Opening the stacks
Opening the stacks
A complex cipher machine used by German military and state organizations whose communications were difficult to intercept and decode, posing a central problem for British intelligence.
2 chapters across 1 book
The chapter explores Alan Turing's intellectual engagement with the distinction between intuition and ingenuity in mathematics, his decision to remain at King's College rather than accept a position with von Neumann, and his completion of a challenging PhD thesis. It details the British Government Code and Cypher School's evolving efforts to tackle the German Enigma machine, highlighting Turing's recruitment and early cryptanalysis work amid rising pre-war tensions. Additionally, it covers Turing's humanitarian commitment to sponsoring a Jewish refugee boy and his academic activities, including his participation in Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics class and his first Cambridge lecture course.
The chapter explores the philosophical dialogue between Wittgenstein and Turing on the nature of contradictions, particularly the Liar paradox, and how Turing's work on mechanical computation, including a machine to compute the Riemann zeta-function, bridges abstract mathematics with physical engineering. As Europe edges toward war, Turing shifts from a promising academic career in pure mathematics to wartime cryptanalysis, influenced by the Anglo-Polish alliance that provided crucial intelligence on the German Enigma machine, marking a profound personal and professional transformation.