Imitation Game + Alan Turing

[Graelwyn]

Anyone else see this film and notice that Turing is portrayed as quite obviously being on the autistic spectrum, starting with separating his food into colours on his plate at school? I have done some further reading around the net, and it certainly seems he may well have been.

Obviously you cannot ever know for sure, but I just found it quite interesting how strongly they emphasized his awkwardness, his lack of following social rules, not understanding jokes, one track mindedness etc in the film.

 

[Cali Cat]

I haven't seen that movie yet. It just came out in the U.S. a couple of days ago. I'm very much looking forward to it though. I'm not surprised they emphasized Turing's unusual behaviors. He would have almost had to be on the spectrum, and his IQ must've been off the charts.

 

[Graelwyn]

I haven't seen that movie yet. It just came out in the U.S. a couple of days ago. I'm very much looking forward to it though. I'm not surprised they emphasized Turing's unusual behaviors. He would have almost had to be on the spectrum, and his IQ must've been off the charts.

Yes, amazingly intelligent man, and so sad how his life ended.
An aspie friend who saw it the same time as me said exactly the same as me when we met afterwards regarding the autistic traits. I think the film took some artistic license in adding in a Russian spy cover-up story (that seems to have caused some annoyance among some) but I found it very well acted and engaging regardless. And obviously, the fact he was clearly(to me) on the spectrum added to it for me, I suppose, because I could relate.

 

[Graelwyn]

This is interesting, turned it up while doing a search.

cracking the enigma: Did Alan Turing have Asperger syndrome?

 

[Ste11aeres]

This is interesting, turned it up while doing a search.

cracking the enigma: Did Alan Turing have Asperger syndrome?

That's actually a pretty good short little article.

 

[Mytrice]

I thought exactly the same thing while watching the film. I really enjoyed the film and thought it was extremely well made. Alan Turing and cryptography are one of my special interests so I enjoyed it even more. I also noticed all of the typical tendencies associated with Aspergers.

However, they did leave out some of the things he is recorded as doing, such as chaining his mug to the radiator in Hut 8 so that nobody else would use it or running with his gas mask on because he was afraid of getting hay fever. I suppose that's okay because you can't add everything but I would hate to think that those behaviours were slightly too 'quirky' to be added into the film.

I also found some parts relatable too. I don't claim to be the next Alan Turing but it was nice to see AS portrayed with honesty and respect. If you get the chance you should definitely go and see it.

 

[IContainMultitudes]

There's a graphic novel version of the story you can read for free here:

The Imitation Game by Jim Ottaviani,Leland Purvis | Tor.com

 

[OdinTheAardvark]

Yes, amazingly intelligent man, and so sad how his life ended.

Here's a 'what-if' scenario for us all to contemplate.

Alan Turing, according to Winston Churchill, made the single biggest contribution to Allied victory in the war against Nazi Germany. However, if the authorities had been aware of his sexuality, and had chosen to act according to the rules, Turing would not have been allowed to work at Bletchley Park. What would have been the effect upon WWII and upon our modern, computer-dominated world?

 

[Mytrice]

I have just found this article ( The Imitation Game: Fact and Fiction | The Adventures of Mr PJ Evans ) which compares the events of the film to what actually happened at Bletchley at the time. It's very well written and there is further reading at the end which is always good.