The real story is the fight genius always has in the face of officialdom--those who claim they are holy with a gun to your head. In our country, people have forgotten the difference between circumstance and principle. Missing that distinction is a key element in the failure of states, and the promotion of needless suffering and cruelty. There are reasons why totalitarian societies enjoy mass executions on a scale hard to fathom.
They believe the ends justify the means. And we have people in our congress who are seriously stupid enough to say things like, "I think China has the right idea ...". Or they honestly believe Cuba's healthcare is a dream for all. You think being nobody there is somehow easier and rewarded more than being nobody here?
Anyway, the guy built a machine, a mechanical computer, to break the nazi code machine, "Enigma". He called his machine, "Christopher". The politics were maddening, and then later there was bizarre harassment and convictions for being homosexual. In England they gave people some sort of hormonal drugs. They had to take them all the time or go to prison. It really messed them up with lots of side effects. This guy was socially clueless. I don't think he understood why anyone cared.
If he did understand, he has one up on me. That is what keeps shaking me up; the acceptance of the oversight and intrusive harassment of most of the population, by their elected, appointed, and self-proclaimed authorities. They even encourage it , if they think it won't touch them. Circumstance over principle.
So he committed suicide in 1954. Alan Turing. He very much influenced the outcome of WWII, and he influenced the development of the computer.
The whole story was a case of someone battling the state purely because of small minds and having to live by permission. Left to their own devices, the British military, run by arrogant insufferable officers, would never have let Turing work on breaking the code. If they had had their way, Germany would have won the war. All because of ego and arrogance. And the worst sort of incompetence--the sort doesn't know it is incompetent.
The Germans were able to radio transmit and it didn't matter who heard it. It was a code which changed every day, made possible by a coding machine called, "Enigma".
In the flick, one gets the idea that Churchill's office overrode the officers who didn't get what the mathematician was trying to do. Of course, the story was held secret for 50 years.
The guy was seemingly semi-autistic. He took everything literally, so he was lost socially. But good looking women liked him. Safe, I suppose.
That code breaking saga and the contributions of Alan Turing did not come out until sometime in the 1990s. The Queen forgave him for being a poof, and everyone celebrated and said, "Thanks, Alan, for saving the day. Sorry about the hormones and all that. You can now posthumously be a flit and not go jail." Much fanfare, pomp, and circumstance. But the movie only does that in text at the end. They don't show the speeches and all. I made those up, but I think they are close. Brian Williams was there and said I'm spot on.
Instead of realizing that immoral power is the culprit, they just go off on gay statistics and imply better laws are the deal. Nothing about limits on intrusiveness. So few people get it. I must be wrong.
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Worst auto ad ever: Fiat ad which has noisy, stupid snippets, some of them cartoons, of nonsense, and horrible sound effects. And that is their ad. A minute of obnoxious audio and video. But the fiat is just sitting there in the middle of the unrelated trash, so you do know it is a Fiat ad. That could be bad. Because of that ad, I hope they fail and die. I would not buy one.
Ad geared to disturbed and, probably, insane four year olds.
Well, if I wanted to buy one, I couldn't today, but in another world in which I could buy whatever I want, whenever I want, I wouldn't buy a Fiat even as a party favor. That is what we in Ad Land call a backfire. The ad chases people off.
