Novel analysis reveals playful side of Alan Turing
New analysis of a previously unpublished short story by Alan Turing suggests the mathematician was a more playful and complex individual than the 'isolated genius' stereotype suggests. The story, 'Pryce's Buoy', appears to fictionalize a sexual encounter that led to Turing's 1952 arrest.
Why it matters
This research provides a more nuanced historical understanding of a pivotal figure in computer science and LGBTQ+ history.
Image source, PA Media Image caption, Prof Sarah Dillon studied Alan Turing's short story, Pryce's Buoy
A story written by World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing suggests he was a man with playful humour embracing his homosexuality, according to new analysis.
The six-page hand-written short story, Pryce's Buoy, has been transcribed in full for the first time and studied by Sarah Dillon, professor of literature at the University of Cambridge.
Dillon said the story offered fresh insights that challenge the view of Turing as an isolated, lonely genius.
"We've distilled a version of Turing that is a two-dimensional stereotype," she added.
Turing played a crucial role in the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two by helping to crack codes and deciphering the infamous Enigma machine at Bletchley Park.
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