1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 1: tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Pollette and 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: I am an editor here at how stuff works dot com. 6 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: It's singing across from me as usual, his senior writer, 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. There was what no one at the Mutant 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: Hamster Races. We only had one entry into the Madame 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: Curie lookalike contest and he was disqualified later, why do 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: I even bother? Okay, I have no clue on that one. 11 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Trust me. We're about to talk about someone who's a 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: real genius and so, uh it'll come through eventually where 13 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: that quote comes from. So to start this this podcast off, 14 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: we actually have a little Facebook feedback you be, and 15 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: this comes from Brian, and Brian says, you guys should 16 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: definitely devote an entire podcast to Alan Turing at some point. Well, Brian, 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: that point is now, well, who we're gonna do a 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: spotlight on Alan Turing. I first became acquainted with Mr 19 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: Touring's name while reading a novel, actually Neil Stevenson's Cryptonomicon, 20 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: which is, as you might guess from the title, very 21 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: heavily oriented around cryptanalysis, cryptography and cryptology, which I find fascinating. 22 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: That's basically they're all revolving around codes and code breaking exactly. 23 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: And Touring was known as a very important person in 24 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: the history of code breaking. Although uh, and it's interesting, 25 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: I guess it depends on which circles you you talked to. 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: You know what Touring was known for. So he's really 27 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: known as a codebreaker, but he's also known as the 28 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: sort of the father of computer science. Yes, that's true. 29 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: That's true. Sort of depends on whom you asked. Very clearly, 30 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: he had an extremely important role to play during World 31 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: War Two, but we'll we'll get into that first. Let's 32 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about Touring and where he came 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: from and and sort of his background. He's one of 34 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: those individuals that the more you read about him, the 35 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: more you realize how incredibly remarkable this guy was. I 36 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: liken him to Ada Lovelace in a way. Ada Lovelace 37 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: was another person who had this amazing ability to understand 38 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: mathematics on a level that is is completely foreign to me. 39 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: I mean, I I understand basic math. I don't understand 40 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: mathematics the way Touring did, even at a young age. 41 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: So Touring was born in nineteen twelve in Paddington, London. 42 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: Both of his parents were from the upper middle class, 43 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:59,119 Speaker 1: which at that time was class was very very important 44 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: in the UH in England still is to some extent, 45 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: but not it's I don't think they're quite as class 46 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: conscious as they used to be. But at anyway, he 47 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: was born to upper middle class parents who got him 48 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: into public school UM, and he had a keen interest 49 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: in math and science, physics in particular. Yes, Uh, In fact, 50 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: he was incredibly gifted in in mathematics. He was reading 51 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: as a teenager. He was reading UH papers written by 52 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: Einstein and theorizing on um the nature of relativity, and 53 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: and really understanding it in a way that I still 54 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: struggle with today. So clearly a guy who whose genius 55 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: far outstrips any intelligence I might possess. I am more 56 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: than happy to to admit that, because I certainly don't 57 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: understand it on the level he did. While in school, 58 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: he happened to meet a student who was a year 59 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: ahead of him named Christopher more Comb, now whom he 60 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: referred to as Chris, and Chris was another brilliant young student, 61 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: someone who really had a very strong grasp on mathematics 62 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: and physics as well. And Chris and Allan found that 63 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,599 Speaker 1: talking together that they could kind of understand mathematics on 64 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: an even deeper level by sharing their combined perspectives. And 65 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: they struck up a very strong friendship. And unfortunately, Chris 66 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: died in nineteen thirty. He was he was not He 67 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: was not a healthy young boy as it turns out, 68 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: So by nineteen Chris dies and that left a huge 69 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: gap in Touring's life. I'm sorry you're about to say something. No, 70 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: I was. I was going to say, Uh, Jonathan and 71 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: I took our our source information from a couple of 72 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: really exhaustive sources. Um. I took a lot of mine 73 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: from the from Touring's actual website, which is maintained by 74 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: one of his biographers, Andrew Hodges. Yes. Yes, Andrew Hodges 75 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: wrote a book called Alan Touring The Enigma. I highly 76 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: recommend this book. I've actually I read it ages and 77 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: ages ago, and I revisited it for this podcast, and 78 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: it is a very good biography that that really kind 79 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: of dives into not just the the accomplishments that Touring 80 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: achieved during his lifetime, and not only in the and 81 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: the foundation he laid for computer science, but also his 82 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: personal life and how that kind of shaped what he 83 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: did and who he was. Yep, I haven't read it yet. 84 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: I want to pick it up. But the other source 85 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 1: that I consulted for this, and I know that Jonathan 86 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: did too, was the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is 87 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: an awesome site to have used it for other podcasts. 88 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: But in doing the research and learning more about Chris 89 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: more Com, I think that one of the interesting things 90 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 1: that this pulled out for him from touring, based on 91 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: the biographical the Hodges website, was that for some time, 92 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: for two or three years afterwards, he spent a lot 93 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: of time thinking about human consciousness and what happens to 94 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 1: that information basically how I I assume from that that 95 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: he was thinking about how the brain stores information and 96 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: where that information goes when somebody dies. Right, Yeah, he 97 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: became very focused on the subjects of mind and matter. Yes, 98 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: where where does where does one begin? On the other end, 99 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: are they one and the same? Is the human mind 100 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: just a you know? Is it just a material construct or? 101 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: Is there some other element there that is indefinable really 102 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: as far as you know we can understand right now. Um, 103 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: this kind of led him into a study of physics yep. 104 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: And I think it has a lot to do with 105 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: the uh, the genesis of the touring test, whether computers 106 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: can can think. But these are things where we'll talk 107 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: about more in a minute. But I think it's interesting 108 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: that an event like this may have prompted him to 109 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: consider more serious matters and and take him in different 110 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: directions of study later in life. Yeah, yeah, it was. 111 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: I would definitely call that a pivotal moment in his life. 112 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: One wonders what his life would have been like had 113 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: had more Coum not died. So he graduates from public 114 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,239 Speaker 1: school and then goes to attend King's College at Cambridge University. Um, 115 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: it's here where he really starts to study various kinds 116 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: of deep mathematics, including probability and um number theory, stuff 117 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: that goes well beyond my basic understanding. It's also where 118 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: he first begins to come to grips with his sexuality. 119 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: Alan tour ing if you did not know I was 120 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: a homosexual, and he kind of really started to discover 121 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: this during college and college was a pretty um open 122 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: environment compared to his public school. Like public school was 123 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: a very controlled environment, a very conservative environment, and the 124 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: college as was almost the opposite. So Touring really experienced 125 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: a complete change in culture by the time he went 126 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: to college. So I'm sorry I was going to say that. 127 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: He also during this period started to become involved with 128 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: some very liberal thinkers of the time, UM, economists like 129 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: like Keynes and Pigou. Um. You know, people have have suggested, 130 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: I think that he may have been moving in so 131 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: far as to be Marxist, but I don't believe he 132 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: actually ever was formally affiliated with people like that. But 133 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: he was. He was exposing himself to some very uh, 134 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 1: some very liberal people at that point, and in a 135 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: variety of uh ways of speaking about it. Yeah, there 136 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: were a lot of anti war intellectuals that he was 137 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: he was friends with, or at least he moved in 138 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: the same circles that they did. Um. He never really 139 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: seemed to express a particularly strong political opinion. No, no, 140 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: not not from what I've read. Um, this was in 141 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: the in the early nineteen thirties, so we're talking the 142 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: period between worlds World wars, one and two. Um. And 143 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: of course economics playing a terrific part in terrific I 144 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: mean very large part in uh, the outbreak of World 145 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: War two. Um. So you know these are these are 146 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: things much on the minds of of people in the 147 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: very early twentieth century. Certainly right. So in nineteen thirty 148 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: four he graduates from King's College. In nineteen he's elected 149 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: a fellow to the college, which means he actually draws 150 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: a stipend. Uh. And in ninety six he's awarded a 151 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: Smith's Prize for his work in probability theory. So during 152 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: this period he was starting to specialize in quantum mechanics 153 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: and logic as well as probability. And then we get 154 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: to nineteen thirty six, which is the year in which 155 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,319 Speaker 1: he theorized in a device called the touring machine. Yes, 156 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: this was purely theoretical, not an actual physical device, but 157 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 1: he theorized that it would be possible to create a 158 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: machine that could complete a computational operation the same way 159 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:34,439 Speaker 1: the human mind would. So it simulates what the human 160 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: mind goes through to perform a very specific operation. Now, 161 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: each each Turing machine could only perform one kind of operation. Yes, 162 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: so uh, it wasn't like it would be like if 163 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,439 Speaker 1: you if you told one person they could only this 164 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: is oversimplifying, but telling one person they could only add numbers, 165 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: and another person they could only multiply numbers, they would 166 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: not be able to swa oper roles at all. They 167 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: could only do that one simple operation. You could give 168 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:05,719 Speaker 1: them different numbers, but they could only perform that one 169 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: operation upon the numbers. Then this led him to then 170 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: theorize a universal touring machine. Yes, something that could handle 171 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 1: more than one task, right, it could. It could perform 172 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: all the operations that individual touring machine machines could perform. 173 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: So the universal touring machine was sort of really a 174 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:31,559 Speaker 1: theoretical computer. It was a computer that could perform any 175 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: operation or algorithm, set of directions, set of instructions that 176 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: the various other like individual theoretical touring machines could could perform. 177 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,599 Speaker 1: So again, this is all just the realm of ideas. 178 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: Right now, we'd start at a physical machine. Yet, Yes, 179 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: apparently um Touring believed that the universal touring machine. UM 180 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: he probably didn't call it that. I don't know, I 181 00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: didn't read that, but that's of course what we call it. 182 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,559 Speaker 1: Um He believed that the universal machine would operate according 183 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: to a table of behavior, which people likened to a 184 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: computer program. So basically those were the parameters under which 185 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: it could perform different kinds of operations. But it's just 186 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: funny that he had his own language. It's funny to me, 187 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: but it makes all the you know, all the sense 188 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: in the world when you didn't already have a paradigm. 189 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: You know, we call them computer programs because everyone else does. 190 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 1: But he had his own language for this. But once 191 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: you've understand sort of what he's talking about, you kind 192 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: of go, oh, so that's what you think, right, So 193 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago by he gets a PhD 194 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: in algebra and number theory, So no slouch there. Um, 195 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: and and then he starts, um, he starts working on 196 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: an interesting project for the British government. Um, so we're 197 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: talking about eight. There's there's an event going on in Europe. Yeah, 198 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: there's a small event going on in Europe. There's a 199 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,439 Speaker 1: Germany is uh is becoming a bit of a problem. 200 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: There's um, a World War two is breaking out at 201 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: this point. I'm sorry, go ahead, no, as I as 202 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: I previously alluded to, the the German economy has been 203 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: very poor for a very long time for them, and 204 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: so gradually as Adolf Hitler convinced that he could turn 205 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: the country around where he given the opportunity to take 206 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: the reins and take power. Um, he basically convinced the 207 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: Germans that you know, he would be the leader that 208 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: would lead them to greatness. And in doing so they 209 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: militarized of course, and of course Hitler had another agenda 210 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: in mind as well. This was brought to you by 211 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class. Yeah, but no, it's 212 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: but it's interesting to think about that that Touring was 213 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: involved in. He was interested in things like, you know, 214 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: economics and things and mathematics. And the Germans had developed 215 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: a very uh powerful mechanical code machine, yes, called the 216 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: Enigma machine. Yes, so the German Enigma code machine was 217 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: this device that allowed the Germans to encode um different commands. 218 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: The Luftwaffa in particular was using it as well as 219 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: the German Navy. Now, the luftwaff version was slightly simpler 220 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: than the NAVL version, yes, and didn't have all that 221 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: lent on it. Oh sorry wrong, Yeah, it was in 222 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: the air as opposed to underwater anyway, Um, touring began 223 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 1: to work on the Enigma codes and he developed a 224 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: device of his own U actually he developed along with 225 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: some other people. He worked with several other people on 226 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: this project, but together they developed a device called the 227 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: bomb b O M B e yes and this was 228 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: a decoding device, and the Luftaffa codes ended up being 229 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: the simplest to decode it. It It took more work to 230 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: decode the naval ones, which were mainly UH concerning the 231 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 1: U boats submersible vehicles, which was very important as far 232 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: as the war in the Atlantic was concerned. Without those UH, 233 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: without being able to decode those messages, the war may 234 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: have gone very differently, at least the naval part of 235 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: the war would have gone very differently. Um. So UH, 236 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: he starts to break these codes, it's actually having a 237 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: measurable effect on the war. It's saving countless lives on 238 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: the Allied side. Uh. He also, in nineteen forty two, 239 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: interestingly enough, proposed marriage yes to Joan Clark, and then 240 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: he retracted the proposal. She accepted, then he had to 241 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: retract it, and he explained to her. I think this 242 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: was one of those moments where it was probably another 243 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: defining moment where he told her that he was homosexual 244 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: and that he wouldn't that his therefore he couldn't really 245 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: marry her. And I think that was probably the moment 246 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: where I mean, this is this is guesswork, but it 247 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: seems like it's the moment where he decided that he 248 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: wasn't going to pretend to be something he wasn't, which 249 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: unfortunately would lead to tragedy further down the line. Um. 250 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: So in in nineteen four, this is getting close to 251 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: the end of World War two, he actually first started 252 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: talking about building a brain, an electronic simulation of a brain, 253 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 1: and what it would take in order to achieve such 254 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: a thing, and this would sort of be an electronic 255 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: version of his Universal machine. Now, back when he was 256 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: thinking about the Universal machine, it would have been mostly 257 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: a mechanical device, non electronic device. It was only through 258 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: the developments of World War two, the techno technological developments 259 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: of World War two, that electronics started to become more 260 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: important than mechanical devices. So that's when he starts working 261 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: in computer theory and and even computer software theory. Uh, again, 262 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: this is all theoretical, but he starts to work. In 263 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: forty seven, he starts working on the idea of programming 264 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: and neural nets. That's fascinating stuff. Yeah, talking about networks 265 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: essentially years before we would have computer networks of any size, right, 266 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: and he was he was even thinking about creating some 267 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:28,239 Speaker 1: sort of mechanical network that would have some sort of 268 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: learning capability. Yes, so it's not just that it can 269 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: carry out instructions, but that it can learn from the 270 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: instructions you give it and build upon that. Yes, so 271 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: this is essentially artificial intelligence. This is really where he 272 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: starts to to become interested in the subject of artificial 273 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: intelligence and touring. You know, you could call him the 274 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: father of computer science. You could also call him the 275 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:56,719 Speaker 1: father of artificial intelligence in a way. Yeah, yeah, that's true. Um. 276 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: One other fascinating thing about him in that era, right 277 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: and imediately post war um apparently part of his frustrations, 278 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: as part of a way to alleviate the frustration he 279 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: was feeling with getting his work done. Now, he wasn't 280 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: really recognized for his wartime work because so much of 281 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: it was top secret, so you know, it's a sort 282 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: of a way to deal with the stress of that. 283 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: He took up running and almost qualified for the h 284 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: British Olympic team as a marathon runner. And it's just 285 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: one of those things where I'd always heard about his 286 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: mathematical work and his work with computers. Mean really, you know, 287 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: he sustained an injury, which unfortunately prevented him from being 288 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 1: really considered for that team, but as pretty remarkable. I mean, 289 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: the guy was a phenomenal genius and potentially a world 290 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: class athlete. Yes, there are stories about Touring, uh having 291 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:01,919 Speaker 1: fun by racing people cross the campuses of the various 292 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: universities he worked at while they took public transportation and 293 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: he would go on foot and beat them there. So 294 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: I mean there was he definitely had a little bit 295 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: of a playful side to him. Um So. In nineteen fifty, 296 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: Touring proposes something that plays a really important role in 297 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: artificial intelligence. It's called the Touring test. And this was 298 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 1: in a paper called Computing Machinery and Intelligence, which appeared 299 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: in the journal Mind in nineteen fifty. Yes, and uh, 300 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: this was this was a really interesting philosophical point. Touring 301 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: suggested that if you could build a machine that could 302 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: imitate a thinking, living creature, um so that it could 303 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: fool someone an interrogator, Uh, seventy percent of the time 304 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: that the integator was talking to a human and not 305 00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: a machine. It would be said to pass the touring test, 306 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: that would said it would be said that this was 307 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: a machine that could at least simulate intelligence. And Uh 308 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,640 Speaker 1: Hodges has a great section in his website that goes 309 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: into a discussion about Descartes. Uh and Descartes actually theorized 310 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: about something similar to this ages before Touring. Descartes said 311 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 1: that that if we could build a machine that could 312 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,919 Speaker 1: imitate a living thing, we would still be able to 313 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: recognize it as a machine because it would lack understanding. Yes, 314 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: so even if we could teach a machine to talk, 315 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: it would just it would say words, but it wouldn't 316 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,479 Speaker 1: be meaningful. It couldn't respond in a meaningful way, so 317 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: it could not be able to demonstrate any sort of 318 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 1: understanding of what it was talking about. Descartes was actually, 319 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 1: in a way, Descartes was really forward thinking in this 320 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: because he was essentially stating that the problem of teaching 321 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: a machine two comprehend and respond to stimuli is far 322 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: more complicated than anyone would imagine. And it turns out 323 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: that's true. It is really really hard to teach a 324 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: machine too two detect, interpret, and respond to stimuli beyond 325 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: a basic level, like you could teach a machine quote 326 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: unquote teach a machine to detect temperature and move away 327 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 1: from temperatures that are too hot. But two be able 328 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: to converse is a much different task, much much higher 329 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: level of thinking required in order to accomplish that task exactly. 330 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: And that's that maybe why Touring specifically chose conversation as 331 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: the task to test in the Touring test. It makes 332 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: Some people have objected to that, saying that conversation is 333 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,680 Speaker 1: not really a test of intelligence, but Touring had various 334 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,360 Speaker 1: responses to these objections. In his paper, He said that 335 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 1: this is a quote, I believe that in about fifty 336 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: years time, it will be possible to program computers with 337 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,160 Speaker 1: a storage capacity about ten to the ninth power. Tend 338 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: to the ninth power of what I have no idea 339 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: because he didn't specify in this particular quote to make 340 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: them play the imitation game so well that an average 341 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: interrogator will not have more than seventy chance of making 342 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: the right identification after five minutes of questioning. So the 343 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: invitation game is kind of what I was alluding to earlier. 344 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: You have an interrogator who is asking questions of two subjects. 345 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 1: One of those two subjects is a computer, right, the 346 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: other is a human being, and the interrogator doesn't know which. Yeah, 347 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,280 Speaker 1: it has no way of seeing like the interrogator. It 348 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: does not have a line of sight to the subjects. 349 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: The interrogators essentially asking questions, usually like through a terminal, 350 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: so you're typing the man and you're seeing the responses 351 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,680 Speaker 1: on the screen. Um. And after five minutes of questioning, 352 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: if that interrogator is unable to determine which is the 353 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: human which is the computer, then that device may very 354 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,719 Speaker 1: well pass the touring test. Now, when we say with chance, 355 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: that means that over multiple tests, UM, with multiple interrogators, 356 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: that that ends up being chance or better that um, 357 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: the interrogators unable to make that determination. That's when you 358 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: say you've kind of hit this artificial intelligence level as 359 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: defined by touring. UM. Now, some people would say that, well, 360 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: if you just designed a computer that had a deep 361 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: enough vocabulary and a basic set of rules that told 362 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:40,679 Speaker 1: it how grammar works, so essentially a syntax telling it 363 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 1: how syntax works, UM, it could possibly fool people, but 364 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that it's intelligent. Tourings responses, So what to 365 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: your From your perspective, it seems as if the machine 366 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 1: is intelligent, and isn't that all that matters? Right, because 367 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: you could argue, well, I can talk to the dumbest 368 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: person on the planet and they're gonna at least be 369 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 1: able to understand certain things I say, as opposed to 370 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,919 Speaker 1: this machine that doesn't really understand it. Durings response to 371 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: that is, how do you know? The only way we 372 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: know that anything's intelligent is through our own experience. We 373 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,959 Speaker 1: don't like, Chris is looking at me, and I'm talking 374 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: to Chris, but Chris doesn't know if I'm intelligent because 375 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: Chris only has his own experience. He knows that he's 376 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: intelligent in the sense that you know, he's able to 377 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: think and process information. I appear to be able to 378 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,959 Speaker 1: do that, But that could all just be an incredible simulation. 379 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: There's no way for you to know correct. Same thing 380 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: with the machines. Turing is like, Hey, we can't really 381 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: know that anyone else is intelligent, therefore it doesn't matter, 382 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 1: so the same thing should apply to machines. Shut up 383 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: at your face. I have long suspected that Jonathan Strickland 384 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: is in fact a machine. Yeah, I you know, I 385 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: let me put it this way. I want to be 386 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: a replicant. I want to be a replican Okay, I 387 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: like that one. Okay, so this is nifty. When he 388 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: proposed the Turing test in nineteen fifty two, we we 389 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,919 Speaker 1: reach a really unfortunate time during Touring's life. The British 390 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: government arrests him or for being a homosexual. This is 391 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: again the the UK had very strict laws, conservative laws, UM, 392 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: and he rather than going to prison, he elected to 393 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: undergo injections which would decrease his libido hormone injections. Yes, 394 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 1: so essentially this is it's chemical castration is what the 395 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: what's technically referred to as UM. He did that for 396 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: at least a year. UM. But part of that sentence 397 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 1: also meant that he lost all of his clearance security 398 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 1: clearance that he had as working for various UM projects 399 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: and government uh well government projects as well as as 400 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,440 Speaker 1: his university once so he lost all of that. He 401 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 1: lost his security clearance because UM he could not as 402 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: as a convicted criminal could not retain it. UM. This 403 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: possibly lead to depression. It's hard to say because he 404 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: wasn't really communicative. But on June seven, ninety four, he 405 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: took his own life. He committed suicide by ingesting cyanide pills. Yes, 406 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 1: they they found him. Actually I believe it was his 407 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: housekeeper who found him, uh with an apple which had 408 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:39,640 Speaker 1: been partially eaten. Um. Apparently the police revealed that they 409 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: thought it was a suicide. Although the apparently the his 410 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,440 Speaker 1: mother believed that he might have been doing a science 411 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: experiment with cyanide and had some on his hands and 412 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: may have accidentally ingested the poison. And I actually saw 413 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: somebody and may have even been in the Hodges reference 414 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: where he They said he may have planned it specifically 415 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: that way, specifically to convince his mother that it was 416 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: an accident, to make her feel better about it. She 417 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,919 Speaker 1: wouldn't be heartbroken that her son committed suicide. Right. So 418 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: when we say committed suicide, that's the generally held belief 419 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: that was established by the police. Um. There are there 420 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 1: is the possible there's the possibility that it was an accident. UM, 421 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 1: although I can I think that's probably ah not likely, 422 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: that's true. On September ten, two thousand nine, the British 423 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:44,520 Speaker 1: government UM the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, issued a formal 424 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: apology to Touring for the way that the country treated him, 425 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: considering that he was a war hero really and his 426 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: contributions to computer science were phenomenal. Um. And they said that, 427 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: you know, treating any human being that way was reprehensible 428 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,399 Speaker 1: and that it was inexcusable, and that they offered a 429 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:10,719 Speaker 1: very profound apology, not just to Touring, but to everyone 430 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:15,479 Speaker 1: who had to undergo this kind of oppression during that 431 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,239 Speaker 1: period of British history, and that that was just not 432 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,520 Speaker 1: it was it was inhumane, is what he was essentially saying. 433 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 1: But that specifically to Touring, someone who gave such huge 434 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 1: contributions to the United Kingdom and the world, it was 435 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: particularly tragic. Yes, he certainly helped win the war for 436 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: the Allies, or at least shorten it considerably, right, He 437 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: saved countless lives, uh, you know, on on the Allied side. 438 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 1: So he really was in every sense of the word 439 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: a hero. Um. So it was you could say the 440 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: cynical thing about, well, this apology comes fifty years too late, 441 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: but ah, another way of looking at it is that 442 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: it was it was a way of it was a 443 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 1: way of admitting that these policies were we're wrong and 444 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: I think that was. It was an important step really, yeah, yeah, 445 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: you know, to maybe change the mood a little bit, 446 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: since its we're ending on a sort of a down note. Um. 447 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: And when I say sort of, I don't mean sort of. Um. 448 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: One of the things that I had never heard before. 449 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: Some people feel that there may be an homage two 450 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: touring in one of today's tech companies, that being the 451 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 1: logo of Apple Computer, the Apple with the bite taking. However, 452 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: the original logo for the company, um, which is funny 453 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: if you've ever seen it, and you see today's logo, 454 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: they're completely different. The original logo looks like a woodcut 455 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: of Isaac Newton sitting under the tree, you know, for 456 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: the apocryphal story of the apple clunk and them on 457 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: the head and going, hey, there's gravity. Uh. The Apple 458 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: did not actually say that, No, it did not. Neither 459 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 1: did he, but it is an appealing story. Oh, now 460 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 1: that we've gotten to the core of that. Um, it 461 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: apparently is not true. They were already using the name 462 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: Apple and uh. Um. The different colors on the Apple logo, 463 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:22,480 Speaker 1: UM do not represent tourings homosexuality. Um. In fact, they may. 464 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,040 Speaker 1: They probably had everything to do with Steve jobs, wanting 465 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:32,240 Speaker 1: to promote the multicolor Apple two UM abilities, and so 466 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,959 Speaker 1: they added the colors to the logo for that reason. 467 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: But it is kind of an interesting I mean, when 468 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: you see it, you go, oh, well, you know that 469 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: very well could be. I don't know that Apple has 470 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: ever issued a formal um statement regarding that connection, but 471 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:53,479 Speaker 1: most people that I read on that subject say, you know, well, 472 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,080 Speaker 1: if Newton was the very first reference and they had 473 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: already been calling themselves Apple, it's probably not an homage 474 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: to Touring, but he certainly did make significant contributions to 475 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: UH computer science. And I was even reading in that 476 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: UM the about the new Jane Smiley book about remember 477 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: when we talked about the very very first computer UM. 478 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: You know, Touring was working all in the same time 479 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: as the Soviet scientists and the folks at Iowa State 480 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 1: back in the day, and they were all sort of 481 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: working on different methods of getting UM, making mechanical and 482 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: electronic calculations in different ways. UM. But it's it's fascinating that, 483 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: you know, these pioneers were completely on their own, working 484 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: independently from one another, and all making these significant contributions. 485 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: It's it's kind of a shame though, that Tourings contributions 486 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: were known so much later because they were classified, and 487 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: so people really didn't realize what an important person he 488 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: was in the field of computer science until so much later. Yeah, 489 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: a lot of his contributions, even the ones that weren't classified, 490 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: um ended up being like he would get beaten to 491 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: the punch by someone else, but intended to be people 492 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 1: that he worked with that and and they were building 493 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: on his work, and he was building on theirs. From 494 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: from Hodge's book, I got the I mean, I don't 495 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,600 Speaker 1: know how accurate the sentiment is. My own. My own 496 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: interpretation was that Touring wasn't really he wasn't obsessed with credit. 497 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 1: He wasn't really that wasn't important to him. What was 498 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,200 Speaker 1: important to him was making these connections. Uh. We didn't 499 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: mention this, but towards the end of his life he 500 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: Touring had this thing throughout his life where he would 501 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: switch gears and suddenly be really interested in a seemingly 502 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: unrelated field of study and yet find ways to connect 503 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 1: it to things that he was already pretty well schooled in. Ya. 504 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,840 Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, I'm sorry. At the at 505 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: the time he died, he was involved in biology and 506 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: physics experiments, which makes all the world of sense. You 507 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:03,239 Speaker 1: might say, cyanide, why would he have sign on in 508 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 1: his hands. He's a you know, mathematician, he's a computer scientist. Now, 509 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: he was actually interested in all kinds of science, right, 510 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: so by the end of his life he was looking 511 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:16,719 Speaker 1: at biology and and nonlinear uh mathematics that apply to biology. 512 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: So he, like I said, he was a really remarkable guy. 513 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,600 Speaker 1: He found connections between things that most of us we 514 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: look at and we just think of as being completely 515 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 1: compartmentalized different subjects, right, like there's a hard line between 516 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: this subject and that subject. And Touring was saying, no, no, 517 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,680 Speaker 1: they're all the same thing. You just don't see the 518 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 1: numbers like I do. And I'm thinking, Wow, this guy. 519 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: And you know, he was reportedly shy and awkward, not 520 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 1: a very good conversationalist. Um. I think I read somewhere 521 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 1: that his speech was halting. Yeah, he sounds like he's 522 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: kind of like one of those guys who was just 523 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: perfectly happy to have his close set of friends and 524 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:01,920 Speaker 1: to be able to work on these these complicated problems 525 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 1: and that was that was really all he needed. Um. 526 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 1: And you know he and the fact that he was 527 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: constantly learning was pretty inspirational too. So I guess that 528 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: wraps up this discussion about Alan Touring. UM. Like I said, 529 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: he's a very interesting person. You can find plenty of 530 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: information on the web about him, and you can also 531 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: pick up that book, the The Alan Touring The Enigma UM. 532 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,719 Speaker 1: That's a it's a good book, and the Stanford Encyclopedia 533 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:33,480 Speaker 1: has an exhaustive and exhausting entry just on the touring 534 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 1: test alone. There's also an entry about Alan Touring himself. Yeah. Yeah, 535 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: it's it's funny because you think in a philosophy UM 536 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 1: material that he wouldn't But really, when you get down 537 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: to it, the touring test is it's part computer science, 538 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,840 Speaker 1: part philosophy. Yeah, artificial intelligence definitely has a lot of 539 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,280 Speaker 1: philosophy to it. I should also point out that Touring 540 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: was not really concerned with machines gaining any sort of 541 00:34:56,719 --> 00:35:00,759 Speaker 1: UM self awareness or consciousness. He was talking on intelligence 542 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:05,600 Speaker 1: and consciousness as two separate things, which, as we've discussed before, 543 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,359 Speaker 1: you know that's that's an important thing to to distinguish 544 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:14,040 Speaker 1: intelligence and consciousness because you know, I'm often conscious, rarely intelligent. 545 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,759 Speaker 1: All Right, So if you guys have any comments, questions, 546 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:22,120 Speaker 1: any suggestions for future topics, especially you do I think 547 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 1: we should do one on Bletchley Park. Oh okay, yeah, 548 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: Bletchley Park. Let us know if you think that that 549 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,359 Speaker 1: would work, If you if you'd like to hear more 550 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:31,719 Speaker 1: on on that. Because the code breakers of World War Two, 551 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:33,840 Speaker 1: it's yeah, it's always fascinating. We can go into the 552 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,480 Speaker 1: Navajo codes and things of that nature. One of my 553 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 1: first big articles was about code breaking. Big articles here 554 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,719 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com is well if you 555 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 1: If you have any suggestions, you can let us know 556 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,840 Speaker 1: on Facebook or Twitter are handled. There is text stuff 557 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,840 Speaker 1: hs W, or you can email us. Our address is 558 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: tech stuff at how stuff works dot com and Chris 559 00:35:55,160 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 1: and I will taught you again really soon. 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