Uncovering Alan Turing's Legacy with Dermot Turing at Talks at Google 🧠

We were joined in London by Sir Dermot Turing who talked about his uncle, Alan Turing, and his new book Prof: Alan Turing Decoded. About the book: Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years the careers of mathematician, codebreaker, computer scientist and biologist. He is widely regarded as a war hero grossly mistreated by his unappreciative country and it has become hard to disentangle the real man from the story. It is easy to cast him as a misfit, the stereotypical professor. But actually Alan Turing was never a professor, and his nickname ‘Prof’ was given by his codebreaking friends at Bletchley Park. Now, Alan Turing’s nephew, Dermot Turing, has taken a fresh look at the influences on Alan Turing’s life and creativity, and the later creation of a legend. For the first time it is possible to disclose the real character behind the cipher-text: how did Alan’s childhood experiences influence the man? Who were the influential figures in Alan’s formative years? How did his creative ideas evolve? Was he really a solitary, asocial genius? What was his wartime work after 1942, and why was it kept even more secret than the Enigma story? What is the truth about Alan Turing’s conviction for gross indecency, and did he commit suicide? What is the significance of the Royal Pardon granted in 2013? About the author: Dermot Turing was educated at Sherborne and King’s College, Cambridge. After completing his DPhil in Genetics at New College, Oxford, Dermot moved into the legal profession working first for HM Treasury Solicitor’s Department and then for Clifford Chance where he has remained (as a partner since 1999.) Dermot is currently based in London in Clifford Chance’s Financial Services and Markets Group and his professional focus is on regulation, insolvency and risk management for financial institutions. Dermot is the nephew of Alan Turing (1912-1954), who is well known to have been one of Bletchley Park’s leading cryptanalysts as well as a founder of the science of artificial intelligence. Naturally enough, Dermot has followed closely the gradual revelation of the achievements of the Bletchley codebreakers from the first release of materials in 1975 and the re-opening of Bletchley Park to the public in the early 1990s. He feels it is a privilege and a pleasure to provide a more direct contribution as a Trustee. http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/about/BPTrust/DermotTuring.rhtm