Alan Turing, Bletchley Park, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Discussion
This should be ace:
http://youtu.be/S5CjKEFb-sM
The Imitation Game, about Alan Turing & Bletchley Park.
http://youtu.be/S5CjKEFb-sM
The Imitation Game, about Alan Turing & Bletchley Park.
RegMolehusband said:
I love her mouth and the film looks very interesting too. Let's hope it's historically correct - Eric will tell us if it isn't I'm sure.
Have you seen it lately? I don't know if she's currently wearing an Invisibrace but her mouth looks weird in her recent movies, her voice sounds slightly odd and her terrible teeth seem to be more prevalent.Hope it will be good. I quite liked this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k
Dated a bit and made for TV I suspect, with Derek Jacobi. It's more a biography of his whole life rather than just focusing on his Bletchley work but I enjoyed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23yie-779k
Dated a bit and made for TV I suspect, with Derek Jacobi. It's more a biography of his whole life rather than just focusing on his Bletchley work but I enjoyed it.
Excellent, looking forward to seeing this.
I visited Bletchley Park last week, fascinating and quite astonishing what Turing and his team achieved. I have spent over 20 years in IT with a background originally in electrical engineering, communications and satellite positioning and a lot of the stuff at Bletchley went way over my head.
I visited Bletchley Park last week, fascinating and quite astonishing what Turing and his team achieved. I have spent over 20 years in IT with a background originally in electrical engineering, communications and satellite positioning and a lot of the stuff at Bletchley went way over my head.
Apologies for this, it must be Eric's influence but..
Looks b
ks already.
We already knew that Enigma was breakable because the Polish had already done it to at least one version and had even got their hands on a pre-war version via the postal service.
There was no discord and dramatic shutting off of machines, GC&CS was an acknowledged and respected source of intelligence before the outbreak of war.
Whilst Turing did indeed work on the bombe it worked off of a pre-war design that the Polish (specifically Marian Rejewski) had started, it is believed the name bombe comes from the Polish phrase "bomba kryptologiczna". Turing's work was later improved on by Gordon Welchman.
I wouldn't call it the first computer either, it didn't really compute anything, just reduced the number of possible right answers. It certainly did not allow instead reading of every message - for a start it needed a crib to work on (which was manually devised).
As far as I'm aware there were no mass entrance tests to work at Bletchley, most of the crypto guys were recruited from Cambridge/Oxford and the like through networks of academics/professors etc. Language experts too.
Recommended reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enigma-Battle-Cassell-Mili... - this is a really, really good book specifically about the engima
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Station-Bletchley-... - more general view of what those at BP got up to.
Also in my stack to read are:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hut-Six-Story-Breaking... - Gordon Welchman was doing similar work to Turing, I haven't read it properly but had a quick flick through, its very technical but fascinating at the same time.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bletchley-Codebreakers-Dia... - A slightly larger overview from the end of WW1 onwards.
Looks b
ks already.We already knew that Enigma was breakable because the Polish had already done it to at least one version and had even got their hands on a pre-war version via the postal service.
There was no discord and dramatic shutting off of machines, GC&CS was an acknowledged and respected source of intelligence before the outbreak of war.
Whilst Turing did indeed work on the bombe it worked off of a pre-war design that the Polish (specifically Marian Rejewski) had started, it is believed the name bombe comes from the Polish phrase "bomba kryptologiczna". Turing's work was later improved on by Gordon Welchman.
I wouldn't call it the first computer either, it didn't really compute anything, just reduced the number of possible right answers. It certainly did not allow instead reading of every message - for a start it needed a crib to work on (which was manually devised).
As far as I'm aware there were no mass entrance tests to work at Bletchley, most of the crypto guys were recruited from Cambridge/Oxford and the like through networks of academics/professors etc. Language experts too.
Recommended reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enigma-Battle-Cassell-Mili... - this is a really, really good book specifically about the engima
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Station-Bletchley-... - more general view of what those at BP got up to.
Also in my stack to read are:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hut-Six-Story-Breaking... - Gordon Welchman was doing similar work to Turing, I haven't read it properly but had a quick flick through, its very technical but fascinating at the same time.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bletchley-Codebreakers-Dia... - A slightly larger overview from the end of WW1 onwards.
Crafty_ said:
Apologies for this, it must be Eric's influence but..
Looks bks already.
Facts deleted as irrelevant...
Recommended reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enigma-Battle-Cassell-Mili... - this is a really, really good book specifically about the engima
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Station-Bletchley-... - more general view of what those at BP got up to.
Also in my stack to read are:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hut-Six-Story-Breaking... - Gordon Welchman was doing similar work to Turing, I haven't read it properly but had a quick flick through, its very technical but fascinating at the same time.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bletchley-Codebreakers-Dia... - A slightly larger overview from the end of WW1 onwards.
Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story...Looks b
ks already.Facts deleted as irrelevant...
Recommended reading:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enigma-Battle-Cassell-Mili... - this is a really, really good book specifically about the engima
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Station-Bletchley-... - more general view of what those at BP got up to.
Also in my stack to read are:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hut-Six-Story-Breaking... - Gordon Welchman was doing similar work to Turing, I haven't read it properly but had a quick flick through, its very technical but fascinating at the same time.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bletchley-Codebreakers-Dia... - A slightly larger overview from the end of WW1 onwards.
We let a Brit play Superman, why not give Leo a crack at it... He's done some Shakespere after all
ETA: Oakey, at least it's just her mouth. Cumberbatch is just ALL weird looking. Starting with his name
Edited by ItsaTVR on Wednesday 23 July 23:27
Crafty_ said:
As far as I'm aware there were no mass entrance tests to work at Bletchley, most of the crypto guys were recruited from Cambridge/Oxford and the like through networks of academics/professors etc. Language experts too.
They did approach people who were particularly good at crossword puzzles. In fact they contacted potential recruits that had sent back correct answers to a specially run Daily Telegraph competition.I really liked this. Best of the year thinking about it.. I must admit I know little about what went on at Bletchley Park.
I assume a lot was dramatised and added, either way Turing had a great mind and it is incredibly saddening what happened to him in the end. Ridiculous it's taken till 2013 for him to be pardoned too.
I assume a lot was dramatised and added, either way Turing had a great mind and it is incredibly saddening what happened to him in the end. Ridiculous it's taken till 2013 for him to be pardoned too.
Edited by JonnyxM on Monday 17th November 11:41
Saw this on friday and really enjoyed it. Didn't really know what to expect, though I did expect that the design and making of the Bombe would be something that was merely happening in the background.
I don't normally go for films about personal struggles and relationships, but it was really good. A sad story all told as well I thought. Of course I knew of Turing and I knew what happened to him, but those last parts of the film did really make me feel sad for him. Put on trial for being gay and forced to take hormone replacement drugs. Despite achievements that probably very well saved the lives of the very people punishing him. But they weren't to know, such was the secrecy. I would have liked to think the government could have pulled some strings though.
One thing I just didn't realize is the torment of having that power to choose who might live and who might die. Boiling it all down to statistics to define which bit of life saving intel is released and which isn't. Must have been tough. (if as it was depicted in the film).
I don't normally go for films about personal struggles and relationships, but it was really good. A sad story all told as well I thought. Of course I knew of Turing and I knew what happened to him, but those last parts of the film did really make me feel sad for him. Put on trial for being gay and forced to take hormone replacement drugs. Despite achievements that probably very well saved the lives of the very people punishing him. But they weren't to know, such was the secrecy. I would have liked to think the government could have pulled some strings though.
One thing I just didn't realize is the torment of having that power to choose who might live and who might die. Boiling it all down to statistics to define which bit of life saving intel is released and which isn't. Must have been tough. (if as it was depicted in the film).
Otispunkmeyer said:
Saw this on friday and really enjoyed it. Didn't really know what to expect, though I did expect that the design and making of the Bombe would be something that was merely happening in the background.
I don't normally go for films about personal struggles and relationships, but it was really good. A sad story all told as well I thought. Of course I knew of Turing and I knew what happened to him, but those last parts of the film did really make me feel sad for him. Put on trial for being gay and forced to take hormone replacement drugs. Despite achievements that probably very well saved the lives of the very people punishing him. But they weren't to know, such was the secrecy. I would have liked to think the government could have pulled some strings though.
One thing I just didn't realize is the torment of having that power to choose who might live and who might die. Boiling it all down to statistics to define which bit of life saving intel is released and which isn't. Must have been tough. (if as it was depicted in the film).
Yes, one of the best films I have seen in a long time. I don't normally go for films about personal struggles and relationships, but it was really good. A sad story all told as well I thought. Of course I knew of Turing and I knew what happened to him, but those last parts of the film did really make me feel sad for him. Put on trial for being gay and forced to take hormone replacement drugs. Despite achievements that probably very well saved the lives of the very people punishing him. But they weren't to know, such was the secrecy. I would have liked to think the government could have pulled some strings though.
One thing I just didn't realize is the torment of having that power to choose who might live and who might die. Boiling it all down to statistics to define which bit of life saving intel is released and which isn't. Must have been tough. (if as it was depicted in the film).
At the end of the film, it was estimated that he shortened the war by 2 years and therefore saved about 14 million lives....and no one even knew!
If BC doesn't get an award for his portrayel of Turing, then there is no justice in the film world.
For anyone who wants to know more about the man, his work, and the bigger context, then I would encourage you to get hold of Andrew Hodges biography "Alan Turing: The Enigma". It is a fairly heavyweight book at over 700 pages, but quite cheap now, and re-issued on the back of the film. As with any in-depth investigation, it will leave you with even more questions, not least around his death (believe it or not this is a good thing).
The book looks at many aspects of Turing's career, and Bletchley was a surprisingly short part of his life, the link between him and the first stored program, Turing-complete computer at BP is infuriatingly vague and opaque, but that's the nature of the beast. I wonder if they mention that the Bombe was a Polish invention and not Turings? It sounds like BC has done the man justice in film though, and will give him the worldwide appreciation that those of us in the UK have had for some time (at least those of us with an interest in computer history).
I don't buy the often quoted opinion that the work at BP shortened the war by X years (where X is usually between 2 and 4). It is a nice headline, and it clearly saved many, many lives, and it is quite possible that most of them were German. That seems like a typical outrageous troll comment, so let me explain: Had Germany been strong in 1944/5 then Berlin (and probably another major German city) would have been the targets for the atomic bomb detonations. There are lots of ifs and buts, but that is my take on it.
Anyway, glad to hear that they have done the job properly, and not the usual re-writing of history to please the people writing the film company cheques.
The book looks at many aspects of Turing's career, and Bletchley was a surprisingly short part of his life, the link between him and the first stored program, Turing-complete computer at BP is infuriatingly vague and opaque, but that's the nature of the beast. I wonder if they mention that the Bombe was a Polish invention and not Turings? It sounds like BC has done the man justice in film though, and will give him the worldwide appreciation that those of us in the UK have had for some time (at least those of us with an interest in computer history).
I don't buy the often quoted opinion that the work at BP shortened the war by X years (where X is usually between 2 and 4). It is a nice headline, and it clearly saved many, many lives, and it is quite possible that most of them were German. That seems like a typical outrageous troll comment, so let me explain: Had Germany been strong in 1944/5 then Berlin (and probably another major German city) would have been the targets for the atomic bomb detonations. There are lots of ifs and buts, but that is my take on it.
Anyway, glad to hear that they have done the job properly, and not the usual re-writing of history to please the people writing the film company cheques.
Zad said:
I don't buy the often quoted opinion that the work at BP shortened the war by X years (where X is usually between 2 and 4). It is a nice headline, and it clearly saved many, many lives, and it is quite possible that most of them were German.
That was dealt with in the film.I watched this last night and thought it excellent. I wonder if Benedict Cumberbatch is in danger of getting typecast into playing people with Aspergers, not a bad thing as it's something he does do very well.....
226bhp said:
Zad said:
I don't buy the often quoted opinion that the work at BP shortened the war by X years (where X is usually between 2 and 4). It is a nice headline, and it clearly saved many, many lives, and it is quite possible that most of them were German.
That was dealt with in the film.I watched this last night and thought it excellent. I wonder if Benedict Cumberbatch is in danger of getting typecast into playing people with Aspergers, not a bad thing as it's something he does do very well.....
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