The Turing Test

Though it will probably be overshadowed by some rock star being granted a knighthood, the announcement of the royal pardon for Doctor Alan Turing is as momentous as it is long overdue. Turing, whose work breaking the German Enigma codes during World War Two was somewhat overshadowed by his conviction for homosexual activities and the apparent suicide that this conviction brought about, was one of World War Two's most under-appreciated heroes. The debt that what we're fortunate enough to call the free world owes to Turing's work can not be overstated. Ironically, a lot of the people who would dismiss Turing as a degenerate have him to thank - at least in part - that they live in a world where they have the freedom to spout that kind of hateful nonsense free of consequence. Hmmm, maybe Turing's exit strategy was the sensible one after all.