http://www.theguardian.com/science/alan-turing Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 18:40:08 GMT 2015-08-10T18:40:08Z en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015 http://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.png http://www.theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jul/17/andy-burnham-men-convicted-gay-automatic-pardons-labour <p>Labour leadership contender’s proposal would mean up to 50,000 convictions for acts that would be not be illegal today could be quashed</p><p>An automatic legal pardon should be given to all men convicted under historical homosexuality laws without the need for families or individuals to apply to the government, the Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham has proposed. His pledge, following consultation with Sir Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions and current Labour MP, means it would be possible to quash up to 50,000 convictions for acts that would be not be illegal today.</p><p>Burnham, who currently shares roughly the same number of constituency nominations as Jeremy Corbyn, said he will press prime minister David Cameron to make a relatively simple change to the law, but if he does not do so, it would form part of the first legislative programme of a Burnham-led government. The move comes two years after the royal pardon granted to second world war codebreaker Alan Turing. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/30/benedict-cumberbatch-pardon-gay-men-alan-turing">Benedict Cumberbatch: broaden Turing’s pardon to other gay men</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jul/17/andy-burnham-men-convicted-gay-automatic-pardons-labour">Continue reading...</a> Law LGBT rights Labour Andy Burnham Politics UK news Alan Turing Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:00:04 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jul/17/andy-burnham-men-convicted-gay-automatic-pardons-labour Photograph: /AFP/Getty Images Andy Burnham’s proposal follows the posthumous royal pardon given to Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker convicted of gross indecency in 1952. Photograph: /AFP/Getty Images Andy Burnham’s proposal follows the posthumous royal pardon given to Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker convicted of gross indecency in 1952. Patrick Wintour Political editor 2015-07-17T21:00:04Z http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/10/enigma-machine-goes-up-for-auction <p>Rare example of an Enigma machine, used by Nazi Germany to send coded messages during second world war, expected to fetch £70,000</p><p>A rare surviving example of an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/14/how-did-enigma-machine-work-imitation-game">Enigma machine</a>, used by the German military to send coded messages during the second world war, is expected to fetch &pound;70,000 at auction next week.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/14/why-not-build-enigma-machine-notes-queries">Why didn’t we build our own Enigma machine?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/10/enigma-machine-goes-up-for-auction">Continue reading...</a> Second world war Alan Turing Science World news UK news Fri, 10 Jul 2015 14:07:23 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/10/enigma-machine-goes-up-for-auction Photograph: Sotheby's/PA The Enigma machine up for sale at Sotheby’s next week. Most of the machines were destroyed towards the end of the war. Photograph: Sotheby's/PA Press Association 2015-07-10T14:07:23Z http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/06/nico-muhly-takes-on-alan-turing-no-one-wants-a-gay-martyr-oratorio <p>Composer’s new piece Sentences will focus on wartime codebreaker’s work – and it will not be The Imitation Game with stirring violins</p><p>Nico Muhly is skimming through the printed score of his new work. He barely glances at the pages – but all of a sudden he stops. <br /></p><p>“Wait a second, that’s not right,” he says, frowning and narrowing his eyes at something. Circling an apparent rogue musical note in a thick marker, he mutters: “I will deal with THAT later.”<br /></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/16/facing-the-music-nico-muhly">Facing the music: Nico Muhly</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/06/nico-muhly-takes-on-alan-turing-no-one-wants-a-gay-martyr-oratorio">Continue reading...</a> Nico Muhly Music Alan Turing Culture Science Classical music Opera Sat, 06 Jun 2015 08:00:05 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/06/nico-muhly-takes-on-alan-turing-no-one-wants-a-gay-martyr-oratorio Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian American composer Nico Muhly. Hannah Ellis-Petersen 2015-06-06T08:00:05Z http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/31/nico-muhly-on-my-radar-brawn-bletchley-park-new-yorker-joe-snape The US composer on obsessive collecting, being jetlagged at Bletchley Park and his love of the New Yorker<p>Nico Muhly, 33, is perhaps the most successful classical composer of his generation. Raised in Rhode Island, he studied music at the Juilliard School, New York, under Pulitzer-prize winning composer John Corigliano before going on to work with Philip Glass, compose music on commission for St Paul’s Cathedral, write film scores for <em>The Reader</em> and <em>Kill Your Darlings</em> and collaborate with musicians including Bj&ouml;rk, the National, and Antony and the Johnsons. Muhly is currently based in London and is one of the participating artists in Soundscapes at the National Gallery, 8 July-6 September.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/31/nico-muhly-on-my-radar-brawn-bletchley-park-new-yorker-joe-snape">Continue reading...</a> Nico Muhly Culture Music Barbican Alan Turing Science The New Yorker Sun, 31 May 2015 06:00:08 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/31/nico-muhly-on-my-radar-brawn-bletchley-park-new-yorker-joe-snape Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: Photograph: /Matthew Murphy Composer and arranger Nico Muhly. Photograph: Matthew Murphy Photograph: /Matthew Murphy Composer and arranger Nico Muhly. Photograph: Matthew Murphy Interview by Corinne Jones 2015-05-31T06:00:08Z http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/02/turing-niece-demands-pardons-for-gay-men-outdated-laws Only 65 of 49,000 prosecuted under outdated laws have so far had their records quashed<p>In 1952 <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/alan-turing">Alan Turing</a> – the Enigma code breaker responsible for decrypting Nazi messages, and credited with shortening the second world war by two years and saving thousands of lives – was charged at a Manchester police station over homosexual activity. He was later tried and convicted of gross indecency – the offence that led to the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde. The miserable choice the courts handed down to Turing was prison, or chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He opted for the latter, and his life ended in tragedy. A coroner reported that Turing took his own life, dying from cyanide poisoning two years after his conviction.</p><p>In 2013 the celebrated mathematician was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/24/enigma-codebreaker-alan-turing-royal-pardon">granted a posthumous royal pardon</a>. While Turing’s family were delighted, they felt it was an injustice that thousands of others had not received a similar pardon. The Home Office does now have a system in place for the quashing of historic convictions but information obtained by the <em>Observer</em> has found that only 65 of the estimated 49,000 convicted under the outdated laws have had their records wiped.</p><p>Some were convicted for loitering or smiling at men in public places. It's outrageous that they are denied a disregard</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/02/turing-niece-demands-pardons-for-gay-men-outdated-laws">Continue reading...</a> Alan Turing LGBT rights World news UK news Peter Tatchell Freedom of information Politics Sat, 02 May 2015 20:41:21 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/02/turing-niece-demands-pardons-for-gay-men-outdated-laws Photograph: Sherborne School/AFP/Getty Images Alan Turing was granted a posthumous pardon in 2013. Photograph: Sherborne School/AFP/Getty Images Alan Turing was granted a posthumous pardon in 2013. Photograph: Snap Stills/REX/Snap Stills/REX Benedict Cumberbatch played Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Photograph: Snap Stills/REX Photograph: Snap Stills/REX/Snap Stills/REX Benedict Cumberbatch played Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Photograph: Snap Stills/REX Ashley Cowburn 2015-05-02T20:41:21Z http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/13/alan-turings-notebook-sells-for-more-than-1m-at-new-york-auction <p>Paper thought to date from 1942 details Enigma codebreaker’s work on foundations of mathematical notation and computer science<br></p><p>A key scientific document hand-written by the Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing has been sold at auction in New York for more than $1m. <br /></p><p>The paper, in which he details his work on the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/20/unseen-alan-turing-notebook-to-fetch-1m">foundations of mathematical notation and computer science</a>, was sold for $1,025,000 (&pound;698,000) in a sale of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams auction house.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/13/alan-turings-notebook-sells-for-more-than-1m-at-new-york-auction">Continue reading...</a> Alan Turing Second world war World news UK news Mathematics Heritage Mon, 13 Apr 2015 22:11:45 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/13/alan-turings-notebook-sells-for-more-than-1m-at-new-york-auction Photograph: Rex Alan Turing. A notebook that the Enigma codebreaker is thought to have worked on while at Bletchley Park has sold for more than $1m. Photograph: Rex Alan Turing. A notebook that the Enigma codebreaker is thought to have worked on while at Bletchley Park has sold for more than $1m. Shane Hickey and agencies 2015-04-13T22:11:45Z http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/28/turing-got-pardon-i-want-one-too <p>Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing was posthumously pardoned for gross indecency, but thousands of British men’s lives are still blighted by similar charges. Their primary offence? Being gay. We hear their stories</p><p>You don’t need a spoiler alert before being told how the Oscar-winning film, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/the-imitation-game">The Imitation Game</a>, ends: mathematician and war hero Alan Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts and, two years later, took his own life. In <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/24/enigma-codebreaker-alan-turing-royal-pardon">2013, Turing was granted a posthumous royal pardon</a>, but there are many more men whose lives were destroyed because of their sexuality, and who have lived with criminal records since.</p><p>The film inspired Matthew Breen, editor-in-chief of gay publication <a href="http://www.advocate.com">The Advocate</a>, to set up <a href="https://www.change.org/p/british-government-pardon-all-of-the-estimated-49-000-men-who-like-alan-turing-were-convicted-of-consenting-same-sex-relations-under-the-british-gross-indecency-law-only-repealed-in-2003-and-also-all-the-other-men-convicted-under-other-uk-anti-gay">a change.org petition demanding a pardon from the British government for 49,000 men convicted of consenting same-sex relations under the “gross indecency” law</a>, 15,000 of whom are thought to be alive. A full-page advertisement in the Guardian in January, paid for by the movie’s producers, the Weinsteins, and signed by Benedict Cumberbatch and director Morten Tyldum, helped propel the pardon49k.org petition to over half a million signatures; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/22/family-alan-turing-government-petition-pardons-gross-indecency-homosexuality">it was delivered to Downing Street the day after this year’s Oscar ceremony by Turing’s family</a>.</p><p>Alan Turing got an apology from Gordon Brown, but no one else has. It ruined my life</p><p>I&nbsp;served my country during the second world war. I don’t want a&nbsp;pardon because I’m not guilty. I want an apology</p><p>I don’t feel sorry for myself, but I do feel sorry for the men who killed themselves because of their treatment</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/28/turing-got-pardon-i-want-one-too">Continue reading...</a> LGBT rights Alan Turing Science The Imitation Game Peter Tatchell UK news Sexuality Society Film Sat, 28 Mar 2015 09:00:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/28/turing-got-pardon-i-want-one-too Photograph: Andrew Jackson for the Guardian Photograph: Andrew Jackson for the Guardian Mike&nbsp;Pattenden 2015-03-28T09:00:03Z http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/mar/05/readers-recommend-songs-about-control <p>Whether losing, gaining, maintaining or fighting it, let the music take over and name songs about all emotional, physical or practical ways we take on turmoil<br></p><p>Chaos. Where isn’t it? The world is a mess of entropy, energy, waste, injustice, and emotion. Chaos thrives equally in war, in corruption, in our hearts, in a pencil case, in ideas mangled or cables tangled. “I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me,” said Bob Dylan, with a shrug. “Darling – in chaos there is fertility,” retorted writer Ana&iuml;s Nin, flirtily. But is there also opportunity in chaos? Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, with the imminent return of his adapted books to screens this spring, cuts to the heart of it: “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, and never get to try again … the climb is all there is. But they’ll never know this. Not until it’s too late.” <br /></p><p>So how to deal with chaos? Climb that ladder and try and take control. One way is to try and frame the mayhem in a format that helps us understand the world, which is precisely where writers, particularly songwriters, have sought to express and control what their perceptions throw at them. Joy Division’s Ian Curtis fought and lost a war with a frightening chaos he perceived, struggling with bipolar disorder and epilepsy, but his all-too-brief career won a few battles, leaving behind some timeless songs and poems, including one inspired by a disabled women, with whom he had worked in his civil service job, and who died after an epileptic fit. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/mar/05/readers-recommend-songs-about-control">Continue reading...</a> Music Culture Glenn Gould Joy Division JS Bach Painting Art Pop and rock Indie Reggae Soul George RR Martin Urban music Hip-hop Maya Angelou Books Epilepsy Science Mr Turner Mathematics Chemistry Game of Thrones Bob Dylan Apps Technology Bjork Alan Turing Quantitative easing Art and design Film Television Society Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:00:00 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/mar/05/readers-recommend-songs-about-control Photograph: Stocktrek/Corbis Fractal shapes expressing elements of chaos theory Photograph: Stocktrek/Corbis Fractal shapes expressing elements of chaos theory Photograph: Martin O'Neill/Redferns Music takes control … Ian Curtis with Joy Division at Bowden Vale youth club. Photograph: Martin O'Neill/Redferns Music takes control … Ian Curtis with Joy Division at Bowden Vale youth club. Peter Kimpton 2015-03-05T22:00:00Z http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/miliband-promises-turing-law-posthumous-pardons-gay-conviction <p>Turing’s Law would allow family and friends to apply for gross indecency convictions to be quashed </p><p>Ed Miliband has said a future Labour government would introduce a “Turing’s law”, offering posthumous pardons for gay men convicted under historical indecency laws.</p><p>Labour said the legislation would allow the men’s family and friends to apply to the Home Office to quash convictions under the “gross indecency” law for consensual same-sex relationships.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/miliband-promises-turing-law-posthumous-pardons-gay-conviction">Continue reading...</a> LGBT rights Ed Miliband Labour General election 2015 UK news Alan Turing Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:05:10 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/miliband-promises-turing-law-posthumous-pardons-gay-conviction Photograph: Black Bear Pictures/Allstar Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The actor is backing the Turing family’s campaign. Photograph: Black Bear Pictures/Allstar Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The actor is backing the Turing family’s campaign. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Corbis Alan Turing’s great Nephew, Nevil Hunt, great niece, Rachel Barnes and great great nephew, Thomas Barnes deliver their petition to 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Corbis Alan Turing’s great Nephew, Nevil Hunt, great niece, Rachel Barnes and great great nephew, Thomas Barnes deliver their petition to 10 Downing Street. Mark Tran 2015-03-03T12:05:10Z http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/campaign-pardon-gay-men-beyond-pre-1967-convictions <p>Your report about the campaign to pardon gay men convicted, like Alan Turing, of consenting same-sex behaviour includes some common misunderstandings (<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/homosexual-pardon-delayed-whitehall-fears-paedophiles-simon-hughes-alan-turing" title="">Whitehall drags feet over pardons for gay men</a>, 27 February).</p><p>The pardon campaign is not limited to the 49,000 men convicted of the one homophobic offence of so-called “gross indecency”. It seeks redress for all the estimated 50,000 to 100,000 men convicted of consensual adult homosexuality under four different anti-gay laws. These laws were not repealed until&nbsp;2003.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/campaign-pardon-gay-men-beyond-pre-1967-convictions">Continue reading...</a> LGBT rights Alan Turing Law Sex Life and style UK news Crime Mon, 02 Mar 2015 19:43:29 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/campaign-pardon-gay-men-beyond-pre-1967-convictions Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Corbis Alan Turing’s relatives (from left) Nevil Hunt (great-nephew), Rachel Barnes (great-niece), and Thomas Barnes (great-great-nephew) deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street calling for a pardon for gay men convicted under repealed anti-gay laws in the UK. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Corbis Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Corbis Alan Turing’s relatives (from left) Nevil Hunt (great-nephew), Rachel Barnes (great-niece), and Thomas Barnes (great-great-nephew) deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street calling for a pardon for gay men convicted under repealed anti-gay laws in the UK. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Corbis Guardian Staff 2015-03-02T19:43:29Z http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2015/mar/02/crossword-blog-breaking-the-palindrome-codes-peter-hilton <p>Alan Connor wonders if there could ever be a better workplace for a palindrome competition than Bletchley Park</p><p>Following <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/23/oscars-2015-list-of-winners">its best screenplay Oscar win</a>, The Imitation Game is getting a second theatrical wind. A few months ago, we reminded ourselves that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2014/nov/17/crossword-blog-alan-turing-no-crossword-fiend-imitation-game">Alan Turing was not, in fact, a crossword fiend</a>. </p><p>Of course, we have nothing against the sculpting of fact into biopic here at the crossword blog; it’s unquestionably interesting, though, that crosswording was not among Turing’s many intellectual pursuits. And a <a href="https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/the-palindrome-game-of-the-enigma-codebreakers/">recent piece in Visual Thesaurus’s Word Count blog</a> gives a fascinating contrast concerning one particular type of wordplay – and concerning not Turing, but <a href="http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Eckmann-Hilton+argument">Peter Hilton</a>, played in the movie by Matthew Beard.</p><p>There is this enormous excitement in codebreaking that what appears to be utter gibberish really makes sense only if you have the key, and I could do that sort of thing for 30 hours at a stretch and never feel tired.</p><p>Incredibly, the young codebreaker did not use paper or pencil while composing his epic palindrome. He simply lay on his bed, eyes closed, and assembled it in his mind over one long night. It took him five hours.</p><p>Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2015/mar/02/crossword-blog-breaking-the-palindrome-codes-peter-hilton">Continue reading...</a> Crosswords Alan Turing Mon, 02 Mar 2015 11:15:55 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2015/mar/02/crossword-blog-breaking-the-palindrome-codes-peter-hilton Photograph: Evangelos Dousmanis/Evangelos Dousmanis Peter Hilton, and behind him, what the inside of his brain looked like. Photograph: Evangelos Dousmanis/Evangelos Dousmanis Peter Hilton, and behind him, what the inside of his brain looked like. Alan Connor 2015-03-02T11:15:55Z http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/homosexual-pardon-delayed-whitehall-fears-paedophiles-simon-hughes-alan-turing <p>Liberal Democrats pledge to pardon 49,000 men convicted before 1967 in any future coalition, while campaigners say warning about paedophiles is an excuse</p><p>A campaign to pardon nearly 50,000 men convicted under a 19th-century law for homosexual activity is being delayed amid concerns in Whitehall that a small number of paedophiles could be included.</p><p>Campaigners who had hoped that the royal pardon for the Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing would be extended across the nation have been dismayed by a warning from Whitehall officials that a blanket pardon could benefit gay men who had sex with a minor.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/homosexual-pardon-delayed-whitehall-fears-paedophiles-simon-hughes-alan-turing">Continue reading...</a> LGBT rights Liberal Democrats Alan Turing Crime Politics UK news Fri, 27 Feb 2015 17:38:10 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/homosexual-pardon-delayed-whitehall-fears-paedophiles-simon-hughes-alan-turing Photograph: David Jones/PA Simon Hughes, the justice minister. Photograph: David Jones/PA Simon Hughes, the justice minister. Photograph: Allstar/Black Bear Pictures Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, who received a posthumous royal pardon in 2013, in the Imitation Game. Photograph: Allstar/Black Bear Pictures Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, who received a posthumous royal pardon in 2013, in the Imitation Game. Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent 2015-02-27T17:38:10Z http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/the-imitation-game-director-defends-lack-gay-scenes-alan-turing-benedict-cumberbatch <p>Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum says none were necessary as Alan Turing’s life and relationships were ‘all about secrecy’</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/live/2015/feb/22/oscars-2015-live-red-carpet-and-arrivals-ceremony-and-winners">Oscars 2015 - follow the action as it happens</a></li></ul><p>He may have edged out more experienced film-makers such as David Fincher and Clint Eastwood for a best director nomination at this year’s Oscars, but The Imitation Game director Morten Tyldum is still being forced to defend his film against <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/17/imitation-game-alan-turing-sexuality-biopic">accusations that it underplayed Alan Turing’s homosexuality</a>.</p><p>Ahead of tonight’s Oscar ceremony, Tyldum has finally spoken out on the subject in a recently published interview with <a href="http://variety.com/2015/film/news/oscars-imitation-game-director-on-why-the-film-didnt-portray-an-alan-turing-gay-relationship-1201438915/">Variety</a>. The Norwegian director denied that the biopic of the pioneering British codebreaker and computer scientist soft-pedalled the issue because of a fear of limiting the film’s box office, <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=imitationgame.htm">currently at $160m (&pound;103m) worldwide</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/the-imitation-game-director-defends-lack-gay-scenes-alan-turing-benedict-cumberbatch">Continue reading...</a> Oscars 2015 The Imitation Game Benedict Cumberbatch Alan Turing Film Oscars Awards and prizes Culture Science LGBT rights US news World news Sun, 22 Feb 2015 23:03:57 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/the-imitation-game-director-defends-lack-gay-scenes-alan-turing-benedict-cumberbatch Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game. Benjamin Lee 2015-02-22T23:03:57Z http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/22/family-alan-turing-government-petition-pardons-gross-indecency-homosexuality <p>Campaigners to bring petition to Downing Street, demanding all men convicted under gross indecency law for their homosexuality are pardoned</p><p>The family of the codebreaker Alan Turing will visit Downing Street on Monday to demand the government pardons 49,000 other men persecuted like him for their homosexuality.</p><p>Turing, whose work cracking the German military codes was vital to the British war effort against Nazi Germany, was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency with a 19-year-old man, was chemically castrated, and two years later died from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/live/2015/feb/22/oscars-2015-live-red-carpet-and-arrivals-ceremony-and-winners">Oscars 2015 - live! Red carpet, arrivals, ceremony... and winners</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/the-imitation-game-director-defends-lack-gay-scenes-alan-turing-benedict-cumberbatch">The Imitation Game director defends film's lack of gay sex scenes</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/22/family-alan-turing-government-petition-pardons-gross-indecency-homosexuality">Continue reading...</a> Alan Turing Sun, 22 Feb 2015 18:30:18 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/22/family-alan-turing-government-petition-pardons-gross-indecency-homosexuality Photograph: Rex/Rex Alan Turing was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency, but was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013. Photograph: Rex/Rex Alan Turing was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency, but was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013. Press Association 2015-02-22T18:30:18Z http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/13/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-picture <p>It looks like a straight fight between Birdman and Boyhood – but can any of the other contenders make a dent in the tussle over the biggest Oscar of all?</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/series/oscar-predictions-2015">Read the rest of the Oscar predictions here</a><br></li></ul><p>So it all comes down to this. After three consecutive years of nine nominees in the newly elasticated best picture category, the Academy collectively (albeit not intentionally) elected to dock this year’s field by one. (Foxcatcher, with its surprise best director bid and four nominations besides, appears to have been the unlucky #9 finisher.) This slight shrinking of the roster feels appropriate for a race that has been more closely fought than usual – at least half this year’s best picture nominees have looked like potential winners at one point or another, though it appears to have boiled down to a squeaker between two oppositely-styled independents from the same mini-major studio.</p><p>Since the expansion of the best picture category, there’s been a near-annual slot for the previous year’s big Sundance winner – a tip of the hat to the scrappier strand of “true” independent cinema that has yet to enjoy its big Oscar moment, as opposed to the polished mid-range indies that are now the Academy’s bread and butter. So it is that Whiplash follows in the footsteps of Precious, Winter’s Bone and Beasts of the Southern Wild. And while it could convert a few of its five nominations to gold – JK Simmons has it locked, though I’m betting it will nab wins for adapted screenplay and editing too – most voters will deem the sweaty, shouty drumming drama not quite their tempo in the top category.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/13/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-picture">Continue reading...</a> Oscars 2015 Oscars Foxcatcher Whiplash Sundance film festival JK Simmons The Imitation Game The King's Speech Toronto film festival Baftas Golden Globes Baftas 2015 Golden Globes 2015 Harvey Weinstein The Theory of Everything Stephen Hawking Alan Turing Martin Luther King Selma David Oyelowo Paramount Pictures Interstellar American Sniper Clint Eastwood Bradley Cooper The Grand Budapest Hotel Berlin film festival 20th Century Fox Birdman Wes Anderson Alejandro González Iñárritu Boyhood Richard Linklater Awards and prizes Festivals Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:53:21 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/13/oscars-2015-who-will-win-best-picture Composite: Rex/Allstar Oscar nominations for best film. Clockwise from top left: The Imitation Game, Boyhood, Birdman, Selma, Whiplash, American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Theory of Everything Composite: Rex/Allstar Oscar nominations for best film. Clockwise from top left: The Imitation Game, Boyhood, Birdman, Selma, Whiplash, American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Theory of Everything Guy Lodge 2015-02-13T15:53:21Z http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2015/feb/05/campaign-to-buy-alan-turings-notebook-for-the-nation <p>A rare notebook belonging to the mathematical genius and adopted Mancunian has just gone on sale at a New York auction house, capitalising on his raised profile from the Oscar-nominated Imitation Game. It belongs in Britain, says maths professor<strong> S Barry Cooper</strong>, who has launched a petition to bring it into the national collection</p><p>Alan Turing’s Lost Notebook, with his handwritten mathematical thoughts from 1942, has mysteriously reappeared in New York City auction house, Bonhams, with a predicted selling price of at least one million dollars. What makes it extra special is that we have so little left from this British mathematical magician of the computer age, apart from his ideas.</p><p>Hidden within the middle pages that Turing left blank are secret personal notes of his student and close friend, Robin Gandy. Robin was a motorbike riding and famously good looking professor of logic at Manchester University at the time I was completing my thesis there in 1969. He had been staying with Turing some eight days before he so tragically died in Wilmslow on June 7, 1954 — the house, in Adlington Road, recently sold for close on a million pounds. Gandy insisted they were never lovers. His very personal comments on his relationship with the codebreaking hero of Bletchley Park, shamefully repaid for his wartime exploits — and so vividly evoked in the new Oscar-nominated movie The Imitation Game — are indispensible. </p><p>“Turing, clearly, was viewed with considerable awe by most of his colleagues at Bletchley because of his evident intellect and great originality and importance of his contributions, and by many with considerable discomfort because his personality was so outlandish. Many people found him incomprehensible, perhaps being intimidated by his reputation but more likely being put off by his character and mannerisms.”</p><p> “I think definitely that he should be given all the recognition for what he did during the war. It’s so sad that he was persecuted and hounded at the end of his life. I’m sure it must have absolutely ruined his life. It was absolutely miserable. They injected him with hormones and goodness knows what.”<br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2015/feb/05/campaign-to-buy-alan-turings-notebook-for-the-nation">Continue reading...</a> Alan Turing Manchester Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game University of Manchester Greater Manchester Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:41:30 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2015/feb/05/campaign-to-buy-alan-turings-notebook-for-the-nation Photograph: S Barry Cooper/S Barry Cooper A blue plaque commemorating Alan Turing outside his old home in Wilmslow Photograph: S Barry Cooper/S Barry Cooper A blue plaque commemorating Alan Turing outside his old home in Wilmslow Photograph: Allstar/BLACK BEAR PICTURES/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in the Oscar-nominated Imitation Game. Turing’s notebook is up for auction in New York. A petition has been launched to urge the British government to buy it for the nation Photograph: Allstar/BLACK BEAR PICTURES/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in the Oscar-nominated Imitation Game. Turing’s notebook is up for auction in New York. A petition has been launched to urge the British government to buy it for the nation S Barry Cooper 2015-02-05T16:41:30Z http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/30/benedict-cumberbatch-pardon-gay-men-alan-turing The Imitation Game actor signs open letter calling for convictions of all 49,000 men found guilty of indecency to be wiped from the record<p>Benedict Cumberbatch, the star of The Imitation Game and an Oscar hopeful, has added his name to an open letter urging the British government to pardon thousands of gay men convicted of gross indecency.</p><p>Cumberbatch, who plays codebreaker Alan Turing in the Oscar-nominated biopic, has joined more than 40,000 people signing the letter to the government. The letter calls on members of the royal family to back the campaign to give a pardon to all those who were convicted of a crime because of their sexuality – a pardon that could wipe clean the records of 15,000 men still alive.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/30/benedict-cumberbatch-pardon-gay-men-alan-turing">Continue reading...</a> UK news LGBT rights Alan Turing World news Science Benedict Cumberbatch Culture Stephen Fry Peter Tatchell The Imitation Game Fri, 30 Jan 2015 23:52:00 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/30/benedict-cumberbatch-pardon-gay-men-alan-turing Photograph: Allstar/Black Bear Pictures/Sportsphoto Ltd Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Photograph: Allstar/Black Bear Pictures/Sportsphoto Ltd Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Dan Carrier 2015-01-30T23:52:00Z http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/29/the-bletchley-girls-tessa-dunlop-the-debs-of-bletchley-park-michael-smith-review <p>The dashed hopes and the (sometimes) awful men … an insight into the lives and loves of the female codebreakers – and those with less glamorous jobs</p><p>^‘Sometimes it’s the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one imagines,” Alan Turing says to Joan Clarke in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/the-imitation-game" title=""><em>The Imitation Game</em></a>. This is the appeal of the Bletchley Park war. It’s a particularly British story, whose eccentric heroes are more likely to be found solving crossword puzzles than flying aeroplanes. They can sometimes be observed throwing cups of tea into the lake or stuffing their pipes with sandwiches instead of tobacco. And it is especially satisfying to think of this gaggle of dishevelled boffins defeating the disciplined pomposity of nazism. They were certainly not the kind of men to be given much shrift by Hitler.</p><p>But supporting the tweedy heroes was a cast of less unusual people, many of them women. Although there were just 186 staff at Bletchley in August 1939, by 1942 there were 1,600 and by the end of 1944 this had risen to 8,743. Three-quarters of them were women, made available by the introduction of female conscription in 1941. Their stories have been neglected, largely because the exploits of the leading Bletchley code-breakers are more exciting. The women who have found their way into the histories have tended to be the handful of female cryptanalysts. Joan Clarke has now been given spirited if pouting form by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/keiraknightley" title="">Keira Knightley</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/29/the-bletchley-girls-tessa-dunlop-the-debs-of-bletchley-park-michael-smith-review">Continue reading...</a> History Books Culture Alan Turing Science Second world war World news Thu, 29 Jan 2015 07:30:26 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/29/the-bletchley-girls-tessa-dunlop-the-debs-of-bletchley-park-michael-smith-review Photograph: Allstar Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch as Joan Clarke and Alan Turing in <em>T</em><em>he Imitation Game</em>. Photograph: Allstar Photograph: Allstar Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch as Joan Clarke and Alan Turing in <em>T</em><em>he Imitation Game</em>. Photograph: Allstar Lara Feigel 2015-01-29T07:30:26Z http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/22/readers-recommend-songs-about-secrets-and-secrecy <p>Hidden messages, furtive feelings, lyrical leaks, surreptitious spying, suggest your selections about the covert and hush-hush – it will all come out in song form</p><p>“Secrets and lies. We’re all in pain. Why can’t we share our pain? I’ve spent my entire life trying to make people happy. And the three people I love most in the world hate each others’ guts, I’m stuck in the middle and I can’t take it anymore!”</p><p>So comes a powerful emotional outburst by husband, brother and uncle Maurice, played by Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh’s life-affirming family drama, Secrets and Lies (1996). It is a moment of tear-jerking catharsis when years of hidden feelings and secret problems boil to the surface. Secrecy, however, is somehow inevitable in human behaviour, but this week, the first key question is – if you have a secret, why write and perform and song about it? Isn’t that a paradox? Yes, and that’s the whole point. Because song, like any creative endeavour, is a form of release from an internal process, and songwriters are compelled, by nature, to expunge their hidden feelings. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/22/readers-recommend-songs-about-secrets-and-secrecy">Continue reading...</a> Music Culture Pop and rock Folk music Jazz Indie Punk Abba The Beatles The Smiths Fleetwood Mac Kate Bush Film Mike Leigh William Shakespeare Simon and Garfunkel Barack Obama Edward Snowden Encryption Internet Surveillance Magic Drama Drama Television George Orwell Books The Rolling Stones NSA Cycling Alan Turing Science Thu, 22 Jan 2015 22:00:10 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/22/readers-recommend-songs-about-secrets-and-secrecy Photograph: Trevor Leighton/PA Kate Bush, notably secretive for decades, and remaining so, even after her first tour for 35 years last year. Photograph: Trevor Leighton/PA Kate Bush, notably secretive for decades, and remaining so, even after her first tour for 35 years last year. Photograph: The Guardian/AFP/Getty Images Edward Snowden, the whisteblower who revealed secrets about the surveillance programme of the US National Security Agency. Photograph: The Guardian/AFP/Getty Images Edward Snowden, the whisteblower who revealed secrets about the surveillance programme of the US National Security Agency. Photograph: Michael Haegele/Corbis Sshh! Tell no one about your secret songs. Instead, nominate them in comments below. Photograph: Michael Haegele/Corbis Sshh! Tell no one about your secret songs. Instead, nominate them in comments below. Peter Kimpton 2015-01-22T22:00:10Z http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/20/unseen-alan-turing-notebook-to-fetch-1m Fifty-six page manuscript, kept privately until now, goes up for sale in April with auctioneer expecting seven-figure sale<p>A rare notebook of Alan Turing’s which dates back to his work breaking the Enigma code is expected to sell at auction for at least &pound;1m.</p><p>The 56-page manuscript sees the codebreaker working on the “foundations of mathematical notation and computer science”, said Bonhams, which will auction the notebook in New York on 13 April. It dates from Turing’s days in Bletchley Park in 1942, and according to Bonhams’ specialist Cassandra Hatton, “its mathematical content gives an extraordinary insight into the working mind of one of the greatest luminaries of the 20th century”.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/20/unseen-alan-turing-notebook-to-fetch-1m">Continue reading...</a> Books Culture Alan Turing Science Tue, 20 Jan 2015 15:53:49 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/20/unseen-alan-turing-notebook-to-fetch-1m Photograph: Rex/Rex Features 'One of the greatest luminaries of the 20th century' … Alan Turing. Photograph: Rex/Rex Features Photograph: Rex/Rex Features 'One of the greatest luminaries of the 20th century' … Alan Turing. Photograph: Rex/Rex Features Alison Flood 2015-01-20T15:53:49Z