed biography. 2. Alan M. Turing by Sara Turing http://www.amazon.com/Alan-M-Turing-Centenary-Edition/dp/1107020581 http://www.amazon.com/Alan-M-Turing-Centenary-Edition/dp/110... Deeply personal biography of her dead son. 3. The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Turing-Through-Historic-Computability/dp/0470229055/ http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Turing-Through-Historic-Comp... Turing's famous 1936 explained in detail.
- willvarfar 11y ago
  These recommendations are spot on. As so much of Alan's posthumous fame is for cracking the naval enigma in WW2, I'd recommend starting out by first reading "The Code Book" by Simon Singh for general background. Personally I find Alan's work on ACE the most fascinating. Sadly I can't really find much about it beyond Hodge's biography. Anyone got any good leads re ACE?
  - jgrahamc 11y ago
    Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine by Jack Copeland http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turings-Automatic-Computing-Engine-ebook/dp/B007AQ1FKG http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Turings-Automatic-Computing-Engin...
- scorpioxy 11y ago
  If someone already read The Enigma, would you recommend them reading any of the other books on that list? I already feel like I had an intimate look at his life from that book so not sure if the others would add anything to my life.
atmosx 11y ago
I stopped reading the "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges yesterday. It's extremely detailed, like reading an encyclopedia more than a novel. I think that large chunks of the book are absolutely impossible to understand for people who do not have at least some familiarity with cryptography and mathematics. But if you are interested in the ins and out of Turin's life it's a very good reference.
- scorpioxy 11y ago
  I don't remember it having any difficult parts, but I did read it over 10 years ago so maybe I am mistaken. I'd encourage you to go on with the book; it's a beautiful book. You can skip over the overly science-y parts I guess. The beauty of that book in my opinion is how the author didn't focus solely on his homosexuality or achievements but tried to show how his personality, including his sexual preferences, played a part in everything that he was able to achieve.
Toenex 11y ago
Not a book but I would recommend watching 'Breaking the code' a BBC play from the mid 90's about Alan Turing starring the ever excellent Derek Jacobi. It can be watched for free on youtube here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k]
xwintermutex 11y ago
And if you potentially enjoy fiction featuring Turing, read Cryptonomicon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon
amorphid 11y ago
Slightly off topic. If you're ever near Washington, DC, there's a working enigma machine and a non-working USA version of the enigma cracking bombe at the National Cryptologic Museum near the NSA HQ. I was there yesterday, and thought it was pretty interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cryptologic_Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cryptologic_Museum

vixen99 11y ago

I enjoyed 'Alan Turing: The Enigma' by Andrew Hodges.

ghshephard 11y ago

I can't find any information as to whether the contents of the book have been scanned anywhere - anybody know?

collyw 11y ago

Having watched the imitation game recently, I thought notebooks weren't around in his lifetime. Then I remembered Apple decided to rename their laptops to "notebooks" after people started burning their laps.

nmc 11y ago

I feel deeply outraged that this precious scientific artifact was simply auctioned, instead of given to TNMoC, the British Museum, or really any institution committed to studying it and presenting it to the public.

Ntrails 11y ago
Paraphrasing the article: "It was given to someone else by Turing, who kept it for their lifetime (as it contained a personal note), whilst everything else of his they possessed WAS handed to a museum." It seems the heirs of the owner were less interested in preserving history for the masses and more concerned with a free 500k. I'm not sure I can blame them terribly much. I can't help but be curious as to the message though.