iamBullivantJun 7

Alan Turing died by suicide on 7 June 1954. Turing was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 and given a choice between imprisonment and probation. His probation would be conditional on his agreement to undergo hormonal physical changes designed to reduce his libido. Turing's conviction led to the removal of his security clearance and barred him from continuing with his consultancy for GCHQ. He was denied entry into the United States after his conviction.

#AlanTuring #GayRights #OnThisDay

Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@bullivant incidentally, the ice-cold handling of Alan Turing suggests that the English authorities did break George Orwell through similarly extreme means, but the official story of course is that #Orwell renounced leftism. ~Chara
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen I hadn't realised that about Orwell, Kris. Thank you. And, yes, the way the way that they handled Turing, who had as much credit for winning the war as anyone else, was utterly brutal.
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@bullivant it's only guesswork but surely the better attuned readers of Orwell know that his novels are commentaries on trends in his own society. 1984 / 1948, it scarcely matters; the same British civil service _handling_ exists in both times.
Show threadDermot RyanJun 7

@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant Thing is, when asked by a UK propaganda unit for a list of writers who would be useful for the purposes of anti-Soviet propaganda, he gave them instead a list of people he'd compiled of his own volition who he thought of as communist-sympathetic. Fairly petty too, describing Seán O'Casey as "very stupid" while he had the opportunity.

https://historyireland.com/george-orwell-sean-ocasey/

George Orwell & Sean O’Casey – History Ireland

Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen Wing
@dermotryanie @bullivant oof that looks like a very complicated literary feud and not the come-to-Jesus narrative which mainstream U.S. and English discourse forces, obscenely, onto Orwell's disillusionment.
Jun 7 at 8:57amWeb
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iamBullivantJun 7

Alan Turing died by suicide on 7 June 1954. Turing was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 and given a choice between imprisonment and probation. His probation would be conditional on his agreement to undergo hormonal physical changes designed to reduce his libido. Turing's conviction led to the removal of his security clearance and barred him from continuing with his consultancy for GCHQ. He was denied entry into the United States after his conviction.

#AlanTuring #GayRights #OnThisDay

Show threadHugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷Jun 7
@bullivant #ZealousReligionIsPoison
Show threadKid ManiaJun 7
@Tooden @bullivant
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@bullivant incidentally, the ice-cold handling of Alan Turing suggests that the English authorities did break George Orwell through similarly extreme means, but the official story of course is that #Orwell renounced leftism. ~Chara
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen I hadn't realised that about Orwell, Kris. Thank you. And, yes, the way the way that they handled Turing, who had as much credit for winning the war as anyone else, was utterly brutal.
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@bullivant it's only guesswork but surely the better attuned readers of Orwell know that his novels are commentaries on trends in his own society. 1984 / 1948, it scarcely matters; the same British civil service _handling_ exists in both times.
Show threadIanMoore3000Jun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant I'm not sure Orwell actually renounced leftism.
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@IanMoore3000 @bullivant oh that goes without saying! yet the official narrative is...uh....
Show threadDermot RyanJun 7

@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant Thing is, when asked by a UK propaganda unit for a list of writers who would be useful for the purposes of anti-Soviet propaganda, he gave them instead a list of people he'd compiled of his own volition who he thought of as communist-sympathetic. Fairly petty too, describing Seán O'Casey as "very stupid" while he had the opportunity.

https://historyireland.com/george-orwell-sean-ocasey/

George Orwell & Sean O’Casey – History Ireland

Show threadDermot RyanJun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant I don't think this necessarily counts as him renouncing left-wing politics, but his essays (and the private correspondence mentioned in History Ireland) make it very clear that he was very "patriotic"
/pro-England, and that latterly coloured his views on other subjects, including saying the Empire was necessary for England's material well being.
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@dermotryanie @bullivant oh. oh dear. I thought Orwell was more clear-headed about that stuff
Show threadDermot RyanJun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant He's an interesting character in the essays and journalism. Often insightful, and then pretty reactionary, or even ignorant.
Show threadHugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷Jun 7
@dermotryanie Pet theories can be like that. Was 1984 in a way an allegory - fiction and prediction, which was actually used as a manual (we joke about it, I know). @kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant
Show threadDermot RyanJun 7
@Tooden @kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant Yeah, it's an enduring work of fiction, so it works on a few levels, I think
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@dermotryanie @bullivant yeah. I was appalled by how he wrote about Tolstoy for example
Show threadDermot RyanJun 7
@kris_of_pnictogen @bullivant I'll check that out
Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@dermotryanie @bullivant oof that looks like a very complicated literary feud and not the come-to-Jesus narrative which mainstream U.S. and English discourse forces, obscenely, onto Orwell's disillusionment.
Show threadFrançois @PragueJun 7

@bullivant @kris_of_pnictogen

His work was still classified at the time due to t he cold war. A unsung hero.

Show threadAlexis Sophia 🏳️‍⚧️Jun 7
@bullivant the UK government have proposed bringing back imposing these same hormonal procedures on criminals. Turing's treatment was the first thing I thought of when I saw the story in the press.
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@sophiarose Yes Alexis. The talk of enforced chemical castration is appalling.
Show threadEstarriol, lucozade dragonJun 7

@sophiarose @bullivant

Britain is rapidly becoming a truly horrible place.

Rampant racism, open homophobia, gov backed transphobia, anti abortion prosecutions, feels like all the hard won yards in the last 50 years are being wiped away every day.

Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@Thebratdragon @sophiarose Agreed. That it is happening under a self-described 'Labour' government is very dispiriting.
Show threadTim SticklandJun 7
@bullivant
During his childhood, Alan Turing lived for a while in St Leonard's, East Sussex.
#AlanTuring
Show threadAndy Linton  ✅Jun 7

@bullivant Letter from Brian Randell to Alan Turing's mother dated 27 November 1975 which was the one of thefirst public acknowledgments of his genius and the critical work he did in WWII.

The letter is on display at Bletchley Park.

I got my first computing job working for Brian seven years after he wrote this important letter.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Randell

Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@artnacrea Interesting share, Brian. Thank you.
Show threadnLupo  Jun 7
@bullivant And it was just because he was gay. I even heard that he named one of his computers after his boyfriend.
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@nlupo I hadn't heard that. Interesting, thank you.
Show threadXenotarJun 7
@bullivant Dark Ages (which is returning)
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@xenotar I am afraid so.
Show threadDaughter of DiscordJun 7

@bullivant

Edit: Now with alt-text!

Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@CosmickTrigger 😂
Show threadMichel Serné 🇳🇱 🇪🇺Jun 7
@bullivant Alan Turing get a (small) parc named after him in my hometown Velsen (Netherlands).
Newpaper article about this parc (dutch): https://www.jutter.nl/alan-turing-thuis-tussen-de-wetenschappers-en-oorlogshelden/
Alan Turing thuis tussen de wetenschappers en oorlogshelden - Jutter | Hofgeest

IJmuiden – De laatste dag van februari was voor wethouder Jeroen Verwoort een heuglijke. Samen met Astrid Oosenbrug, voorzitter COC Nederland en voormalig IT politica van het jaar, en de jonge maar razendslimme cyber agent Valentijn mocht hij vandaag eindelijk het Alan Turingpark, tussen de Marconistraat en de Westerbegraafplaats onthullen. Verwoort is uitermate geïnteresseerd in […]

Jutter | Hofgeest
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7

@michelserne Good. There's a couple of statues to him in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Alan_Turing

Show threadyuhasz01Jun 7

@bullivant

Alan Turing a tragic loss for science and humanity at the hands of puny minded English bigots.

Show threadStarkRGJun 7
@bullivant And I doubt I will ever not be pissed off about that. He deserved the highest of honours. He was caught because he reported a crime, someone he'd slept with stole from him and the cops were more concerned with the fact that the person was a man than they were that he was a thief.
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@StarkRG Absolutely. The way that he was treated was appalling, particularly given his contribution to the war effort.
Show threadMaggie MaybeJun 7

@bullivant as someone who has been to prison and been on probation, it’s not worth it to take probation if they are really trying to punish you. You just end up with more time later when you violate probation. It’s not worth it if they’re really after you, even if you don’t have to agree to chemical castration it’s usually still not worth it.

I have known many men in prison who choose to max out rather than get out on parole and start to rebuild their life, only to get thrown back in prison because they missed an AA meeting or got laid off from their job through no fault of their own. Then you just end up with a parole violation, you lose everything you’ve built, if it’s not terrible it’s easier to just stay there and get it over with.

Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@maggiejk Thanks for the share Maggie.
Show threadCatJun 7
@bullivant I get him
Show threadCrtlzlifeJun 7
@bullivant since nobody mentioned, but the movie "imitation game" is the story of his life. Great to watch
Show threadTodd UnctiousJun 7
@Laserfocused85 @bullivant The Imitation Game is only loosely based on Turing's real story. Many things are simply made up, such as the police being interested in him because they suspected he was a spy. In actual fact he involved the police when he was burgled by friends of a gay man he'd had an encounter with, and that's how he came to be in trouble https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/20/the-imitation-game-invents-new-slander-to-insult-alan-turing-reel-history
The Imitation Game: inventing a new slander to insult Alan Turing

The wartime codebreaker and computing genius was pursued for homosexuality, but nobody – until film-makers came along – accused him of being a traitor, writes Alex von Tunzelmann

The Guardian
Show threadJfrenchJun 7

@bullivant "suicide" still to me has a question mark over it.

When I was young my textbook said "experimenting with arsenic" and failed to mention his sexuality.

When I heard the fuller version it never made sense.

Show threadllanciawnJun 7
@bullivant He was treated appallingly, although it was within that timeframe. Let's not go back there.
Show threadRichard RatheJun 7

@bullivant

Thinking of Turing always makes me tear up.

Thanks for the anniversary reminder!

Others, if you don't know his story... it it well worth learning more!

Show threadRobin BartonJun 7
@bullivant If one man can claim to have won WW2 for the allies it is Turing and his stellar work to crack German military codes. We thanked him by driving him to suicide for being gay. Insane
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@Robo105 Very true Robin.
Show threadThe AlchemistJun 7
@bullivant So interesting he saved us from Nazis, that the US would recruit for their scientific research, but they'd ban him. I guess it just shows how badly homophobia and fascism is entrenched in the US
Show threadiamBullivantJun 7
@alchemistsstudio Very true.
Show threadBasilJun 7

@bullivant

Turing memorial in Manchester.

Show threadsgt1372Jun 7

@bullivant #movies

#TheImitationGame (2014) is a movie about #AlanTuring's life from his contribution to creating the 1st #computer to hack the German #Enigma code during #WWII & his later conviction & mistreatment for being #gay

#BenedictCumberbatch plays Turing in the movie & I don't know how much of the movie is "true" but it is an entertaining & well regarded film.

Show threadKris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen WingJun 7
@sgt1372 @bullivant I vaguely recall Derek Jacobi playing Turing. I never saw more than a few minutes on TV ~Chara
Show threadJérémy PagèsJun 7

@bullivant He developed, with David Champernowne, the earliest chess program in 1948 :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turochamp

Turochamp - Wikipedia

Show threadrichJun 7
@bullivant and they "pardoned" him. As though he had done something wrong that they forgave.🫤
Show threadAhoJun 7
@bullivant it was a great loss for the development of computers, hadn't there been such demonic laws, I wonder what kind of computer we would be using right now, it wouldn't be these dumb one with some lame large language models that falsely is claimed to be "AI".