After being chosen to be the new face for the £50 banknote expected to be in circulation by the end of 2021, Alan Turing’s name started coming up in news and articles online. The young generation started asking questions about him and it seemed like there’s still a lot of people who didn’t know much about him.
Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912, in an upper-middle-class British family. Ever since he was a kid, Turing already showed a growing interest in science and would join primitive chemistry experiments. Before he even applied in schools, the young scientist was already theorizing on relativity as well as quantum mechanics. While at King’s College in Cambridge, he focused more on his studies. This is when his career took off.
The achievement of Alan Turing, the father of modern computing, goes beyond appearing on this £50 banknote. Turing was a British scientist and also the one who pioneered computer science. During World War II, Turing developed a machine that would break the German Enigma code. Also, he paved the way for modern computing and also theorized artificial intelligence.
The Birth of the Turing Machine
After his college days, Turing started to device a process or method that could decide if a given mathematical statement was provable or not. He analyzed the methodical process. He focused on logical instructions as well. He wanted to create a machine that has the capability of automatic computation that the human mind can’t do. And this became the “Turing machine.” The Turing Machine was the foundation of the modern theory of computation and probability.
Alan Turing and the Enigma Code
Since completing the Turing Machine, he made it his goal to crack the Enigma code, a complex one used by the German naval communications. It is regarded as unbreakable but Turing believes that he can do it. And he did! He was able to crack the system as well as decrypt the German messages back in the 40s.
Other than that, Turing also introduced the use of electronic technology to speed up the mechanical processes. Turing became an asset to the Allies and by the end of the war, Turing was the only scientist who was able to work on an idea that a machine could match the abilities of electronic technology when it comes to speed and reliability.
If you find Alan Turing’s story was something that piqued your interest, then for sure you will find more interesting stories at the “I Didn’t Know This” website. Always remember that when you continue to read, you add more to your knowledge that can surely come in handy in the future.