ALAN TURING AND HIS IMPACT ON SOCIETY
“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.”
After the release of all of his work a few years after his death, Alan Turing started to become an icon for the world of computing and a role model for any computer scientist. Indeed, he has had an big influence on our society in many ways.
First of all, in 2014, a movie called “The Imitation Game” (other name for “the bombe”) was made, talking about Alan Turing’s enrollment at Bletchley Park and decryption of the Enigma Machine. This movie was viewed by millions and won many prizes such as the 72nd Golden Globe Award.
The film, even though it is not 100% accurate historically speaking, depicts Turing’s life in a very precise way. Amongst other things, his homosexuality is developed in this movie, which for many has become “a tribute to being different”. Indeed, this movie shows that it is not ordinary people who invent amazing things, and that being thinking out of the box is a good thing; that you should not deny who you are but rather explore your difference and make it a strength, like Turing did. It is his different way of thinking and perspective on things that allowed him to discover amazing things.
This movie is also a criticism of the way Turing died, promoting acceptance towards other people, other ways of thinking and other sexualities, which is a direct reference to the fact that Alan Turing, even though being gay was a criminal offense, exposed his sexuality without shame or worrying about consequences. Alan turing is a hero of his time and is an icon for people who feel different and not accepted in society. As Alan Turing said himself, “it is often the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine”.
As well, for Alan Turing’s 100th birthday, a google doodle dedicated to Alan Turing was on the front page of google for one day. This shows his huge influence on the world as a very important company like google decided to honor his memory, also probably due to the fact that, indirectly, google wouldn’t have been developed without computers.
Finally, it is believed that the apple logo, which we all know and picture in our minds, is a direct tribute to Alan Turing. Indeed, he died of cyanide poisoning, which is a substance contained, in small quantity, in an apple’s seeds. Therefore, the apple logo could be metaphor for Alan Turing’s death conditions (even though he of course did not bite in an apple and die). Apple being one of the top companies in the world, we can see Alan Turing’s presence in our society, even though we do not realize it.
Overall, Alan Turing has had a great influence on our society, from what we use to work with to what movies we watch, which is why he has been named one the 100 most important people of the 20th century.