Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
10,000 People Sign Petition to Honor Alan Turing by Putting Him on the £10 Note
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/03/10-000-people-sign-petition-to-honor-alan-turing-by-putting-him-on-the-163-10-note/254988/Alan Turing -- brilliant mathematician and pioneer of computer science -- was good to England, but England was not good to Alan Turing. Born 100 years ago this year, Turing invented the machine that cracked the German navy's Enigma code, hastening the allied victory in World War II.
But not long after his code-breaking triumph, in January of 1952, England arrested and convicted Turing for "acts of gross indecency between adult men." As punishment, England gave him the choice between imprisonment and estrogen treatments, intended to "cure" his homosexuality, and he chose the latter. The hormones made him impotent and caused him to grow breasts. Even after the treatments ended, he remained depressed. He despaired of the damage to his career caused by the conviction. On June 7, 1954, he committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide.
In 2009 Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal apology for the "appalling" treatment he had faced. But the government denied him a pardon for his conviction, explaining:
It is tragic that Alan Turing was convicted of an offence which now seems both cruel and absurd, particularly... given his outstanding contribution to the war effort. However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times.
But in lieu of overturning a correct-but-not-just conviction, the British government is taking other small steps, most notably the release of a Turing-themed stamp. Now, an e-petition is circulating requesting that England honor him by placing him on the next £10 note. In less than a week the petition has garnered more than 10,000 signatures. E-petitions that gain 100,000 signatures in a year are eligible for debate in the House of Commons -- so, while an e-petition is not exactly binding (not even close), the request's quick pick-up is itself a little bit of affirmation for Turing's life and work, and a sign of society's progress since his time. And, it's a lovely, full-circle sort of thing to see the tools of modern computing -- Turing's legacy -- employed for this effort on his behalf.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 1057 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (9)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
10,000 People Sign Petition to Honor Alan Turing by Putting Him on the £10 Note (Original Post)
Kennah
Mar 2012
OP
xchrom
(108,903 posts)1. Du rec. Nt
dmallind
(10,437 posts)2. Darwin has that. Give him another denomination
We can't let the anti-science creationists get even tangential victories even if they are much less powerful than in the US.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)3. The single most important Brit of the 20th, IMHO.
And that is a very competitive field too.