The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer (Great Discoveries)
Page 28
“Nature of Spirit” (Turing), 99–102
Nazism, 38, 39, 123
Nebeker, Frederick, 118
nerves, electrical circuits vs., 229, 236
Newman, John R., 35
Newman, Lyn Irvine, 8, 196, 265
Newman, M. H. A. “Max,” 8, 53, 113, 206, 265
on AT’s universal computing machine, 59n, 99
on AT’s work process, 106–8, 124
career of, 53, 219
in computer development, 219, 220, 221, 231, 233, 234, 237, 238–39
cryptanalysis work of, 191, 192, 219
on Entscheidungsproblem, 53, 54, 106–7
on machine intelligence, 261, 262
on mathematical model of morphogenesis, 264n
Newmanry, 191, 194
New Statesman, 20
Newton, Sir Isaac, 280
notational systems, 66–72, 208
note of instructions, 66, 99, 102
NPL, see National Physics Laboratory
O’Hanlon (Sherborne housemaster), 12, 13
Olivier, Laurence, 252
“On Computable Numbers” (Turing), 56–99, 201, 203
a-machines described in, 56, 57–60, 66–83, 99, 108–9, 112, 241
Church’s lambda calculus vs., 106–8, 109–10, 112–14, 124, 125, 127
computable numbers defined in, 56, 57, 61, 106–7, 112, 114, 125
Entscheidungsproblem insolubility proved in, 56, 90–99, 105, 112–13, 242
Gödelian concepts vs., 104–5
on human computation process, 60–66
prose style of, 56, 124
publication of, 56, 122
responses to, 106, 122–23, 124–26, 136–37, 261
state of mind in, 61, 62, 65–66, 99, 102–3
universal machine posited in, 56, 83–90, 105–6
“On the Gaussian Error Function” (Turing), 24–25
ordinal numbers, 30n
Pennsylvania, University of, Moore School of Engineering at, 199, 214
Penrose, Roger, 50, 57, 81, 88, 89
permutation theory, 259
physics, chance in, 100
Pigou, Arthur, 20, 218
Platonists, 40, 104, 137
pleasure-pain learning systems, 227–29, 256–57
PM, see Principia Mathematica
polyalphabetic ciphers, 160–64, 173–74
Popplewell, Cicely, 233, 234
Post, Emil, 108–9, 124, 125
Post Office Research Station, 192, 198, 212
“Practical Forms of Type Theory” (Turing), 218
Price, Francis, 118
prime numbers:
distribution of, 128–31
Mersenne primes, 233–34
prime number theorem, 128–30, 131
Princeton University, 6, 107, 114–19, 123–24, 126–27, 134
European refugees at, 123
Fine Hall at, 115, 116–17, 118
mathematics faculty at, 110–11, 115, 127
social life of, 116–19, 121–22
Principia Ethica (Moore), 21, 22, 102
Principia Mathematica (PM) (Russell and Whitehead), 22, 33–34, 41, 46, 53, 104
“Problems of Robots” (Turing), 218
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, 56, 122, 260
programming language, 202n
Proust, Marcel, 12
Pryce, Maurice, 115, 124, 126, 127, 187–88, 206, 207, 271
psychokinesis, 254, 255
public schools, 11–13, 15, 228
punishment/reward systems, 227–29, 256–57
quantum mechanics, 99, 100, 279
Ragde, Prabhakar, 52n, 202n
Randolph, Colonel (Sherborne mathematics master), 12–13
random-access memory, 219
random number generator, 255–56
recursive function, 108, 125, 128
reduced instruction set computing (RISC), 215
Reid, Constance, 45
Reid, Forrest, 24
Rejewski, Marian, 169, 172, 174, 175, 176, 190
religion, 5, 222, 225, 247–48, 278
Rhees, Rush, 143, 154
Richardson, Elizabeth, 116
Richardson, Owen Willans, 116
Riemann, Bernhard, 129–30, 132, 135, 141, 180
Riemann, Elise, 135
Riemann hypothesis, 128–31, 135, 141–43, 259–60
Rilke, Rainer Maria, 144
RISC (reduced instruction set computing), 215
Robertson, H. P., 117
Robinson, Julia, 234n
robotics, 218, 225–26, 236
Rosser, John Barkley, 106, 108, 115
Rota, Gian-Carlo, 110, 111, 112
“Rounding-off Errors in Matrix Processes” (Turing), 218
Routledge, Norman, 5, 25, 265, 268, 270, 271
Royal Air Force, 183
Royal Society, 141, 142, 220, 237, 261
Rucker, Rudy, 26n
Russell, Bertrand, 94, 143, 144, 181
mathematical philosophy of, 22, 27–28, 29, 34, 38, 39, 46, 47, 138
paradox discerned by, 31–33, 39, 44, 154
social circle of, 19, 20
Russo, David, 157–58
Scherbius, Arthur, 165–66
Scott-Moncrieff, C. K., 12
S. D. (standard description), 80, 83
Sebald, W. G., 231
sets of sets, 31–32
set theory, 53
sex cyclometer, 178
Shakespeare, William, 248, 250
Shannon, Claude, 134, 193, 198
Shaw, George Bernard, 19
Sherborne School, 6, 11–13, 14–15, 23–24, 25, 228
Siegel, Carl Ludwig, 135
Sierpiński, Wacław, 24, 106
silicon microprocessors, 215
Sinclair, Quex “C,” 158
Singh, Simon, 48, 162, 163n, 164, 165n, 178, 183
Skewes, Stanley, 131, 279
Smith, Nowell, 13
Smythies, Yorick, 143, 146
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 5, 47, 140–41, 280
Spartacus, 252–53
speech encipherment system, 192–93, 194–95, 198, 263
“Sphinx of the Wireless” (Hebern), 165n
standard description (S.D.), 80, 83
Star Trek, 14, 26
states of mind, 61, 62, 65–66, 102–3, 99, 203
Strachey, Christopher, 259
Strachey, Lytton, 19, 20, 21
subroutine calls, 202n
switch-based machines, 29n, 134
Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits, A(Shannon), 134
symbolic logic, 29–30
tableau, 160–61
tables of behavior, 66, 78–79, 88
Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), 192
telepathy, 255, 256
Ten Club, 19, 218
Thomas, T. Y., 123
tidal motions, analog calculating machine on, 135, 142
Titchmarsh, E. C. “Ted,” 130, 135, 141, 259, 260
topology, 53
Torres y Quevado, L., 55n
TRE (Telecommunications Research Establishment), 192
Trethowan, Illtyd, 239, 249
Trinity College, 16, 21, 143, 145
Trollope, Anthony, 195
Tucker, Albert, 110–11, 112, 123
Turing, Alan Mathison:
academic posts of, 25, 106–7, 114, 118, 122, 126–27, 139, 143, 201, 217, 219, 220
ACE computer proposal of, 201–17, 219, 221, 224, 227, 263
anti-Christian agenda of, 225
athletic activities of, 15, 20, 54, 190, 195, 212, 218
autobiographical syllogism written by,5,269
on biological growth, 263–64
birth of, 9
as chess player, 218
on Church’s λ-definability, 114, 125
computing machine conceptualized by, 56, 57–60, 66–99, 105–6, 109, 125, 173n, 180
criminal prosecution of, 5, 268–70
on distribution of prime numbers, 131, 135
eccentricities of, 186–88, 190, 196, 214
education of, 9–13, 14–15, 16, 17, 23–24, 143, 150, 228, 258, 278n
encipherment machine planned by, 133–34, 135, 159, 180
engagement of, 178
Entscheidungsproblem addressed by, 52–54, 56, 82, 90–99, 104, 105–8, 112–14, 124–26, 136–37, 152, 178, 205, 242, 249
estrogen therapy forced on, 5, 268
on future of computers, 246–47, 259
on Gödel, 104
on group theory, 24, 126, 127
Home Guard service of, 13–14, 187
homes of, 158, 195, 231
homosexuality of, 4–6, 15–19, 119, 133, 178, 188–89, 190, 193, 195–97, 205, 252, 265–75
imitation game proposed by, 241–47, 250, 253–54, 255–56
on learning process, 203, 227–29, 256–58
literal-mindedness of, 13–14, 19, 204–5
literary executor of, 17n
as logician, 11, 14, 150–56
on machine intelligence, 5, 94, 193, 203, 204–7, 221–30, 236–59, 261–63, 269
on Manchester computer project, 231–35, 259–60
mathematical research of, 24–25, 33–34, 52–54, 56–99, 104, 105, 124–28, 135–36, 212–13, 218, 259–60, 263–64, 279
media coverage of, 212–13, 214, 215, 237–38
minimalist approach of, 215, 221
outsider status of, 7–8, 17–18, 52, 178
physical appearance of, 8, 19, 268, 271–72
professional reputation of, 6–7, 269
psychoanalysis begun by, 271
romantic relationships of, 16–17, 18, 20n, 101–2, 178, 197, 218, 256, 266–68
short story written by, 271–75, 278
shyness of, 20, 124
on Skewes number, 131, 279
social life of, 19–21, 118–19, 121, 195, 217–18, 265, 275–77
sociopolitical beliefs of, 20, 52, 120–21, 270
solitariness of, 24, 52, 107–8, 122, 124, 137, 144, 206, 259
speech encipherment work of, 192–93, 194–95, 198, 263
on spiritual concerns, 99–102, 278–79
suicide of, 5, 275–78, 279–80
as teacher, 143
theoretical work vs. practical outlook of, 4, 7, 56, 59, 99, 133–34, 137–38, 150–55, 194–95
on thought process, 99–100
zeta-function calculator project of, 135, 141–43, 259–60
Turing, Ethel Sara (AT’s mother), 114, 119, 177, 211n, 212, 213, 217, 265
on AT’s childhood, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12–13, 15, 16, 263
on AT’s death, 276, 277
Turing, John (AT’s brother), 11
Turing, Julius (AT’s father), 9
Turing Award, 214n
Turingismus, 191
Turing machine, 54, 59, 105n, 125, 241
see also a-machines
Turing test, 229–30, 241–47
Twinn, Peter, 158
Typex, 166
U-boats, 184, 186, 208
unary system, 67, 69
Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture (Doxiadis), 45n
universal machine:
decision problem and, 93–99
description of, 83–87
function of, 88–90
as prototype of modern computer, 83, 86
universe, scientific conception of, 99, 100–101
“Unsolvable Problem of Elementary Number Theory, An” (Church), 106
Veblen, Elizabeth Richardson, 116
Veblen, Oswald, 116–17, 123
Veblen, Thorstein, 116
Versailles, Treaty of, 37
Vigenère cipher, 160–62, 164, 165, 171
viva voce, 250
von Neumann, John, 111n, 115, 264
AT’s career and, 126, 127, 139
AT’s innovations attributed to, 6, 201, 216
career of, 123, 126, 200
in computer development, 200–201, 202, 208n, 213, 216, 220
on Gödel’s work, 122–23
personality of, 121
von Neumann, Klara, 121
Walton Athletic Club, 212
Wang, Hao, 104
Waugh, Alec, 11–12
Webb, Rob, 265
Webb, Roy, 265, 275
Webb, Mrs. Roy, 265, 275–77
Weil, André, 48
Welchman, Gordon, 158, 176, 181
Well of Loneliness, The (Hall), 18
Weyl, Hella, 121
Weyl, Hermann, 35, 111n, 115, 121, 122
“What I Believe” (Forster), 269–70
Whitehead, Alfred North, 33, 46
Wiener, Norbert, 235–36, 248
Wilde, Oscar, 18, 21, 245, 264, 268
Wilkes, Maurice V., 213–14, 215, 220–21, 233
Williams, F. C., 219, 231
Williams-Kilburn tube, 219, 231–32
Winchester College, 12
Windsor, Wallis Simpson, Duchess of, 120–21
Wisdom, John, 143
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 6, 19, 186, 195
background of, 143–44
on liar’s paradox, 27, 152, 154
on ordinary language vs. mathematical meaning, 146–57, 204
teaching style of, 144–46, 150
Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens), 177, 189
Womersley, J. R., 198–99, 211, 214–15, 216, 221
Woolf, Leonard, 19
word problem for semigroups, 259
World War I, 37
World War II:
British Home Guard in, 13–14
cryptanalysis in, 3–4, 134–35, 158, 171–86, 181, 188–92, 208
Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service), 177, 189
Wylie, Shaun, 118
x-ray crystallography, 198
zeta function, 129–30, 135, 141–43, 180, 259–60
Zygalski, Henryk, 175
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 by David Leavitt
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First published as a Norton paperback 2006
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material: The Estate of Alan Turing: Excerpts from Alan Turing’s essays, papers and letters. The University of Chicago Press: Excerpts from Wittgenstein’s Lectures on the Foundations of Mathematics, Cambridge 1939, edited by Cora Diamond. © 1975, 1976 by Cora Diamond.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leavitt, David, 1961–
The man who knew too much : Alan Turing and the invention of the computer / David Leavitt.
p. cm. — (Great discoveries)
“Atlas books.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-393-05236-2 (hardcover)
1. Turing, Alan Mathison, 1912–1954. 2. Mathematicians—Great Britain—Biography. 3. Gay men—Legal status, laws, etc.—Great Britain. 4. Artificial intelligence—History. I. Title. II. Series.
QA29.T8L43 2005
510’.92—dc22
2005018034
ISBN-13: 978-0-393-32909-4 pbk.
ISBN-10: 0-393-32909-7 pbk.
ISBN: 978-0-393-34657-2 (ebook)
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BY DAVID LEAVITT
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NOVELS
The Lost Language of Cranes
Equal Affections
While England Sleeps
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Italian Pleasures (with Mark Mitchell)
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Florence, A Delicate Case
The Man Who Knew Too Much