#theturingpoint ask

[theturingpoint]

Hi. Can you confirm if Turing was out as gay or not? If so, why was he only arrested after the robbery?

Yes, he was “out”, but I think the best characterization of that is that it was an “open secret”. Like today in most places in the US, it’s okay if you smoke pot regularly, and all your friends know you do it, and you essentially don’t hide it– but if you tell the police that you think your drug dealer broke into your house, you might have a problem on your hands. The academic world Turing belonged to was particularly liberal and accepting of that kind of thing, so it was okay if his acquaintances there were vaguely aware he was gay, but it still wasn’t something he could put under the light of the law (which I guess he was a bit naiive about..). My understanding also is that British society became more aware of and averse to homosexuality after the war, so around the time Turing was arrested, you were more likely in general to get in trouble for being gay than before.

Unfortunately I don’t have my biography with me or I’d quote it for you.. you might be interested in this lecture about Turing’s sexuality, though: http://mathtube.org/lecture/video/alan-turing-politics-sexual-science-and-making-gay-icon

[theturingpoint]

Hi. Was Alan Turing actually in love with Christopher Morcom? Many documentaries insist it was an innocent friendship, even his nephew (Sir Dermot Turing).

Everything I’ve seen has been of the opinion that Turing was in love with Morcom, although it was still “an innocent friendship”. I feel like it’d be pretty hard to argue Turing’s feelings towards Morcom were purely platonic, although again, I don’t have the biography on me at the moment. (And won’t for about a month.) If you name the documentaries though, I’d be interested in checking them out later. :-)

[theturingpoint]

i took computer science, and now im regretting my choice because i really don't get it. I have to do a final project on turing. I have to put graphics and also i have to make code so that when someone clicks on an image it takes them to another page. could you please help me?

Oops, sorry I just saw this! I can’t do your homework for you, but yes I can definitely try to help!! Just so you know though I’m going to be travelling for most of tomorrow.

Is this an offline project, or is it supposed to be like a web page? What language is it in? (Also, feel free to message me off anon if you want to get more specific about what you need to do.)

[theturingpoint]

In case you haven't seen it yet, the script for Lovesong of the Electric Bear is free to read online! (I'm on mobile and having trouble linking it, but you'll find it if you Google "Lovesong of the Electric Bear pdf".) It's a fun, trippy read.

!!! I didn't know! Thanks so much for this!

Publishing so others can see the link as well: http://www.snoowilson.co.uk/Lovesong%20of%20the%20Electric%20Bear.pdf

[theturingpoint]

Hello, I'm a new fan of Alan and I was wondering if you had some info for me. I recently finished Andrew Hodges' amazing bio and I was shocked to learn that Alan studied at Princeton (I live in NJ). I was wondering if you had any info on where he lived when he was in Princeton or maybe if you could ask your followers. I would love to visit and walk in his footsteps. I know he worked in the old Fine Hall but that's it. Any help would be great! Thanks!

Hmm, it looks like information on his life at Princeton is a lot harder to find than his life in British schools. I did manage to find this:

"Turing arrived in Princeton in October 1936, moving into 183 Graduate College* and living alongside several of his fellow countrymen — enough for a “British Empire” versus “Revolting Colonies” softball game. A star runner, Turing enjoyed playing squash and field hockey and canoeing on Stony Brook." [x]

*to be clear, I believe that refers to this location

If anyone else has other additions, please share them! :-)