The Turing Guide

by B. Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen (Editor), Mark Sprevak (Editor)

Alan Turing has long proved a subject of fascination, but following the centenary of his birth in 2012, the code-breaker, computer pioneer, mathematician (and much more) has become even more celebrated with much media coverage, and several meetings, conferences and books raising public awareness of Turing's life and work.

This volume will bring together contributions from some of the leading experts on Alan Turing to create a comprehensive guide to Turing that will serve as a useful resource for researchers in the area as well as the increasingly interested general reader. The book will cover aspects of Turing's life and the wide range of his intellectual activities, including mathematics, code-breaking, computer science, logic, artificial intelligence and mathematical biology, as well as his subsequent influence.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2017

About the author

Brian Jack Copeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and author of books on computing pioneer Alan Turing.

Reviews

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been plenty of biographies of Alan Turing, including Jack Copeland's own excellent Turing: Pioneer of the Information Age, but this chunky volume is something quite different - a massive, 42 section collection of articles about different aspects of Turing's work, from the inevitable Enigma and Tunny deciphering working during the Second World War, through the development of programmable computers, the Turing test and Turing's little-known foray into biology.

Like all such collections, it suffers a little from overlap in sections and variability in quality, however what the approach enables the authors to do is to go into far more depth than I have seen elsewhere. So, for instance, there is an article on the use of the Manchester computers to produce the first computer-generated music which includes the details of how this was programmed and an analysis of the notes produced (and how the recording was made at the wrong speed, changing the frequencies). Similarly there is far more depth on the approaches taken to crack the German codes, the mechanisms of the bombes and Collosus computers used at Bletchley Park. This is a goldmine of information if you enjoy delving into the depths of these examples of human ingenuity.

I did find that after about the first half I was rather losing steam. The sections on AI and the mind, biology and mathematics seemed less approachable than the rest, though that may just be reader fatigue. Even so there's lots here that will appeal. Only one section stands out as particularly poor - a contribution by Stephen Wolfram which is entitled 'A century of Turing' but might have been better described as 'How Turing was Nearly as Clever as I am', as it seems far more about Wolfram than Turing.

The biggest appeal of this book is likely to be for those who want to dig into more depth in the ways that Enigma and Tunny were dealt with, and in those early ACE and Baby computers, than can be covered in a typical scientific biography. There are also some highlights of information about Turing the person I have not seen elsewhere, although the Guide doesn't really work to give a rounded picture of the man. Rather than a book to read end-to-end, this collection seems better suited as a reference on these different aspects of Turing's work, providing excellent snapshots of this remarkable individual, who should have been recognised far earlier for his contributions than security restrictions allowed.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...Contributors Jonathan Bowen and Jack Copeland observe that Turing founded “a field”, which is about as immense an industrial and scientific impact as can be made in a single lifetime. It is no wonder that building on Turing’s impact and ideas, this collection can range from pencil deciphering to asking the question of Chapter 41, “Is the whole universe a computer?” to validating Turing’s morphogenetic theory via the basic forms of ocean-dwelling radiolaria by application of his two-dimensional theory to three-dimensional growth. "

[Look for my entire review up at MAA Reviews.]

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book, full of personal accounts from those who knew Alan best. At times it was redundant in the essays, and there were several I skipped because they were extra math-y and therefore way beyond my comprehension. But for the most part, I’d consider this an invaluable tool in learning who Alan really is, and the impact he had on our world.

[Adam Catto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would've liked to see more of Turing's work on ordinal logics. Very good overall, though.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit that the final few chapters that delve into mathematical theory defeated me somewhat, but the rest proved to be a hugely fascinating read.