# Talk:Alan Turing

a section about his portrayal in movies should be added especially the movie "the imitation game" where he is incorrectly introduced as the person who cracked the enigma machine code. it should be noted to the public that in fact a polish mathematician cracked the code.Turing only improved the machine designed by  
Marian Rejewski. Thank you Wikiakant23 (talk) 11:24, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

'No change will be the outcome of this request as you havent suggested your change in a "Change X to Y" format as requested. It also needs some reliable sources. - Roxy the dog  11:27, 10 March 2025 (UTC)
Note: Turing is mentioned a few times at Marian Rejewski. There might be a case for mentioning Rejewski in this article? The Imitation Game is already mentioned. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:34, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

I propose to insert a discussion of the "light-heartedness" committed by Turing in revealing, without being asked, his homosexuality. The change could be this:
Turing had voluntarily admitted to being a homosexual. Scholars have often wondered why Turing did not conceal this detail, which could have had criminal consequences, from the police who were investigating the theft he had suffered. Simon Goldhill, professor of classics at King's College, argued that Turing, a former student of King's, was accustomed to considering homosexuality as something normal in the upper social and cultural classes, such as King's: "the provost [college principal] and many of the senior fellows [tutors] were openly and outwardly gay. They had sex with men and talked constantly about having sex with men." (With sources.) NONIS STEFANO (talk) 17:27, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

I think that's probably WP:UNDUE. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:30, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

Sorry for bringing this up again, but it's still not right. This is taken from the introduction: "He played a crucial role in cracking intercepted messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Axis powers in many engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic." I think it would be better to list some of these "many engagements". It appears the Battle of the Atlantic is the engagement that everyone is interested in. If it is impossible to come up with any other engagements it would be better to amend the text. The source for this is Jack Copeland's article (footnote 10) in which he asserts, "Turing stands alongside Churchill, Eisenhower, and a short glory-list of other wartime principals as a leading figure in the Allied victory over Hitler". This is surely an overstatement. And what about Stalin and Zhukov? Does anyone apart from Copeland believe this? Footnote 11 is a discursive footnote that takes note of a discussion that happened a few years back. This includes a mention of the lecture by Harry Hinsley in which he said that Turing might have shortened the war by two years, but notes his caveats about the atomic bomb etc. Hinsley is quoted in the body of the article, but this includes an estimate of 14 million lives shown, which as previously discussed came from Copeland, not Hinsley. We shouldn't misquote Hinsley. In fact, I don't think we should quote Hinsley at all, because under questioning his ad hoc assertion becomes more and more nebulous. There is no doubt that winning the Battle of the Atlantic was significant. The problem is when Hinsley discusses the "war", he is doing so from the point of view of the UK. He is not talking about the Eastern Front; he is clearly not discussing the war against Japan. This is quite clear from his comments. But it is not clear from this encyclopedic article. I think what we need is some text assessing Turing's wartime contribution which is sober and balanced. Clearly he made a significant contribution to cryptography, but he is not part of a "short glory-list of other wartime principals". Jack Upland (talk) 00:56, 8 June 2025 (UTC)

Here is a reliable source that substantiates the note 1: "Turing's death was officially determined as a suicide by an inquest, but this has been disputed.", see BBC Article LogicTrace (talk) 18:39, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

Yes, that 2012 BBC article does support the claim that the suicide verdict has been disputed. It could be added as a source. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:54, 11 September 2025 (UTC)
@Martinevans123 - could you please add that reference as I am not yet auto-confirmed and the page is protected. LogicTrace (talk) 18:57, 11 September 2025 (UTC)
I did add it, but then I saw that it has already used, in three other instances, in the article. Also there are quite a few other sources, in the "Death" section, which directly support the claim that suicide has been disputed. So maybe it's a little superfluous. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:05, 11 September 2025 (UTC)
Good observation. The biggest problem I saw was the note seemed unreferenced. Thank you for your help. LogicTrace (talk) 21:26, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

The redirect Alan Turning has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 September 21 § Alan Turning until a consensus is reached.  --Bumpf said this!  ooh clicky clicky!  [insert witty meta-text on wiki-sigs here] 18:16, 21 September 2025 (UTC)