cj82487's review
3.0
Turing has become a symbol for the modern world, as a prophet of information technology and scientific rationality, a martyr for gay rights, and also a genius cramped by convention and intolerance.
David Boyle's mini biography on Alan Turing shows just the surface of the man known for helping break the Nazi's enigma machine. Turing was ahead of his time in mathematics and had an eye for the future, but was ostracized for his quirks and sentenced to chemical castration for being openly homosexual.
But how much do we really know about Turing? Boyle provides a brief glimpse into his life and untimely death while referencing other biographies written on Turing.
Alan Turing: Unlocking the Enigma: A Review
quiraang's review
3.0
Short, but quite interesting. Such a short book can only give a superficial view of Turing's life and work. Being an computer geek for over 40 years, I've always been interested in Turing. I've seen the reconstructed Colossus at Bletchley Park, although that wasn't his work. So, this has given me the impetus to read a more detailed biography.
rafri's review
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Death, and War
paulogonzalez's review against another edition
2.0
Alan Turing was a mathematician, known as the codebreaker of the Enigma machine during World War II. An attractive person, here it is a short biography of him.
He was a codebreaker and also is regarded as one father of Artificial Intelligence. He is broadly known too for the 'Turing Test' to establish whether a computer can think. In his personal life he had many problems because of his homosexuality, and eventually he commit suicide.
Recently Turing has been trendy for the posthumous royal pardon -he had been convicted for homosexuality in 1952- last year and for a film about his life, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and to be released next November.
This book, though a little too short, can be a good introduction to the great man and scientist he was.
He was a codebreaker and also is regarded as one father of Artificial Intelligence. He is broadly known too for the 'Turing Test' to establish whether a computer can think. In his personal life he had many problems because of his homosexuality, and eventually he commit suicide.
Recently Turing has been trendy for the posthumous royal pardon -he had been convicted for homosexuality in 1952- last year and for a film about his life, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and to be released next November.
This book, though a little too short, can be a good introduction to the great man and scientist he was.
aditurbo's review
5.0
Concise and informative, I loved how it managed to provide such a complete perspective on Turing and his work so clearly and compellingly in such a short book. It is beautifully researched and written.
evilcallie's review
4.0
A short but interesting look at Alan Turing's life. Listened to this as part of a free book for Audible members. It's interesting to read/hear about Turing's life NOW, after spending a semester studying the history and future of computing, social computing, information diffusion, and networking. We spent a lot of time talking about the imitation game/Turing test, as well as Claude Shannon's work. It is an interesting and tragic story about the life of someone who could have, quite possibly, changed the way we looked at computers, math, and science itself, were it not for the ridiculous laws against homosexuality.
paulogonzalez's review
2.0
Alan Turing was a mathematician, known as the codebreaker of the Enigma machine during World War II. An attractive person, here it is a short biography of him.
He was a codebreaker and also is regarded as one father of Artificial Intelligence. He is broadly known too for the 'Turing Test' to establish whether a computer can think. In his personal life he had many problems because of his homosexuality, and eventually he commit suicide.
Recently Turing has been trendy for the posthumous royal pardon -he had been convicted for homosexuality in 1952- last year and for a film about his life, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and to be released next November.
This book, though a little too short, can be a good introduction to the great man and scientist he was.
He was a codebreaker and also is regarded as one father of Artificial Intelligence. He is broadly known too for the 'Turing Test' to establish whether a computer can think. In his personal life he had many problems because of his homosexuality, and eventually he commit suicide.
Recently Turing has been trendy for the posthumous royal pardon -he had been convicted for homosexuality in 1952- last year and for a film about his life, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and to be released next November.
This book, though a little too short, can be a good introduction to the great man and scientist he was.