gwen_s_thomas
Some important dates - 2
OK, not the best photo of me, but an important day - not only because Bletchley Park cryptography station was vital to stopping Hitler in the second world war, but also because significant advances in computing were made there, and because people were brought together who later went on to develop the first real computers. Without WWII cryptography we might not have the kinds of machine that you're probably viewing this on.
The sad side of the story, of course, concerns Dr. Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who was central to the war effort and also important in the develoment of digital computers after the war. He also happened to be gay, and was eventually prosecuted for his sexual preferences and sentenced to chemical castration using female hormones. He committed suicide aged 41. A similar thing could well have happened to me if I'd lived during that period.
Some important dates - 2
OK, not the best photo of me, but an important day - not only because Bletchley Park cryptography station was vital to stopping Hitler in the second world war, but also because significant advances in computing were made there, and because people were brought together who later went on to develop the first real computers. Without WWII cryptography we might not have the kinds of machine that you're probably viewing this on.
The sad side of the story, of course, concerns Dr. Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who was central to the war effort and also important in the develoment of digital computers after the war. He also happened to be gay, and was eventually prosecuted for his sexual preferences and sentenced to chemical castration using female hormones. He committed suicide aged 41. A similar thing could well have happened to me if I'd lived during that period.