“Double life of a genius”, is the title I have created for the story “CODE-BREAKER” by Jim Holt. The author is a well-respected writer, that focuses on topics such as, Science, Ethics and Philosophy for slate. Holt has published articles in New York Times magazine, The New Yorker and is the host of a BBC radio show.
As I read into the first paragraph, I become startled with facts relating to the death of Alan Turing. The further I venture into the story I easily piece together the thesis. The main idea of Holt’s story is the secret life of Alan Turing and how each secret may have played a role in his death. Eventhough his passing was ruled a suicide there is enough facts to prove otherwise.
The author’s purpose of this paper is to highlight the successful attributes of Turing’s life, as well to open the secret personal closet of Turing. The intended audience is the general public. Holt is intent on showing the great accomplishments that Turing had made for the military and points out how this intelligent individual was mistreated due to his sexual preference. In addition, Holt also discusses how much Turing’s intelligence impacted the war in a positive fashion and advanced the world through his design of the computer.
The first quote that I found effective was “ there were only two people who thought the Enigma could be broken: Frank Birch, the head of Bletheleys naval intelligence division, because it had to be broken, and Alan Turing, because it was an interesting problem “(Holt 342). I found this quote fascinating in two ways; firstly, that Turing was the person who broke all of the German military codes, thus making him a possible target for murder. Secondly, that he demonstrated his intelligence level by looking at the huge problem that the British navy faced and then labeled it as interesting, as though it might create a challenge for him. Another other quote That I found helpful in getting a glimpse of Turing’s intimate life was, “ When his eye was caught by a nineteen year old working class youth named Arnold Murray “(344). This quote explained his homosexual affair with a young man that ended ugly. The police were involved and, Turing was charged with “Gross Indecency”(345). However one quote I found to be ineffective was “ The news of Turing’s conviction received no national attention “(345). After all he worked for the military in a secret world where none of his amazing accomplishments were never made public, so the news of his criminal conviction to the general public would have been insignificant.
“ CODE-BREAKER” by Jim Holt is an interesting piece as it lays out and informs one about individuals who work in a world where they receive little or no recognition for their contributions and/or accomplishments. I believe Turing’s lifestyle to be a difficult one. A life full of loneliness and isolation that could have played a role in Turing’s demise.
Do you think the death of Turing was a suicide or a homicide?
I'm noticing a trend, everyone is wondering if it is a suicide or homicide. I believe that someone wanted Turing dead, and what better way to do it then someone who knew that he liked the snow white and the seven dwarfs. Which makes me believe that it would have had to be someone that knew him pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI do believe it was suicide because his suicide resembled the story of Snow White. I believe if he was murdered it would have been by someone close to him. Someone would have had to known about his obsession for Snow White. If he was going to be murdered it would have been from a Nazi who would not have put the cyanide in the apple. The cyanide in the apple and his obsession with Snow White just seems to me seem to unlikely to be just a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan,
ReplyDeleteYours is one of the best blogs I read on Turing. You tackled Holt's purpose in writing this piece which was an excellent inroad into the essay. You also provided lots of good information through quotes and paraphrases. Thank you for this fine piece of writing.