Alan Turing finally receives pardon - 61 years too late - Polidicks

[t]http://i.imgur.com/qIRAHz7.png[/t] [I]You owe everything to this man.[/I] [URL="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/alan-turing-gets-his-royal-pardon-for-gross-indecency--61-years-after-he-poisoned-himself-9023116.html"]Alan Turing gets his royal pardon for 'gross indecency' – 61 years after he poisoned himself[/URL] [QUOTE]He was the father of modern computing whose work on the Enigma code at Bletchley Park is said to have shortened the Second World War. But he was also gay and in those less enlightened times was chemically castrated by an ungrateful nation after being convicted of “gross indecency” with a man in 1952. Now, nearly 60 years after his suicide from cyanide poisoning at the age of 41, Alan Turing has been officially pardoned by the Queen under the little-known Royal Prerogative of Mercy. The pardon comes after a change of heart by ministers who had previously insisted that Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. A pardon is usually granted only when the person is innocent of the offence and where a request has been made by someone with a vested interest, such as a family member. But Turing’s pardon has been issued without either requirement being met. It follows a sustained campaign by scientists, including Stephen Hawking, and a petition to Government signed by more 37,000.[/QUOTE]

Well a bit too late there gents.

Fucking finally. What was done to him was a goddamn disgrace, the fact it took so long to pardon him is disgusting.

What did you expect, the times back then we were closed minded nations about sexuality and the such. I am just glad that we are now starting to accept the gay and lesbian communities and the such. This just really being a recent thing.

wait a minute, didn't this already happen like a year ago? I remember reading this exact topic.

[QUOTE=Helix Snake;43288304]wait a minute, didn't this already happen like a year ago? I remember reading this exact topic.[/QUOTE] No. They've been saying they would not grant him a pardon in the past few years.

[QUOTE=Helix Snake;43288304]wait a minute, didn't this already happen like a year ago? I remember reading this exact topic.[/QUOTE] They were [url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1291344]going to pass a law[/url] specifically to grant a pardon to him, but now they've decided to just use the royal pardon instead

Not that I agree with what they did in any way, shape, or form, but it does kind of make sense that they argued against the pardon until now. If there was a law against what he did then they don't have any legal precedent to pardon him, and besides that it's kind of late to pardon him. What are they going to do, go to his grave and just announce that they shouldn't have done what they did? It's a good gesture, but that's just my two cents as a gay man myself.

Fun fact: One of my ancestors, Angus "Old Dog" McCloud, died in prison awaiting a pardon for piracy. He never was pardoned.

I'm sure my old Computability Theory professor will be glad to hear this. He once dedicated half a lecture to ranting about the injustices done to Turing, which was awkward for the students that were just trying to wrap their heads around the O notation.

[QUOTE=Clavus;43288674]I'm sure my old Computability Theory professor will be glad to hear this. He once dedicated half a lecture to ranting about the injustices done to Turing, which was awkward for the students that were just trying to wrap their heads around the O notation.[/QUOTE] Tried to look up O notation on wikipedia to make a clever gay joke. I am not a smart man.

[QUOTE=Moustacheman;43288552]Fun fact: One of my ancestors, Angus "Old Dog" McCloud, died in prison awaiting a pardon for piracy. He never was pardoned.[/QUOTE] Well you wouldn't steal a car...

[QUOTE=Moustacheman;43288552]Fun fact: One of my ancestors, Angus "Old Dog" McCloud, died in prison awaiting a pardon for piracy. He never was pardoned.[/QUOTE] Speaking of cool ancestors, one of my great-great-something-uncle helped and saved black slaves, and was one of the first to die for it.

Great shame what they did to him. This pardon doesn't really change much but at least it shows that nothing like that would've happened today. [QUOTE=Ganerumo;43288792]Speaking of cool ancestors, one of my great-great-something-uncle helped and saved black slaves, and was one of the first to die for it.[/QUOTE] My ancestors herded sheep in the Iranian mountains. Probably.

[QUOTE=CommanderPT;43289565]My ancestors herded sheep in the Iranian mountains. Probably.[/QUOTE] Dad's side was English farmers. Mom's was supposedly nobility somewhere in central Europe.

My great-grandmother lived through WW2, saw several bombs fall and lived long enough to tell the tale to her great-grandchildren. She died on summer because it was too hot.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;43288792]Speaking of cool ancestors, one of my great-great-something-uncle helped and saved black slaves, and was one of the first to die for it.[/QUOTE] That's funny. One of my relatives helped Booth cross the Potomac after killing Lincoln. And my great uncle used to be the costume designer for Sesame Street.

I don't know anything about my distant relatives and I don't think they did cool things anyways

It makes me wonder; if Alan Turing hadn't been outed as gay and driven to suicide, living a longer life through the 20th century, d'you think he'd have made any greater achievements? Would his continued work in the scientific world have advanced computer technology, even if only by a few years?

[QUOTE=MrEndangered;43288709]Tried to look up O notation on wikipedia to make a clever gay joke. I am not a smart man.[/QUOTE] Alan Turing loved teaching men how to compute the Big O of any function.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;43289715]My great-grandmother lived through WW2, saw several bombs fall and lived long enough to tell the tale to her great-grandchildren. She died on summer because it was too hot.[/QUOTE] My grandma's area was also bombed, and although her family got to shelter in time, her pregnant neighbor was decapitated in the explosion.

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43290086]Alan Turing loved teaching men how to compute the Big O of any function.[/QUOTE] Turing's Big O explains my rapid growth.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;43289715]My great-grandmother lived through WW2, saw several bombs fall and lived long enough to tell the tale to her great-grandchildren. She died on summer because it was too hot.[/QUOTE] My Great-grandfather had a similar story. However, he lived though being a PoW and then when he got home literally a few weeks later he was ran over (hit and run) by some bastard.

[QUOTE=Medevila;43291313] and that's surprising given Turing is pretty high profile, guess it speaks more about how much I knew about Turing[/QUOTE] Well it's not something you'll find in his bio in computer science books. Most argue that it has no place there but I think what was done to him is enough to warrant having it

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;43288792]Speaking of cool ancestors, one of my great-great-something-uncle helped and saved black slaves, and was one of the first to die for it.[/QUOTE] my great whatever grandpa was general putnam [t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Israel_putnam_portrait.jpg/496px-Israel_putnam_portrait.jpg[/t] revolutionary war general, famous for the line, "don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes" my grandma did some research and found that my great grandma's maiden name, putnam, ran all the way back to him not that any of this matters to the article

at least he showed that the discrimination can halt :(

Hey, he seems nice, glad they gave him a- oh. God dammit.

Honestly Alan Turing deserves a lot more.

I personally believe it's too little, too late. It's [i]almost[/i] nothing to praise or admonish somebody who's already gone. The gesture is much more meaningful when they're alive.

[QUOTE=PeejsterM;43292766]I personally believe it's too little, too late. It's [i]almost[/i] nothing to praise or admonish somebody who's already gone. The gesture is much more meaningful when they're alive.[/QUOTE] If anything, actually, it seems to me like a bit of a slap in the face to Turing and his family. I sorely hope that no one is feeling better about themselves for this, or absolved in some way. As people have said before, it's far too little and far too late.