Tech world preps to honor 'Father of Computer Science' Alan Turing, as centenary nears

[2ndAmForComputers]

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/061112-turing-260039.html

Listening to the way people in the world of technology talk about Alan Turing, it's difficult to believe that the English computer scientist isn't more of a household name.

"The man challenged everyone's thinking," says Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, in an interview with Network World. "He was so early in the history of computing, and yet so incredibly visionary about it."

Cerf -- who is president-elect of the Association for Computing Machinery and general chair of that organization's effort to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Turing's birth on June 23 -- says that it's tough to overstate the importance of Turing's role in shaping the world of modern computing.

(snip)

His contributions, however, were cut short by his untimely death. Turing had been persecuted for his homosexuality by the British government, and agreed to undergo chemical castration rather than face jail on a charge of indecency in 1952. He was found dead, the victim of apparently self-inflicted cyanide poisoning, on June 8, 1954.

More at link.

This is one more kind of harm homophobia does to the world. It can deprive us of our best.

Remember.

[William769]

1. homophobia Like all other forms of (what I call hate)

Is still alive and well today (not as it was back in the 50's), but needs to dealt with swiftly when confronted.

Even when people try to associate homophobia with other (well just look at a certain meta thread, and you'll know what I'm talking about), it's disgusting and wrong.

[2ndAmForComputers]

2. I know, man.

I know.