Alan Turing
Alan Turing was an English mathematician and pioneer of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, best known for the Turing machine concept and for his wartime codebreaking.
5 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Alan Turing
-
“A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.”
Meaning: Turing compared a human following exact rules to a computing machine, linking human calculation with mechanical computation. Structure can multiply ability. Try giving yourself a simple written routine for a repetitive task, and see how reliably it runs. -
“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.”
Meaning: In his famous paper on machine intelligence, Turing admitted that programs he wrote often did things he had not predicted, challenging the idea that machines only do what they are told. Treat unexpected results from your tools as information, and investigate them with curiosity. -
“It is possible to invent a single machine which can be used to compute any computable sequence.”
Meaning: This sentence from Turing's 1936 paper introduces the universal machine, the idea behind every modern programmable computer: one device can do any task given the right instructions. In your own work, invest in flexible skills that adapt across many problems. -
“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”
Meaning: Turing closed his 1950 paper on thinking machines with this note of humility and drive. The future is unclear, yet the next steps are obvious. When a large project feels overwhelming, list the few tasks you can already see and start on them. -
“This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be.”
Meaning: Turing said this to The Times in 1949 after the Manchester computer solved a long-standing mathematical problem. He treated an early machine as a hint of far greater things. When you try a new tool, judge its direction of travel, not only its current limits.