I explore the last frontier..............humans!
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
The Turing Enigma!
I'm sure very few of my fellow denizens would have heard of Alan Turing, mathematics genius, supposedly the inventor of the computer and more importantly code breaker.
Alan Turing helped decipher German Naval codes during World War 2, thus ensuring Allied supremacy of the sea's and it is said that he brought the ghastly blood letting to a premature close.
However there was a twist in the tale. A WW2 hero, Turing took his own life in 1954 after being charged for his homosexuality and fired from his job,two years after his conviction on charges of gross indecency. He was 41. In a 1936 research paper, Mr. Turing anticipated a computing machine that could perform different tasks by altering its software, rather than its hardware.
He also proposed the now famous Turing test, used to determine artificial intelligence. In the test, a person asks questions of both a computer and another human — neither of which they can see — to try to determine which is the computer and which is the fellow human. If the computer can fool the person, according to the Turing test, it is deemed intelligent.
The British have now pardoned Turing by Royal decree and the British prime minister, David Cameron, said in a statement: “His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the ‘father of modern computing.’ ”
When Mr. Turing was convicted in 1952, he was sentenced — as an alternative to prison — to chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He also lost his security clearance because of the conviction. He committed suicide by eating an apple believed to have been laced with cyanide.
Some would say that justice has been done to a genius who lost his life due to the prejudice of fellow men who cannot seem to live with diversity. India too seems to be in the throes of indecision as far as homosexuality is concerned.
The Turing tragedy could be a case in point of misplaced morals, hasty action and then 
repenting at leisure!
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5 comments:
There are three reactions to sexual behaviour that is deemed aberrant
1) the biologist in me says its part of human nature- accept it
2) there is a scaremonger Vishnu that says that such behaviour is the portent of a societ in decay- and there will be miscreants who will misuse it.
3) the third is the sensitive rationalist vishnu, who says that hey what diff does it make and feels bad. Oscar Wilde was accused of something similar.
Which Vishnu is correct- and am afraid i do not have an answer
felt bad that humans cannot see our underlying humanity. the thirsd vishnu is the one in most turmoil
The Legislature should not make any law at the behest of those in the corridors of power.It should rather act independently as a body that is uninfluenced and unbiased. Time and again we have witnessed that the prejudiced decisions of a few have invariably stirred negative emotions among the citizens of this country, often causing an upheaval and dirupting the very fabric of peace in this country.Everyone must understand that the sexual orientation of an individual cannot be the only determinant of his Justice in his country.His creativity, intelligence,productivity and service to the society etc must not be measured with a scale of "Intolerance and Discrimination." The sooner we realise this the better off we will be because only in the psyche of all of us lies the progress and development of our country. None but we can protect ourselves from the "Law-Makers" of our country by not succumbing to their willful wishes and raising our voice against laws that violate our independence.
These are exceptions and state shall dealt with them on individual's basis.. The spread of homosexuality has caused man diseases which neither the east nor the west can deny exist because of them. Even if the only result of this perversion was AIDS – which attacks the immune system in humans – that would be enough.
As far as homosexuality is concerned, there is, unfortunately too much of noise. The religious, the moral and the scientific.
The point is, what was considered normal, a 100 years ago is now termed prejudiced.
A case in point is death by hanging or the capital punishment.
As far as my knowledge goes, homosexuals are hardwired that way and is a part of nature's diversity. Homosexuals existed in the past as well.
In a secular country, that India is, I would like to see religion kept out of the debate simply because many of the ultra religious kind are stuck to the past and refuse to consider an alternative point of view.
I could go on and on and on!
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