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squire
Valinor
Sep 16 2009, 9:19pm
Views: 262
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After they parachuted into Berlin by night, Tolkien was appalled when Turing blew their cover by mincing down the Unter der Linden...
[In reply to]
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Can't Post
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In the interest of selling the story, the writer has taken some liberties that annoy me.
Working on code-breaking for the intelligence services of your country does not make you a "spy". A spy is an intelligence operative who works undercover in a foreign country. A spy, if caught, is liable to be imprisoned or even executed; or will perhaps be traded back for one that the other side has captured. Nothing in the work that Tolkien was being vetted for was in the nature of spying - breaking a code is not spying on anyone.
Second, I'm appalled that the genius of Alan Turing has been cheapened to the carnivalesque travesty of "the gay codebreaker". Step right up, folks, and see him .... well, I don't want to go on with the joke. The fact is that Turing's homosexuality was used to destroy him and deprive the world of further fruits of his amazing mathematical talents. Code-breaking was only one and the most ephemeral of his accomplishments. As Aunt Dora reminds us, his theoretical construct of the Turing Machine underpins the entire concept of a programmable electronic computer, and the Turing Test remains the definitive challenge in the field of artificial intelligence.
To refer to Turing primarily in terms of the prejudice that hampered and finally ended his accomplishments would be like having an obituary of Sir Ian McKellan headlined 'The Gay Gandalf' Has Passed Into The West.
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion; and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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Subject
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User
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Time
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JRR Tolkien trained as British spy
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News from Bree
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Sep 16 2009, 2:47pm
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This is a fascinating article.
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silneldor
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Sep 16 2009, 4:35pm
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Alan Turing
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acheron
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Sep 16 2009, 5:00pm
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I'm an admirer of Turing too.
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Aunt Dora Baggins
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Sep 16 2009, 8:41pm
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I really liked my undergraduate computability class
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acheron
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Sep 17 2009, 2:18am
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I'm wonder if the Tolkien Estate was approached...
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Snaga
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Sep 16 2009, 7:12pm
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Some of this has been public knowledge for at least 28 years.
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N.E. Brigand
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Sep 16 2009, 7:31pm
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I cannot read the fiery letters. Sauron must have been using a four-rotor Enigma./
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L. Ron Halfelven
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Sep 16 2009, 7:35pm
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After they parachuted into Berlin by night, Tolkien was appalled when Turing blew their cover by mincing down the Unter der Linden...
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squire
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Sep 16 2009, 9:19pm
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Well said
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entmaiden
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Sep 16 2009, 10:22pm
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It's a pity that some journalists feel like they must do this to sell a story
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Ainu Laire
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Sep 17 2009, 1:05am
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on the other hand, you have different fingers
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acheron
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Sep 17 2009, 2:30am
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Thanks for those details
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squire
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Sep 17 2009, 3:15am
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completely off this subject: I love your subject line!
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a.s.
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Sep 18 2009, 12:28am
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lol
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acheron
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Sep 18 2009, 3:32am
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