What do the Bank of England, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nandan Nilekani, the Second World War, mathematical biology, Mettur Dam, the humble punkah, and Chatrapur have in common? For added measure, one might add the Madras Railway, Tungabhadra Bridge, Coonoor, the German U-Boats, cryptography, and Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of British code breakers. The answer is Alan Turing, mathematician and philosopher. He contributed to cryptography and mathematical biology, among other subjects, and is the father of modern computer science. Continue reading “Alan Turing – The Madras Connection”
